Bookselling in a Pacific Island Paradise
By Andrew Wilkins writing for Publishing Perspectives

NUKU'ALOFA. TONGA: With an economy based on farming, fishing and some tourism, there's not a huge demand for consumer books in Tonga, although the country has the highest literacy rate in the Pacific (over 98%) and a good primary and secondary education system. Still, it's enough to support a handful of small publishers and a bookstore chain - the Friendly Islands Bookshop - which has outlets on each of the country's four main islands.Unlike the early European explorers of the Pacific, such as Abel Tasman and Captain James Cook, it's hard these days to stumble across Tonga by accident. (read on...)