David Stanleys South Pacific Handbook - new edition due?

Hi folks

The title says it all really - does anyone know when the new (9th) edition of Moon's South Pacific Handbook by David Stanley is due out? I was gonna buy the current edition but it was published in 2004. Surely an update is due?!

PS, don't worry LP, I've already got your south pacific guide! :-)

You can check on David's website, I think it's www.southpacific.org

If it's out, you can probably order it directly via that website for faster service.

Raro

When I asked DS earlier this year, he told me he was only doing the new editions of the Fiji and Tahiti books this year, with no new edition of the South Pacific Handbook in sight.

With that in mind, just get the 2004 one.
You already have the new LP for more time-sensitive info anyway, but the Handbook will still supplement it well.
While it doesn't cover Micronesia, it has much more info than LP on Melanesia and Polynesia.

thats a shame, although i might go with the new Fiji handbook as I recon i'll be spending most time there. By the time i go the south pacific handbook will be 4 years out of date, too.

By the way Lazlo & Raro, I finally booked my tickets yesterday and got Fiji as a very cheap optional stop en route to Oz (via NZ too, and back via Hong Kong.) Just wanted to thank you both for your good advice in my other threads :-) I cant wait to hit the islands now!

Stanley is getting on in years and it's not surprising to see his productivity drop-I note his so called blog hasn't seen any new material in months and months.

Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah

You're welcome Bedlam, have a good trip!

DS New fiji edition is out -- i have it in my hands. especially like the write up about the bainimarama coup.
He is apparently on travels right now, and will keep up with the blog later.

I got this from David Stanley on Saturday:
>>A new edition of Moon South Pacific won't be appearing anytime soon.
>>I'll try to post an explanation of what's happening on http://www.southpacific.org/blog next week.

And a day later, the explanation is already on that website - the Handbook is finished.

Hi Laszlo--
when I first read your reply, I thought you mant the new edition was "finished" and ready for sale! However, as the blog explains, the SPH itself is "finished", as in will not be updated, no more editions at all. This is a real shame. But maybe DS can get a lot of the info onto his website, and somehow charge a little for access, to repay him for all his hard work.

Raro,
I wish your first interpretation had been right!
That said, I am not at all surprised by these developments. When I toured the SW Pacific, I didn't meet a single person using the Handbook. Fact is, most folks automatically buy LP these days, regardless of quality, so the Handbook's days must have been numbered from the time LP produced its first multi-country SP guide - even though I did actually see the SPH on sale in the biggest bookshops in NZ and AU.
It's a real shame as I found Stanley's book way better.
But of course researching the Pacific must be more expensive than any other part of the World, so if there's no longer a profit to be made on the book, I guess it's logical to discontinue.
Like David wrote, I am pretty sure this will mean that the LP guide(s) will get even sketchier as LP no longer has a competition for most countries.
Good that at least the Fiji and Tahiti handbooks survive, and PNG may also get a single-country guide by one of LP's competitor's within a year or two - I know the author-to-be, though they are still in the negotiating phase.