Kalimantan is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo which lies within the South Pacific Ring of Fire. The name Kalimantan, derived from the Sanskrit word Kalamanthana, means “burning weather island”, referring to its hot and humid tropical climate. Borneo is a “high island” and was formed by volcanic magma rising to the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Geologists estimate that Sumatra, Java, Bali, and the island of Borneo were formed by this process between four and five million years ago. The human history of the archipelago can be considered a reflection of the geologic turmoil that created much of Indonesia. The Gold of Kalimantan is a story that illustrates that surface upheaval. Kalimantan is an island rich in mineral resources and biological diversity. Although sacred to the indigenous Dayaks for centuries, the Tugu Mas , or “ mountain of gold ” is discovered by the crew of a Catalina PBY reconnaissance. At the outbreak of WWII, the seaplane is chased into the interior of Kalimantan before it ultimately crashes into the dense jungle. One man, John Wang, survives and carries with him the knowledge of the Tugu Mas to a hospital in the Dutch Naval Headquarters at Surabaya. When the Dutch Fleet is destroyed by advancing Japanese naval forces in early 1942, John Wang is one of the many wounded that is left behind. Knowing his fate, John sends a shoebox with maps and gold nuggets to his parents in San Francisco by way of an American destroyer evacuating civilians to the United States. The shoebox remains undiscovered until 1968 when it is found by an anthropology professor and a student at the University of California at Berkeley. That discovery sets off a series of events which draws friends together in the search for the gold and alternately threatens to tear them apart as it becomes apparent that resource extraction on the island will have a detrimental effect on the indigenous people of Kalimantan. The story produces examples of human perseverance, hope, and love which outlasts the brutality of war and rises again like the volcanic magma that formed the Tugu Mas . In spite of their separate labors, compassion and empathy for others is rediscovered by the characters in this drama and recognized as the true Gold of Kalimantan . The Gold of Kalimantan is a spellbinding story linking the atrocities of war, greed, and endurance from oppression, with goodness and human sacrifice in a beautiful story filled with love and compassion. This excellent read connects the quest for gold with the unlikely considerations for preservation of indigenous cultures and ecological conservancy adroitly going from past to present and perhaps even into the future.