Unexplained New Zealand, by Julie Miller and Grant Osborn (Reed Publishing, RRP $29.99): We Kiwis there is a real fascination with things that go bump in the night and Julie Miller and Grant Osborn have come up with a book…
Category: NZ books
Beautiful book tells NZ’s story
New Zealand: Portrait of a Nation, by Graham Stewart (Grantham House Publishing, RRP $59.99): We are fortunate to live in an incredibly picturesque country and that unrivalled beauty is to the fore in this stunning book that shows New Zealand’s…
Detailed and compelling reading
To Cry Inside, by Lesley Martin (Penguin): We all know the story of Lesley Martin, the voluntary euthanasia campaigner who became a household name when she was jailed for the attempted murder of her terminally ill mother. Martin has already written…
Diary of a hard-case road-trip
Work Can Wait, by Wayne Perkins and Dennis Deavoll (Houndster Books, $34.95): Following the progress of a group of hard-case Kiwis riding across America, Work Can Wait is a travelogue, a diary and a whole lot of fun. The book has been…
Trade Me tale doesn’t quite hit the mark
Trade Me the Novel, by Geoff Vause (Tauiwi, $25): There’s been quite a buzz both online and off about this book, which delves into the world of auction website Trade Me as a basis for its plot. A trader auctions…
A chronicle of Mother Nature’s damage
Tarawera, by Geoff Conly (Grantham House Publishing, $39.99): When Mt Tarawera erupted early on the morning of June 10, 1886, 153 people died and New Zealand lost what was at the time the country’s greatest tourist attraction, the spectacular pink and…
A treat for fans
Joanna Margaret Paul Drawing, by Jill Trevelyan and Sarah Treadwell (Auckland University Press, $49.99): Over nearly four decades, the late Joanna Paul accumulated a body of work brimming with graphic invention and poetic observation. An artist, film-maker, poet and writer,…
A taste of gothic NZ
Gothic NZ: The Darker Side of Kiwi Culture, edited by Misha Kavka, Jennifer Lawn and Mary Paul (Otago University Press, RRP $39.95): When thinking about gothic, most people imagine intense black-clad teenagers, pale and interesting with smudged mascara and a…
A story worth telling
Courage, Sacrifice, Devotion, by Noel Gillespie (Infinity Publishing, $35.95): This is the story of the last bastion of aviation exploration — the Antarctic. The United States Naval aviators, who in the early years of Operation Deep Freeze flew their twin-engine…
History lessons
Disputed Histories, by Tony Ballantyne and Brian Moloughney (Otago University Press, $49.95): While there is growing interest in New Zealand’s history there are few genuine debates about the topic. This book brings together leading historians seeking to disrupt conventional reading…