Dolphins Down Under: Understanding the New Zealand Dolphin By Liz Slooten and Steve Dawson (Otago University Press, RRP $30) Found only in New Zealand’s waters, Hector’s dolphins are both cute and fascinating. They are also – as the publisher points out…
Category: NZ books
Solid read for young Kiwis
Phantom of Terawhiti By Des Hunt (HarperCollins, RRP $20) I was excited to read the latest Des Hunt offering and was not disappointed. Set on the southwest coast near Wellington, it’s an adventure to do with a shipwreck, the strange…
Long-awaited novel an absolute cracker
My Brother’s Keeper, by Donna Malane (HarperCollins, RRP $30): Kiwi screenwriter and author Donna Malane has finally produced her second novel and it was worth the wait. Once again, the main character is missing persons expert Diane Rowe, the stroppy,…
Part of Kiwi outdoor life
Shelter from the Storm: The Story of NZ’s Backcountry Huts, by Shaun Barnett, Rob Brown and Geoff Spearpoint ( Craig Potton Publishing, RRP $80): New Zealanders are rather fond of their huts and this books shows why. Our backcountry huts…
Dog’s quest to find his calling heartrending
Alveridgea and the Legend of Lonely Dog, by Ivan Clarke and Stu Duval (Atlantic Books, RRP $40): Queenstown-based artist Ivan Clarke has produced something special in this hard-cover tribute to Lonely Dog, an orphan hound growing up in Alveridgea, a…
Butterflies prove resilient travellers
Butterflies of the South Pacific, by Brian Patrick and Hamish Patrick (Otago University Press, RRP $50): Butterflies may appear to be fragile creatures but their ability to colonise the tiny, scattered islands of the vast South Pacific ocean proves they…
Korean War veterans’ voices
The War That Never Ended: NZ Veterans Remember Korea, as told to Pip Desmond (Penguin, RRP $45): It’s been called the forgotten war, but for the New Zealanders who served in the Korean War during the 1950s, and their families,…
Behind the scenes at museums
The Owl that Fell from the Sky: Stories of a Museum Curator, by Brian Gill (Awa Press, RRP $35): Museums are interesting places and it is the natural history collections that are often the most interesting. Author Brian Gill has…
Bringing the moa to life
Moa: The Life and Death of New Zealand’s Legendary Bird, by Quinn Berentson (Craig Potton Publishing, RRP $50): There has been much written about our long-extinct moa but this book by Dunedin-based writer, domentary film-maker and photographer Quinn Berentson manages…
Leggy ones identified
Collins Pocket Guide to New Zealand Minibeasts, by Terence Lindsey and Rod Morris (HarperCollins, RRP $25): I’m a fan of most four, six and even some eight-legged critters so it’s nice to have a book that is so packed with…