Books reviewed by Paul Talbot

Doctor on Board by Dr J HauertDoctor on Board

by Dr J Hauert
published by Sheridan House
RRP $29.99
(96pp; 215mm x 150mm)
Published in Australia by Allen and Unwin, Doctor on Board comes cheaply, considering that Murphy’s Law is so alive and well on a cruising or racing boat. While it addresses first aid skills in a few pages, on the basis that training in first aid is readily available, the book goes beyond first responses to deal with mishaps and events that can so easily occur.
Of course, the book is not intending to turn sailors into surgeons, but tips on dealing with injuries from fish hooks to fractures; health matters from epilepsy to diabetes; and poisons to bites are dealt with in simple, but helpful terms. Treatments are shown with excellent pictures and diagrams so that the advice is easily followed.
There is no denying that some prior experience in the treatment of simple accidents is useful. Take for example the little section on relieving bleeding under the toenail or fingernail. If you didn’t know it would work, then plunging a heated piece of wire like a paper clip into the nail might be too much for some. But there it is in the book with a nice little picture to demonstrate.
Doctor on Board comes into its own with its advice about an amazing array of more catastrophic events. That’s where the $30 is well spent.

Find Me An Island by Chris SutcliffeFind Me An Island

by Chris Sutcliffe
published by Equilibrium Books
RRP $27.95 (297pp; 210mm x 150mm)
Find me an Island is Chris Sutcliffe’s first book. His CV reflects extensive experience in communications. Chris has a Masters Degree in Educational Studies, which has qualified him to teach English and English as a Second Language. He has turned his hand to song writing and composing and has been published in Music Trader magazine. It seems from that background it would only be a matter of time before he took on the more challenging task of writing a novel.
The author has cast his book across several genres. Find Me An Island is first and foremost, a mystery novel. It starts with a dead body, a storm, a disappearance of boat and owner and the efforts of local police and press to solve the “crime/s”. Then, the book is travel book highlighting various bits of the South Pacific, including a sleepy little coastal, Australian town. And, these storylines are dressed up inside a sailing story.
As it turns out, Find Me An Island is something of a plaything for its author with twists providing enigmatic turns of events in every chapter. It appears that Sutcliffe draws great enjoyment from revealing unexpected bits of plot as he weaves the general tale. For an author in his first novel, Sutcliffe does this skilfully and seamlessly, revealing just enough to encourage the reader on to the next part of the plot.
Find Me An Island brings together two mates, on a mission to clear the south seas of lost shipping containers; one sailor and boat thought lost in a violent storm; a dead body in a coastal town ravaged by the same storm and a journalist and a maritime officer trying to put the pieces together. To go too deeply into the plot would spoil the read. But suffice to say, Sutcliffe finds a way to carry off the intricacies.
Find Me An Island is a book easily picked up and consumed. The production might be something the publishers might move to a different level if Sutcliffe proves even a tad successful – as I would say he deserves to be. Hard to know exactly where this one might be acquired, but first guess would be to contact the publishers via their web site at www.equilibriumbooks.com