Product Description

The Times, Saturday 4th March 2006, wrote:

This is a rare book — one that is very funny but, at the same time, tells us something about how important it is that people who do not have much in this life should be able to pursue their claims to justice with at least some chance of success.

Ells may laugh at himself and his efforts, but ultimately the reader suspects that he made a big difference to the lives of those he helped, and for that his voluntary work for the VSO, and this highly entertaining book he has written about it, deserves full marks.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44767 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Daily Mail
'This witty, honest account just goes to prove it's never too late to jump off that nine-to-five treadmill'

Jonathan Dimbleby
'A delightful read - sharp and humorous'

City to City magazine, June/July 06
A richly funny book, Philip Ells draws wonderful pen pictures of what must have been the experience of a lifetime.

Customer Reviews

I just could not put it down
This book brought back some memories. I went through VSO screening to be one of two doctors for two years on Tuvalu in 1992. Unlike Philip Ells I chickened at the last moment and lost all the fun and challenges. Very enjoyable, amusing and informative read.

This book should be compulsory pre-deployment reading for all VSO and UNV Volunteers.

An engaging story of culture shock on many levels
This book was re-published in 2006 as "Where The Hell Is Tuvalu?". The 2006 edition adds a short (6 page) epilogue which gives the major details about Tuvalu's history after Ells left the country in 1996, but the epilogue is not an essential read and so this edition is still a worthwhile read.

It is an engagingly written account that covers Ells' culture shock spending so much time as an Englishman abroad, neatly balancing the personal and light-hearted social problems with the fundamental clashes of ethics and politics.

The cast of characters involved is a little hard to keep track of and Ells' habit of "hinting forward" to things he hasn't written about yet is a little confusing in parts but otherwise it is a very well-written and readable book, and should be read by any Western reader- whether you think you've got it good, or you think your own circumstances are terrible, this book will give you pause for thought.

Who knew the law was so funny!
A thoroughly enjoyable, amusing and informative read. I couldn't put it down, not just for the humour and Tuvalu anecdotes but also for the intelligent insights into the legal profession. The People's Lawyer shows the inapplicability of strict aspects of English law in a vastly different culture, but also the universal applicability of the basic concept of rule of law. Legal theory and laugh-out-loud jokes in the same book!