Destiny: The Life and Times of a Self-Made Apostle, by Peter Lineham (Penguin, RRP $38): With his taste for sharp suits and powerful motorcycles, Bishop Brian Tamaki has an interestingly polarising effect on the average Kiwi. Let me make it…
Category: NZ books
■ REVIEW
Night Visions: Reflections for the Moonlight Hour
Waking up to Joe Bennett
Fish Like a Drink, by Joe Bennett (HarperCollins, RRP $25): Joe Bennett is one of those columnists who always manages to improve my mood: if I’m having a rough morning, I always feel better having read his latest offering in…
How an American city boy became a Kiwi farmer
Moon Over Martinborough, by Jared Gulian (Random House, RRP $40) We have all had our moments where we have thought “this could be the life”. You may have stood in a paddock or an orchard, the sun streaming down, looking…
■ REVIEW
A City Recovers
Violence and redemption in recommended read
Frederick’s Coat, by Alan Duff (Vintage, RRP $38) Alan Duff has produced another powerful novel in Frederick’s Coat, a story of crime, violence and family. Duff is know for his compelling and gritty writing, and this book is as moving as…
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…
Taking a look at Mother Nature
Ken Ring’s New Zealand Weather Almanac 2013, by Ken Ring (Random House NZ, RRP $50): The weather is one of those things we all talk about: we care if it’s good, we are even more interested if it’s bad. Anglers,…
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…