"The Pacific Islands can be seen to be linked by commerce, Christianity, colonialism, world wars and the nuclear experience. Equally, they can be seen as isolated societies, and have often been represented as such by Western explorers and anthropologists. Both interpretations carry weight, as societies struggle separately to preserve or regain autonomy or band together in regional associations. The Cambridge History of the Pacific Islanders addresses these irresolvable and recurring tensions, and encompasses the entire range of human experience in the region."--Jacket.