We always tend to focus on Gallipoli as an Anzac story but it was a battle involving seven countries, all of which suffered in the hell of the 1915 campaign. This new book takes a fresh approach to telling the story of Gallipoli, with prominent historians from New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Turkey, […]
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 »
Unpacking the Kists: The Scots in New Zealand is an informative study of the nature and effect of Scottish migration to New Zealand. The book by Brad Patterson, Tom Brooking and Jim McAloon covers myriad topics including where in Scotland the settlers came from and their distribution patterns in New Zealand, how Scottish settlers have
■ REVIEW: Unpacking the Kists
Tracing NZ’s tartan 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 »
With a PhD in history from Oxford University, Dr Yuval Noah Harari is well-qualified to examine the history of us – the human species. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind looks at the whole of human history, from the very first humans until now, and how our history has shaped us and our environment. Going back
■ REVIEW: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
What shaped our evolutionary path? Read Post »
Where would we be without paper? Sure, the digital age has changed the way we read our books, magazines and newspapers, but we didn’t get there without killing a few trees first and as an avid reader, there’s nothing like that new book smell: I’ll read a book on my iPad from time to time
■ REVIEW: Paper
Hold it in your hands and feel the history Read Post »
I’m done some travelling over the years but it’s fair to say that Mongolia wasn’t high on the list of destinations. Not for any particular reason, it’s more that it’s hard to imagine there being too much to see and do outside the cities. It seems as though it’s a country of epic landscapes. In
■ REVIEW: On the Trail of Genghis Khan
Author follows path laid out by Khan Read Post »
Sydney Morning Herald journalist Peter FitzSimons takes readers into the heart of the chaotic and devastating Gallipoli campaign in this insightful and comprehensive book. On 25 April 1915, Allied forces landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in present-day Turkey to secure the sea route between Britain and France in the west and Russia in the east.
■ REVIEW: Gallipoli
Aussie journalist gives Gallipoli insight Read Post »
Anyone attending Anzac Day services will be left in no doubt that there is growing interest among younger Kiwis in our military history. Each year, it seems there are more and more families at these services and there is a new-found appreciation for the sacrifices made by so many all those years ago. Two books
■ REVIEWS: Images of War
Soldiers’ snaps bring war home Read Post »
This little book offers a fascinating trip down the memory lane of pills, potions and, in some cases I am sure, snake-oil treatments. We would all like to think we are a pretty enlightened bunch, and that we can easily separate the dodgy from the useful. However, a quick flick through this book shows that
■ REVIEW: Pills & Potions
A little something to cure what ails you Read Post »
