UNITED States author Keith Dahlberg has released his mining novel South Sea Gold on PNG Attitude as a gift to the people of Papua New Guinea.

The novel began appearing in serial form in March on Keith’s blog (it can be downloaded at the end of this article) in recognition that many Papua New Guineans have difficulty affording to buy books.

The novel, which carries a serious message, tells of Tom Akani, reporter for the (fictitious) Port Moresby Journal, who has his eyes opened to conditions in his country's mining industry when he gets threats to his family and to the newspaper. His ongoing investigation reveals a plot endangering the national government itself.

A reviewer of South Sea Gold, Dorothy Harper, writes: “The author chooses a country and culture that is obscure to many, if not most, of us to demonstrate that the engine that drives advances and economic prosperity is the same everywhere (unfortunately): greed and corruption.

Mr Dahlberg says he is making the book available without charge as “an author's gift to a great people who live in a beautiful country.

“But, like so many places in the world today,” he says, “PNG is threatened by the rampant exploitation of its resources.”

For further information and reviews go to the Amazon website here.