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Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea Paperback – November 1, 2004

by Kira Salak (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 204 ratings
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A New York Times Notable Book about a PEN Award–winning journalist’s extraordinary journey through the last frontier of adventure travel.   At the age of twenty-four, Kira Salak took a three-month solo trip across Papua New Guinea, making her the first woman to have traversed the whole country. Amid the breathtaking landscapes and wildlife, she navigated the island by dugout canoe and on foot. Along the way, she stayed in a village where people still practice cannibalism behind the backs of the missionaries; met the leader of the OPM, the separatist guerrilla movement opposing the Indonesian occupation of Western New Guinea; and undertook an epic trek through the jungle. Four Corners is also an interior journey as she explores her dysfunctional family's past and the demons that drive her to experience situations that most of us can barely imagine. Reading more like a thriller than a travel memoir, Four Corners is compulsive armchair travel at its very best.
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  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    National Geographic
  4. Publication date
    November 1, 2004
  5. Dimensions
    5.98 x 0.88 x 8.99 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780792274179
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0792274179
  8. See all details
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  1. New Guinea: Nature and Culture of Earth's Grandest Island
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kira Salak is a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and contributing editor to National Geographic Adventure magazine. A PEN Award–winning journalist, she has traveled alone to almost every continent, visiting some of the world's most remote places, including locations in Madagascar, Mozambique, Bangladesh, and Borneo. She was the first documented person to kayak solo 600 miles down West Africa's Niger River. Salak was also the first woman to traverse Papua New Guinea, a country she writes about in her New York Times Notable Book Four Corners. She lives with her husband and daughter in Germany.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0792274172
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ National Geographic; Reprint edition (November 1, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780792274179
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0792274179
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.98 x 0.88 x 8.99 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 204 ratings

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Kira Salak

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
204 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Oksana
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best travel adventures I've ever read; compelling, a page-turner, didn't want it to end! GREAT BOOK
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2016
Verified Purchase
I've read many travel adventure books,, this is one of the best I've EVER read. Kira has a Phd. in English literature, so it's well-written. Her tale starts out in southern Africa, where she makes the insane decision to cross Mozambique (alone) during its 30+ year civil war. I wondered if she had a death wish. Kira details her strange childhood; being raised by Ayn Rand fanatics who didn't believe in loving their children or celebrating birthdays. To fill the void, Kira decides to travel. Her harrowing, near fatal experience with rebel soldiers in Mozambique sets up her journey to cross Papua New Guinea, by river & trekking, alone. This book was so involving that I couldn't put it down, but I didn't want it to end either. I would have read another 200 pages. As Kira travels & meets ex-pats, tribal people, missionaries (whom all loathe the tribal customs & the tribal people) & guerrilla fighters (fighting the genocide, that's being committed on the New Guinean tribes that live over the border in Irian Jaya, by the Indonesian government), she grows in confidence & begins to discover that she is okay just the way she is: she's worthy of love. Kira's bravery against potential rapists is extraordinary, her ability to learn pidgin & relate to the tribes is wonderful. Kira's travel to the deepest regions of PNG & her descriptions of the different colors of the rain forest, the Birds of Paradise, the colorful headdresses worn by the tribesmen make you feel like you're right there with her. It's a grueling journey; a trek up & down a jungle mountain in a torrential rainstorm at night, barefoot, but she overcomes every obstacle. This is an empowering book for women. My only regret is that Kira didn't bring a camera (this was before digital cameras) so there are no photos. If you want to know what it's like to travel alone, across PNG, as a woman, forgoing all comforts & hotel lodgings, this great book will make you feel that you're on the journey with the author. Her empathy for the tribes people whose entire families are being massacred by the Indonesian Muslims is heartrending. It is a holocaust that we don't hear about in the US press. When New Guinea was divided into independent PNG & Indonesian Irian Jaya, the systematic destruction of the indigenous tribal people & the Indonesian government's illegal deforestation of the rain forest continues to this day. What the Indonesian government has wrought on Borneo; deforestation, burning the remaining brush to make room for palm oil plantations (wiping out the habit of Orangutans) is the same thing that is happening in Irian Jaya, only the tribal people are Melanesian (a different race) & not Muslim, so the Indonesian government continues to slaughter entire tribes. I wish Kira would would write more travel adventure stories. HIGH RECOMMENDED.
6 people found this helpful
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Harmony
4.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book!
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2023
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Flew through this travel memoir and felt like I joined Kira on her trek. Wonderfully written, like her other novel on her trip to Timbuktu.
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C. Rothwell
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Journey - Highly Recommended
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2017
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I read White Mary a few years ago and was totally entranced by it, one of those books that totally absorbs you. So when I found out I was heading to Papua New Guinea and saw this, also by Kira Salak, I bought it immediately. I was not disappointed at all. Kira's writing grips the reader and she writes extraordinarily well, you feel like you are with her. Probably one of the biggest attractions for me, is her emotional and self-awareness while writing. It is an outer as well as inner journey and she makes this interesting and relate-able for everyone. We are all on a journey of self-identity. I so admire Kira's courage and willingness to put herself in situations that push the boundaries of safety and comfort. This seems stupid at times, too, but it is fascinating to go along for the ride with her. Highly recommended.
One person found this helpful
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Keith C.
5.0 out of 5 stars Inside New Guinea
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2022
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I read Kira's book on the Congo before I came across this one and found it to be an interesting view of New Guinea as she sees the country form the inside and doesn't try to gloss over its problems. Anyone interested should also read Walking With Ghosts about the Kokoda Trail.
One person found this helpful
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MV
3.0 out of 5 stars good look at the New Guinea culture
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2011
Excellent look at the cultures of New Guinea and the startling differences across cultures even today. However, the narrator is irritating in the self-indulgent "woe is me" way so common in autobiographical voices. Does everyone who writes a memoir view their childhood as the "reason" why they have to share their experiences? Somehow, through the sharing the "horrors" of childhood will be vindicated?

Salak puts herself in harms way over and over again, attempting to prove to herself that she is worthy of living. She is also seeking that "transcendent" meaning in her life. I'm tired of journeys motivated by this goal because everything that happens becomes filtered through this weird self-reflective glare, as if all events that happen are "about" the author. The author is neither observer or participant but actor in his/her own drama. The ending of the book is particularly unsatisfying with a rather pedantic summing up of what Salak "got" out of her journey.

Having said all of that, I did enjoy the glimpses we get of the culture, the environment, the mosquitoes, the cock roaches, the rainforest.
2 people found this helpful
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Katie
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing! I rented the book from the library and ...
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2015
Verified Purchase
Amazing! I rented the book from the library and ended up buying it shortly thereafter just so I would be able to read it again and again. Kira Salak is a wonderful writer and a all around tough chick! It is one of those books that you will be thinking about long after you are finished with the last page.
One person found this helpful
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Ramdas Iyer
4.0 out of 5 stars Very well written and exciting. Sometimes wonder why she ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2017
Verified Purchase
Very well written and exciting. Sometimes wonder why she has a death or rape wish. I am off to PNG this month and it gives a glimpse into the psyche of the people there
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Dallas Alice
5.0 out of 5 stars loved it
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2019
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This is an amazing story that I didn't want to put down! I have read quite a few travel adventure books and this is definitely one of the best written, awe inspiring, harrowing adventures I have read. The author puts herself in constant danger in order to work out inner demons so it makes for an edge of your seat kind of travel book. I would never travel like Kira did but I admire her for her nerve. I would read more from this author!
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Top reviews from other countries

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Shyam Kodavarthi
5.0 out of 5 stars Robert Ludlum of travel writing
Reviewed in India on January 17, 2021
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An incredible book. She captures you in the first page and doesn't leave you until the last page. She is the Robert Ludlum of travel writing.
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FvP
5.0 out of 5 stars Alles bestens, gerne wieder!
Reviewed in Germany on July 2, 2019
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Alles bestens, gerne wieder!
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Bethany Godfrey
3.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading
Reviewed in France on December 10, 2015
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More of a tale about Kira Salak's experiences and her struggle to find acceptance and happiness in herself, with Papua New Guinea as a backdrop, then a really descriptive travel book. Serves as a basic introduction towards PNG that is a good place to start if you want to read more about the subject. I enjoyed Kira's story and how she survived in the jungles of PNG, meeting interesting characters and overcoming many obstacles. Definitely worth reading and I would read her other books as well.
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Sophie
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding adventure memoir
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2015
Verified Purchase
I truly love this book. Read it 10 years ago at school and just had to find it again. It's surprisingly hard to get hold of so I was very pleased to find it here. It is a remarkable book that made me fall in love with adventure all those years ago. You really feel like you on the journey with Kira. It's a gripping read.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Waste of money & time
Reviewed in India on November 4, 2019
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One of worst books,never buy
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