Miloslav Stingl spent majority of his life traveling, studying and popularizing the history and culture of the Pacific Islands. He wrote nine books which dealt exclusively with the Pacific, a.o. „Neznámou Mikronésií“ (Across Unknown Micronesia, 1976), fully illustrated book of more than 500 pages, which has a wide coverage of Palau. First Czech edition was published in an astonishing print-run of 65,000 copies and after becomming a bestseller it was soon translated into German, Russian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Slovak, Lithuanian and Latvian thus reaching the readership of more than 400 million readers. As its popularity did not vanished, new thoroughly rewritten edition was published as recently as 2011.

 

Miloslav Stingl is one of a few Europeans who thoroughly studied Micronesian history, culture and art and visited all – but one – Micronesian nations in the second half of the 20th century. And above it, as a bestselling writer whose 40+ books were published in 32 languages in a total print run of almost 17 million copies, he was read by three generations of readers not only in his native Czech Republic, but the whole Central and Eastern Europe. He was thus undoubtedly the No. 1 promotor of Micronesia without whose pioneering work the knowledge of Palau in Central and Eastern Europe will be very limited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Background information

 

Miloslav Stingl was born on 19 December 1930 in a small Czech city of Bílina. After graduating in law and ethnography, he started working at Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, where his responsibilities were study of non-European nations, their cultures and art. Although he has published numerous scientific articles in the field of ethnography, participated in many scientific conferences, his main role was the role of promoter on non-European cultures. He has made numerous films during his travels, the most important of his TV projects is Czech-German series „Around the World with Miloslav Stingl“, which had 33 episodes, covering also Micronesia.

He has published his first book at the age of 32 and during the 1970s Miloslav Stingl became a prolific writer. Majority of his books, which combine travelogues and popular history, cover old American cultures (Mayas and Incas), Native American Indians  and the countries and cultures of the Pacific Islands.

 

 

List of non-fiction books by Miloslav Stingl on the Pacific Islands

• Ostrovy lidojedů                       (Islands of Cannibals, 1970) (Melanesia)

• Poslední ráj                               (The Last Paradise, 1974) (Polynesia)

• Neznámou Mikronésií (Across Unknown Micronesia, 1976)          

• Očarovaná Havaj                    (Enchanted Hawaii, 1981)   

• Smrt v ráji                                 (Death in Paradise, 1988)    

• Vládcové jižních moří(Rulers of the South Seas, 1996)    

• Vládcové ráje                            (Rulers of Paradise, 2005)  

• Havaj je nejlepší                       (Hawaii is No. 1, 2006)        

• Ostrovy krásy, lásky a lidojedů(Islands of Beauty, Love and Cannibals, 2011) (Micronesia and Melanesia)