'White's book is a rich and nuanced contribution to the literature on perceptions of the past and colonial change in the Pacific ... an important contribution to Pacific anthropology.' Man
"Identity Through History is a brilliant ethnographic study of the construction of cultural identity in the Maringe subregion of Santa Isabel, Solomon Islands, where Geoffrey White carried out extensive fieldwork from 1974 to 1988....clearly written and carefully organized." Ethnohistory
"With this fascinating, beautifully written study of Santa Isabel society and history, Geoffrey White presents a sympathetic and penetrating analysis of the psycho-historical processes underlying neo-traditionalism....I found myself equally impressed by the immediacy of history in Santa Isabel villagers' consciousness as by White's gift as a storyteller in his own right.... White's important book deserves careful study by Pacific historians and anthropologists." John Barker, Pacific Affairs
"Meticulously researched and eloquently written...an elegant synthesis, a rigorously crafted history, and a superb ethnography." Journal of Interdisciplinary History
"A richly detailed, brilliantly conceived, and beautifully executed book, Identity through History is a quiet tour de force...The book is a pleasure to read and think with." American Anthropologist
"Geoffrey White's analysis of the manner in which the Cheke Holo of Santa Isabel in the Solomon Islands use their historical narratives to construct their history is a thoroughly intelligent book...wonderfully written: one leaves it wishing all groups had ethnographers as lucid and as concerned with getting things right." Contemporary Pacific
"White's book is a rich and nuanced contribution to the literature on perceptions of the past and colonial change in the Pacific." Man
"White demonstrates with great force, no understanding of identity in the Solomon is possible without a detailed description of local histories, that is, of the processes whereby people produce a significant account of the events of conversion and colonisation." Pascal Boyer, King's College
"White's distinctive contribution is to connect his analysis of the social production of meaning with consideration of the person .... White's book is a sophisticated and pathbreaking addition to work in history and identity." Lin Poyer, University of Cincinnati
"...a valuable addition to the historical anthropology of the Pacific." Margaret Jolly, Pacific Studies
"Identity through History provides a solid description of the ways in which the local production of history on Santa Isabel is also a production of identity." Pascal Boyer, Pacific Studies