Mingling the sacred and the profane, Martin Edmond
The Penguin Book of New Zealand War Writing Harry Ricketts and Gavin McLean (eds) Penguin Books, $65.00, ISBN 9780143573098 Oddly enough – or perhaps not – when this book arrived at my door I...
View Article“The messy abundance”, Lydia Wevers
Entanglements of Empire: Missionaries, Ma¯ori, and the Question of the Body Tony Ballantyne Auckland University Press, $40.00, ISBN 9781869408268 Tony Ballantyne is famous throughout the world of...
View ArticleMāori and Crown relationships Rewa Morgan
Kūpapa – The Bitter Legacy of Māori Alliances with the Crown Ron Crosby Penguin Random House, $65.00, ISBN 9780143573111 Recently, we as a nation have experienced more commemoration and public history...
View ArticleThe thing-ness of history, Cherie Lacey
The Lives of Colonial Objects Annabel Cooper, Lachy Paterson and Angela Wanhalla (eds) Otago University Press, $50.00, ISBN 9781927322024 The Lives of Colonial Objects seeks to tell the history, or...
View ArticleThe Richie McCaw of golf caddies, Spiro Zavos
Out of the Rough Steve Williams with Michael Donaldson Penguin, $40.00, ISBN 9780143573555 Here is Adam Scott, the languid Australian golfer, on the second playoff hole of the 2013 Masters. He has...
View ArticleThe archaeologist of memory, Ingrid Horrocks
The Dreaming Land Martin Edmond Bridget Williams Books, $40.00, ISBN 9780908321490 The Dreaming Land is Martin Edmond’s first full-length work of autobiography, but he’s been working in the territory...
View ArticleDriving home, Ann Beaglehole
Migrant Journeys: New Zealand Taxi Drivers tell their Stories Adrienne Jansen and Liz Grant (Michael Hall photographer) Bridget Williams Books, $40.00, ISBN 9781927277331 In Adrienne Jansen’s 1990 book...
View ArticleTelling our stories to ourselves, Chris Else
Jerome Kaino: My Story Jerome Kaino Penguin, $40.00, ISBN 9780143573562 Wildboy Brando Yelavich Penguin, $35.00, ISBN 9780143573159 The Good Doctor Lance O’Sullivan Penguin, $38.00, ISBN 9780143572510...
View ArticleBefore and after, Christina Stachurski
Remembering Christchurch: Voices from Decades Past Alison Parr Penguin, $45.00, ISBN 9780143573371 A Villa at the End of the Empire: One Hundred Ways to Read a City Fiona Farrell Vintage, $40.00, ISBN...
View ArticleState-of-the-education-nation, Elizabeth Crayford
The Rhetoric and the Reality: New Zealand Schools and Schooling in the 21st Century David Hood Fraser Books, $39.50, ISBN 9780992247638 David Hood has written a thorough, detailed and impassioned plea...
View ArticleFizz with zip, Wystan Curnow
Zizz! The Life and Art of Len Lye In his own words with Roger Horrocks Awa Press, $30.00, ISBN 9781927249215 Back in 1965, aged 26, I walked into the Howard Wise Gallery in New York and saw the best...
View ArticleFrom the sidelines, Michele A’Court
Dan Carter: My Story Dan Carter with Duncan Greive Upstart Press, $50.00 ISBN 9781927262382 Here’s a crazy idea – get someone who doesn’t give a toss about rugby to review the autobiography of the...
View ArticleTales from the colonial crypt, Jock Phillips
Unearthly Landscapes: New Zealand’s Early Cemeteries, Churchyards and Urupa¯ Stephen Deed Otago University Press, $50.00, ISBN 9781927322185 A confession: I am a cemetery buff. On arriving at any New...
View ArticleTipping points, Sylvan Thomson
First Lady – From Boyhood to Womanhood: The Incredible Story of New Zealand’s Sex-change Pioneer Liz Roberts with Alison Mau Upstart Press, $40.00, ISBN 9781927262375 Sexual Cultures in Aotearoa New...
View ArticleHero worship, Gyles Beckford
A Few Hares to Chase: The Life and Economics of Bill Phillips Alan Bollard Auckland University Press, $40.00 ISBN 9781869408299 The sages have long counselled that you should never meet your heroes....
View ArticleConsecrated ground, Ian Lochhead
Historic Churches: A Guide to Over 60 Early New Zealand Churches Linda Burgess (Robert Burgess photographer) Random House, $50.00, ISBN 9781775537335 Worship: A History of New Zealand Church Design...
View ArticleMaking women visible, Katie Pickles
A History of New Zealand Women Barbara Brookes Bridget Williams Books, $70.00, ISBN 9780908321452 Locating women in history is difficult. New Zealand women are present through the occasional mention in...
View ArticleAir-brushed, Nicholas Reid
Helen Clark: Inside Stories Claudia Pond Eyley and Dan Salmon (eds) Auckland University Press, $40.00, ISBN 978186940 8381 She led the parliamentary Labour Party for 15 years and served for nine years...
View ArticleRescuing an heroic figure, Jane Westaway
Petals & Bullets: Dorothy Morris, New Zealand Nurse in the Spanish Civil War Mark Derby Potton and Burton, $40.00, ISBN 9781927213766 In the preface to Mark Derby’s new book, Spanish War historian...
View ArticleChalk and cheese William Brandt
The Many Deaths of Mary Dobie: Murder, Politics and Revenge in Nineteenth-century New Zealand David Hastings Auckland University Press, $40.00, ISBN 9781869408374 The Scene of the Crime: Twelve...
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