First Taint of Civilization: A History of the Caroline and Marshall

Father Francis X. Hezel is a fine historian, meticulous in research and perceptive in drawing conclusions. He is also a wonderful writer. Anyone who is interested in the colorful history of the Caroline Islands should start with this book, and then move on to his others. Much of Hezel's research can be freely read online, via the Micronesia Seminar website.

Fran Hezel is a Jesuit Priest and life-long resident of Micronesia, especially Chuuk and Pohnpei States. He is a true renaissance man.Buy/read anything he edits or authors!

Great reference for any scholarly work on the Caroline Islsnds

Micronesia contrary to common beliefs was not discovered as it was always settled by the people who call it home. In any case, whether by accident or by design, the region served as host to many colonial administrations (Spanish, Germany, Japan and the United States).This book is an excellent source for those people intending to understand the history of the region through the eyes of foreigners. This book reviewed all existing documents that relates to that era, from church documents to ship logs and other communication between the colonial home countries and people in the field.It is rich, but it is not a complete history of the place as people from the region are exluded from it pages, except in instances when they were described by the writers as evidenced by written records.Any student of history, especially those studying the region, this book is a must, but it must be read knowing that it is simply a history of those who came, saw, recorded and returned home.