Australian books from the Far East

THE selected pieces from the Australian Museum magazine that make up the glossy Treasury of "Australian Wildlife (edited by Dr. D. F.

McMichael), are interesting on their own account; so are the many illustrations—-including over 30 plates in colour. Material ranges through Australia’s unique animals, birds, fish and other sea creatures, bugs and butterflies.

Interesting, too, for anyone interested in books, per se, is the fact that this beautifully-produced book, on fine art paper, over 300 pages long, sells for 5A7.95. If a similar book were produced in Australia it would likely cost twice that.

This book, like so many other glossy Australiana books, was pro duced in the Far East—Hong Kong, in this case, although it could as easily have been Japan or Taiwan.

Also from Hong Kong printers and the same Australian publishers is Possum Moods —a smaller but still glossy book by Paule Ridpath whose story and photographs amusingly tell something about the suburban possum.

Two years ago only a trickle of Australian and New Zealand books from Australian and New Zealand publishers, written by Aus tralians and New Zealanders, were produced away from their own countries. The trickle has now become a flood.

A-NZ printing and publishing costs are ferocious; anything but plain printing, on plain paper, with the minimum of illustrations, is becoming prohibitive. Publishers cannot be blamed for trying to produce books at a cost customers can afford—even if they have to go foreign to do it.

Nonetheless, the ultimate result of this will be interesting to see.

Will a duty be slapped on foreign-produced books? Or will all Australian and New Zealand publishing companies finally remove themselves to the Far East and operate from there? (TREASURY OP AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE, $7.95; POSSUM MOODS, $2.95.

Published by Ure Smith Pty. Ltd., Sydney).