New Zealand’s Lost Heritage, by Richard Wolfe (Hew Holland Publishers, RRP $50): The preservation of our historic buildings is often a topic of debate in this country, with passionate arguments for (it’s our history) and against (usually the cost). We…
Category: History
Ordinary Kiwis tell our country’s story
Changing Times: New Zealand Since 1945, by Jenny Carlyon and Diana Morrow (Auckland University Press $45): Much has been written about New Zealand’s attempts to find its place in the world as a fledgling nation and the role of rugby…
High-flying Kiwis played important role in WW2
Victory: New Zealand Airmen and the Fall of Germany, by Max Lambert (HarperCollins, RRP $40): New Zealand pilots served in both the RNZAF and also the RAF during World War II, and this is an account of the heroic and…
No second-guessing in book of firsts
Great Kiwi Firsts, by Astral Sligo (Allen & Unwin, RRP $25): Us Kiwis like being claiming firsts, and let’s be honest, there are plenty we can claim: first to scale Mt Everest, first to have to good sense to give…
Remembering New Zealand’s ‘Big Norm’
The Mighty Totara: The Life and Times of Norman Kirk, by David Grant (Random House NZ, RRP $45): Norman Kirk was the first politician I was truly aware of as a kid. I remember as a tender wee seven-year-old, seeing…
A big, interesting history
Illustrated History of New Zealand, by Matthew Wright, illustrations fom the Alexander Turnbull Library (Bateman Publishing, RRP $50): It could be said that it’s something of a surprise that a book on the history of a country as small and…
Probing sensational murder
So Brilliantly Clever, by Peter Graham (AWA Press, RRP $42): For a small nation, New Zealand has had more than its fair share of headline-grabbing murders, but there are few that would rival the 1954 murder of Christchurch woman Honorah…
Proud spirit of the Otago Mounted Rifles
The Troopers’ Tale: The History of the Otago Mounted Rifles, edited by Don Mackay, foreword by Lieutenant General Rhys Jones (Turnbull Ross Publishing RRP $70): There has been something of a resurgence of interest in the military history of our…
Box of letters leads to story of town’s war experience
Patearoa at War, by Jim Sullivan (Rock and Pillar Press, RRP $34): Like so many of the best Kiwi projects, this book started out as a friendly chat at the pub. Patearoa locals Beryl and Alan Reid told author Jim…
Soldiers’ letters bring home horror
Letters From Gallipoli: New Zealand Soldiers Write Home, edited by Glyn Harper (Auckland University Press, RRP $49.95): This latest book by Glyn Harper is one that brings home the trauma, hardship, heartache and horror of living through, and with, a…