Unsung Land, Aspiring Nation

In 2016, Gordon Peake answered a job advertisement to work with the government of Bougainville, a group of islands on the eastern fringe of Papua New Guinea looking to strike out as a country of its own.

This was sometimes not the energetic state building project he imagined. So instead he spent his spare time travelling with former rebels, seeking out death metal bands, and awakening the spirit of a dead anthropologist from his alma mater to create an unforgettable portrait of this potential nation-in-waiting.

Blending narrative history, travelogue, and personal reminiscences based on four years of working in Bougainville, Unsung Land, Aspiring Nation is both an engaging memoir as well as an insightful and poignant reflection into the realities of nation-making and foreign assistance programs.

Limited edition copies of “Unsung Land, Aspiring Nation” are available to buy through the shop page.

"Heartfelt and honest. This book is an insightful read and a valuable addition to scholarship on Bougainville’s journey to peace."

– Joseph Nobetau, former Chief Secretary to the Autonomous Bougainville Governmentenny

"An excellent piece of engaged travel writing. With first-hand observation and curiosity, Gordon has produced a deeply informed, compelling and evocative account of war, survival and nation-building in what may become the world’s newest country."

– Tom Bamforth, author of The Rising Tide: Among the Islands and Atolls of the Pacific Ocean

Gordon Peake’s marvellous new book Unsung Land, Aspiring Nation … is both entertaining and insightful.It is a book to be read for enjoyment, for understanding, and for better aid policy.

– Stephen Howes, Development Policy Centre