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REVIEWS “© elite group intent on reducing the world's B oO oO K S population by 250 million a year. The geneticist is commissioned to produce a bio- THE BENEFACTOR'S MONKEY logical i i 7 gical agent that would quickly wipe out Bt inher "Ciistooher Morten, 1995 the unwanted millions. He succeeds, but . , also creates an antidote as "insurance". ISBN 0-646-25891-5 (350pp s/c) Though written as a fiction thriller, Price: AUD$15.00 inc. p&h in Aust; AUD$20.00 overseas p&h Available: Australia—Morten Media, 9 Kawanna St, Mudjimba, Qld 4564, phitax +61 (0)7 5448 7464. ANCIENT TONGA & THE LOST CITY Author Christopher Morten lived in OF MU'A Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) off and on for 25 by David Hatcher Childress years (half his life), working in varied occu- publisher: Adventures Unlimited Press pations including farmer, policeman and war Illinois, USA, 1996 , correspondent. In late 1978, while serving ISBN 0-932813-36-4 (216pp s/c) as a volunteer in the Police Anti-terrorist nas . : Unit (PATU) in the northern war zone at the sree B00, NELI3I or tebs is ah height of the Rhodesian civil war, he heard a Available: ‘Aust_—NEXUS Magazine ph medic warn confidentially of a highly conta- , . se gious, lethal, unnamed sexually-transmitted (o STR SO CUR NENG Orie ph disease that was being carried by black 01342 322854: Euror NEXUS Ghioe insurgents entering the Zambezi Valley. h +31 (0)321 aaoseo. USA—AUP, ph Because o! an ethical conflict he was unable (at 5) 253 6390 , P one mon a ae ihe any several ears From the intrepid David Hatcher Childress i" : : years comes this absorbing investigation into the later that the significance of this "New : : : Death" struck him: he realised he had seen archaeological and anthropological history of the great Polynesian empire that once the first days of the terrifying scourge of . : : AIDS. But how could so much already have existed with Tonga at its centre. He has encapsulated an impressive array of evi- been known about this deadly agent back in dence and research that suggests the region '78, when it didn't even have aname? Was a . , . : much more sinister plot behind it? evolved in stages, being subject to migration Morten has woven his hypothesis about waves and periodic influences from India, the origin and purpose of this disease into a Fey Pt, Phoenicia, Libya, Aiea. South ippi , The B ‘s Monkey. ° ee : ° gripping yam, The Benefactor's Monkey of different racial heritages, separated by His scenario involves a genetics genius wd . being recruited by his rich, powerful uncle huge distances, use similar root words in ("the benefactor") who is connected to an their languages only deepens the mystery. Scattered through the islands of Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and Rarotonga are the ruins of megalithic structures—pyramids, platforms, tombs, as well as roads, wharves, forts and moats—that point to a much earlier civilisa- tion, one which had well-developed astro- nomical and technical skills in common with other now-lost megalithic cultures. This begs the question of whether a vast land (Mu or Lemuria), occupied by an advanced cul- ture, did once exist in the Pacific Ocean— until it was ravaged by Earth changes many millennia ago. Childress has reprinted some choice archival photos, illustrations, maps and sym- bols and contributed many of his own on- site colour photos of such wonders as a mas- sive trilithon stone arch in the lost city of Mu'a on Tonga, and the recently discovered stone wall in New Zealand which is similar to ancient walls found in much of Polynesia. Unlike many books by Childress, this is not a travelogue as such, but its engrossing narrative will nevertheless transport the reader for a glimpse into lost worlds. Morten's story contains many elements of truth in view of the mounting research point- ing to AIDS being man-made. ANCIENT TONGA & THE LOST CITY OF MUA By Cvid Hamer Childress INCLUDING 1AMOM, FIJI AND RAROTONGA ANCIENT TONGA & THE LOST CITY OF MU'A by David Hatcher Childress Publisher: Adventures Unlimited Press, Illinois, USA, 1996 ISBN 0-932813-36-4 (216pp s/c) Price: AUD$25.00; NZD$32.00 + p&h; STG£16.00; NFLf31.90; USD$15.95+p/h Available: Aust—NEXUS Magazine, ph (07) 5442 9280; NZ—NEXUS Office, ph (09) 416 7320; UK—NEXUS Office, ph 01342 322854; Europe—NEXUS Office, ph +31 (0)321 380558; USA—AUP, ph (815) 253 6390. From the intrepid David Hatcher Childress comes this absorbing investigation into the archaeological and anthropological history of the great Polynesian empire that once existed with Tonga at its centre. He has encapsulated an impressive array of evi- dence and research that suggests the region evolved in stages, being subject to migration waves and periodic influences from India, Egypt, Phoenicia, Libya, East Africa, South America and China. The fact that islanders of different racial heritages, separated by huge distances, use similar root words in their languages only deepens the mystery. Scattered through the islands of Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and Rarotonga are the ruins of megalithic structures—pyramids, platforms, tombs, as well as roads, wharves, forts and moats—that point to a much earlier civilisa- tion, one which had well-developed astro- nomical and technical skills in common with other now-lost megalithic cultures. This begs the question of whether a vast land (Mu or Lemuria), occupied by an advanced cul- ture, did once exist in the Pacific Ocean— until it was ravaged by Earth changes many millennia ago. Childress has reprinted some choice archival photos, illustrations, maps and sym- bols and contributed many of his own on- site colour photos of such wonders as a mas- sive trilithon stone arch in the lost city of Mu'a on Tonga, and the recently discovered stone wall in New Zealand which is similar to ancient walls found in much of Polynesia. Unlike many books by Childress, this is not a travelogue as such, but its engrossing narrative will nevertheless transport the reader for a glimpse into lost worlds. 76 * NEXUS JUNE - JULY 1997