The New Friendly Islanders: The Tonga of King Taufa'Ahau Tupou Iv/Published to Mark the Occasion of the Seventy-Fifth Birthday of the King on 4 July

This tiny archipelago of islands in the South Pacific has so far avoided republican overthrow and military coup, unlike its neighbour Fiji. What are its chances of surviving intact into the millenium? Kenneth Bain allows the Tongan people - from the ordinary citizen up to the King himself - to put forward their own opinions concerning everything from reform of Tonga's Legislative Assembly to the monarchy and the royal succession. A portrait emerges of a South Seas islands culture of great charm and character, yet divided within. As it contemplates possessing its own telecommunication satellite, Tonga faces conflict over its feudal heritage.