Beloved Land

stories, struggles, and secrets from Timor-Leste

Nonfiction, Travel, Adventure & Literary Travel, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book Beloved Land by Gordon Peake, Scribe Publications Pty Ltd
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Gordon Peake ISBN: 9781922072689
Publisher: Scribe Publications Pty Ltd Publication: August 26, 2013
Imprint: Scribe Language: English
Author: Gordon Peake
ISBN: 9781922072689
Publisher: Scribe Publications Pty Ltd
Publication: August 26, 2013
Imprint: Scribe
Language: English

WINNER OF THE 2014 ACT BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD

At the stroke of midnight on 20 May 2002, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste became the first new nation of the 21st century. From that moment, those who fought for independence have faced a challenge even bigger than shaking off Indonesian occupation: running a country of their own.

Beloved Land picks up the story where world attention left off. Blending narrative history, travelogue, and personal reminiscences based on four years of living in the country, Gordon Peake shows the daunting hurdles that the people of Timor-Leste must overcome to build a nation from scratch, and how much the international community has to learn if it is to help rather than hinder the process. Family politics, squabbles, power struggles, old romances, and even older grudges are woven into life in this land of intrigue and rumours in the most remarkable ways.

Yet above all, Beloved Land is a story about the one million East Timorese who speak nearly 20 different languages, and who are exuberantly building their nation. Written with verve and deep affection, the book introduces a set of colourful Timorese and international characters, and brings them to life unforgettably.

PRAISE FOR GORDON PEAKE

‘Besides being a political diagnosis, it’s an absorbing piece of travel writing, vivid and full of well-turned character sketches … The mixture of forthrightness and warmth, and knowledge, makes this book not simply informative but in a quiet way exemplary.’ The Saturday Age

‘Peake’s book is a poignant and invariably deadpan mix of anecdote and analysis, and in my view is the best thing written in English about the country in many a long year.’ The Edge Review

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

WINNER OF THE 2014 ACT BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD

At the stroke of midnight on 20 May 2002, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste became the first new nation of the 21st century. From that moment, those who fought for independence have faced a challenge even bigger than shaking off Indonesian occupation: running a country of their own.

Beloved Land picks up the story where world attention left off. Blending narrative history, travelogue, and personal reminiscences based on four years of living in the country, Gordon Peake shows the daunting hurdles that the people of Timor-Leste must overcome to build a nation from scratch, and how much the international community has to learn if it is to help rather than hinder the process. Family politics, squabbles, power struggles, old romances, and even older grudges are woven into life in this land of intrigue and rumours in the most remarkable ways.

Yet above all, Beloved Land is a story about the one million East Timorese who speak nearly 20 different languages, and who are exuberantly building their nation. Written with verve and deep affection, the book introduces a set of colourful Timorese and international characters, and brings them to life unforgettably.

PRAISE FOR GORDON PEAKE

‘Besides being a political diagnosis, it’s an absorbing piece of travel writing, vivid and full of well-turned character sketches … The mixture of forthrightness and warmth, and knowledge, makes this book not simply informative but in a quiet way exemplary.’ The Saturday Age

‘Peake’s book is a poignant and invariably deadpan mix of anecdote and analysis, and in my view is the best thing written in English about the country in many a long year.’ The Edge Review

More books from Scribe Publications Pty Ltd

Cover of the book Your Brain Knows More Than You Think by Gordon Peake
Cover of the book Comfort Zone by Gordon Peake
Cover of the book Wakool Crossing by Gordon Peake
Cover of the book The Show by Gordon Peake
Cover of the book The Boy from Baradine by Gordon Peake
Cover of the book Learning to Die by Gordon Peake
Cover of the book The Dictionary of Animal Languages by Gordon Peake
Cover of the book In Brazil by Gordon Peake
Cover of the book Hope Farm by Gordon Peake
Cover of the book Things I Did for Money by Gordon Peake
Cover of the book Chasing Bohemia by Gordon Peake
Cover of the book Comeback by Gordon Peake
Cover of the book Dead in the Water by Gordon Peake
Cover of the book Walking the Camino by Gordon Peake
Cover of the book Two Novellas: In the Sanatorium and Facing the Sea by Gordon Peake
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy