Found only in New Zealand’s waters, Hector’s dolphins are both cute and fascinating. They are also – as the publisher points out – as “Kiwi as the kiwi but their numbers are under threat”. All too often, we lose sight of what it is that makes our little corner of the world so appealing to […]
■ REVIEW: Dolphins Down Under
Seeing the value in NZ’s dolphins Read Post »
Three years ago, and just a couple of weeks after the deadly Canterbury quake, Japan was also hit by a big quake. While more than 180 died in the 6.3 magnitude Canterbury quake of February 22, 2011, Japan initially got through the violent March 11 quake (a whopping magnitude 9) relatively unscathed. It was the
In what at first appears to be a straightforward story, a teenage boy is told his father – a soldier – has been killed in action in Afghanistan but then something extraordinary happens: he receives a communication from his father. The boy, Tyler, hires private investigators Sean King and Michelle Maxwell in this latest in
■ REVIEW: King and Maxwell
King and Maxwell more enjoyable in right order Read Post »
There’s a lot more to uber-genius Stephen Hawking than a big brain and a debilitating illness, and this memoir offers a glimpse into what makes the man tick. This is the first book Professor Hawking has written entirely on his own since the groundbreaking A Brief History of Time back in 1988, which managed to
■ REVIEW: My Brief History
Behind the speech synthesiser, a wit Read Post »
While the horrors of war are something we would all rather avoid, sometimes it is through those horrors that great things emerge. During World War I, surgeons had a new challenge: That so many of the soldiers who survived being injured were left with devastating facial problems. They would survive to go home to their
■ REVIEW: Reconstructing Faces
The ugly face of war Read Post »
New releases coming in May and June. FICTION At the Water’s Edge, by Sara Gruen: Out in May and published by Allen & Unwin (RRP $40), this is a tale of privilege, loss, and love from the author of Water for Elephants. Hush Hush: A Tess Monaghan novel, by Laura Lippman: A powerful and emotive mystery
On the bookshelves: May-June 2015 Read Post »
In what is a deceptively compact little book, former Southland Times farming reporter John Cutt packed in a wealth of history and information that covers 100 years of the Winton A & P Association. Subtitled ‘‘celebrating the achievements of the Winton A&P Association’’, the book is also a celebration of the people who have contributed
■ REVIEW: One Hundred Summers
Celebrating the wonder of ‘show day’ Read Post »
Have you ever wondered what life in France is really like? Is it all garlic and fabulousness? Berets and croissants? What do they do with bidets? Do they really eat horses? In this quirky little book, Piu Marie Eatwell reveals the truth behinds 45 myths about France and its citizens. The author lived in France
■ REVIEW: The Eat Horses Don’t They?
French idioms … and bidets Read Post »
My Notorious Life was inspired by the true story of 19th century New York midwife and abortionist Ann Trow Lohman, better known as Madame Restell; a woman once labelled “the wickedest woman in New York”. At the age of 13, young Axie Muldoon was living a hard life as an Irish immigrant in New York
■ REVIEW: My Notorious Life by Madame X
True midwife drama drawn from history Read Post »
Most people know that it was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo that eventually triggered the beginning of World War I, but the story of the man who fired that opening shot is not so well known. Although the actions of the teenage assassin Gavrilo Princip had a massive impact on the world,
■ REVIEW: The Trigger
Tracking a moment in history Read Post »
