The Covid Chronicles by Paul Little

$36.99 NZD

Category: NZ History and Society

The dramatic story of New Zealand's response to a global pandemic. For the first time in history, on 15 March 2020 the New Zealand government closed the country's borders. What followed was a story unprecedented in almost every way imaginable. Featuring Finance Minister Grant Robertson, science commun icator Siouxsie Wiles, Queenstown Mayor Jim Boult, funeral directors Francis and Kaiora Tipene, Student Volunteer Army founder Sam Johnson, the Prime Minister's Chief Science Adviser Juliet Gerrard, businesswoman Jenene Crossnan and Auckland City Missioner Chris Farrelly - from a kura kaupapa principal to real estate agents: The Covid Chronicles is a multi-stranded account of one of the most extraordinary times in Aotearoa's history, and the lessons we must heed for our future. ...Show more

Searching for Charlie: In Pursuit of the Real Charles Upham VC and Bar by Tom Scott

$49.99 NZD

Category: NZ Military History

Captain Charles Hazlitt Upham is the only combat soldier ever to win the Victoria Cross twice. His acts of bravery in World War II meant he probably deserved six more.   The mystery of how a reserved, modest, slightly built farm valuer from New Zealand, could be so ferocious and fearless in battle has intrigued and fascinated Tom Scott ever since he read about Charles Upham as a schoolboy. ‘Searching for Charlie’ is his epic quest to unravel the “real” Charles Upham. ...Show more

Into the Unknown: The Secret WWI Diary of Kiwi Alick Trafford No. 25/469 by Ian Trafford

$34.99 NZD

$38.00 (7% off)

Category: Military History

A personal account of WWI from the diaries of a Gisborne farm boy, shaped into a gripping narrative by the diarist's grandson 100 years later. Follow Alick as he moves from his last night on the farm in early 1916, through enshipment and training, then off to the battle fields of France and Belgium, occ upied Germany and back home. His treasured diaries covered the tedium, the mud, the fear and sorrow, the discomfort, the periods of leave and the letters from those back home. See the war unfold through Alick's eyes and learn about his and his companions' attitudes to the army, to female company, to the enemy soldiers, to the hospitality provided by people under pressure, to the war itself. And after the drama and tragedy of war, comes the return home and the efforts required to make a living while remaining steadfastly silent about the traumas of those terrible years - an unseen fight that continued and affected generations to come. ...Show more

Waitangi: A Living Treaty by Matthew Wright

$39.99 NZD

Category: NZ History and Society

Acclaimed historian Matthew Wright explores the evolution of New Zealand's most historically significant document, the Treaty of Waitangi, from its origins to its place in the present day. From the early cultural collisions between Maori and Pakeha that led to this landmark agreement, to the many reinte rpretations that have followed, Waitangi: A Living Treaty brings the story and concepts of the Treaty to life in this revealing and thought-provoking read. ...Show more

Ko Aotearoa Tātou / We Are New Zealand - An Anthology by Michelle Elvy (Edited by), Paula Morris (Edited by), James Norcliffe (Edited by)

$39.99 NZD

Category: NZ History and Society | Reading Level: near fine

In the aftermath of the Christchurch terrorist attacks of 15 March 2019, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared: 'We are all New Zealanders.' These words resonated, an instant meme that asserted our national diversity and inclusiveness and, at the same time, issued a rebuke to hatred and divisiveness. K o Aotearoa Tatou | We Are New Zealand is bursting with new works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and visual art created in response to the editors' questions: What is New Zealand now, in all its rich variety and contradiction, darkness and light? Who are New Zealanders? The works flowed in from well-known names and new voices, from writers and artists from Kerikeri to Bluff. Some are teenagers still at school; some are in their eighties. Maori, Pakeha, Pasifika, Asian, new migrants, young voices, queer writers, social warriors ... Aotearoa's many faces are represented in this unique and important compendium. In a society where the arts, especially marginalised arts, are under threat, this anthology shows that creative work can explore, document, interrogate, re-imagine - and celebrate - who we are as citizens of this diverse country, in a diverse world. A list of all contributors can be found at https://wearenewzealand.org/. ...Show more

Common Ground: Garden Histories of Aotearoa by MATT MORRIS

$45.00 NZD

Category: NZ History and Society

Common Ground: Garden histories of Aotearoa takes a loving look at gardens and garden practices in Aotearoa New Zealand over time. While a lot of gardening books focus on the grand plantings of wealthy citizens, Matt Morris explores the historical processes behind ‘humble gardens' – those created and ma intained by ordinary people. From the arrival of the earliest Polynesian settlers carrying precious seeds and cuttings, through early settler gardens to ‘Dig for Victory' efforts, he traces the collapse and renewal of home gardening culture, through the emergence of community initiatives to the recent concept of food sovereignty. Compost, Maori gardens, the suburban vege patch, the rise of soil toxin levels, the role of native plants and City Beautiful movements … Morris looks at the ways in which cultural meanings have been inscribed in the land through our gardening practices over time. What do our gardens say about us, and where we have been? Matt Morris digs deep in Common Ground. ...Show more

A Short History of Farming in New Zealand by Gordon McLauchlan

$29.99 NZD

Category: NZ History and Society

Gordon McLauchlan continues his bestselling Short History series with an in-depth look into the history of the farming industry in New Zealand. From the early migrant farmers and regional produce trading, to the revolution of refrigeration - opening up global opportunities for our fast-growing export ma rkets in wool, produce and more, McLauchlan covers the development of our country's farming culture in this accessible and informative read. - Details the farming culture and methods of early Polynesian and Maori settlers. - European farmers adjusting to the temperate zone crops and wildlife of New Zealand. - The birth and development of regional trade industries in rural areas. - Refrigeration and exporting to the British and European markets. - The development of leading global trade exports in wool, dairy products, Kiwifruit and more. ...Show more

Towards the Mountain: A Story of Grief and Hope Forty Years on from Erebus by Sarah Myles

$40.00 NZD

Category: NZ History and Society

Marking the 40th anniversary of the Erebus disaster, this is the first book on that tragedy written by one of the affected families.

We Are Here: An Atlas of Aotearoa by Chris McDowall & Tim Denee

$70.00 NZD

Category: NZ History and Society

An extraordinary visual data book like no other. Clustered yet scattered, we New Zealanders live across the country's physical landscapes, experiencing its varied weather and environments. We co-create its political, economic and social systems on a daily basis. Each of us has a particular view of Aotea roa, yet nobody comprehends the whole. This book's sets of maps and graphics help New Zealanders make sense of their country, to grasp the scale, diversity and intricacies of Aotearoa, and to experience feelings of connection to land, to place, to this time in our history, and to one another. By making data visible, each graphic reveals insights about Aotearoa. They answer a range of questions: Who visits us? How were these lands formed? Where do we live and work? How equal are we? How do we hurt ourselves? Where do our cats go to at night? This compelling mixture of charts, graphs, diagrams, maps and illustrations is functional, beautiful, insightful and enlightening. It tells us where we are, here, in 2018. Essays by some of New Zealand's best thinkers complete the package. ...Show more

Swim: A Year of Swimming Outdoors in New Zealand by Annette Lees

$39.99 NZD

Category: NZ History and Society | Reading Level: near fine

This is a book about New Zealanders and their deep connection to swimming in the outdoors. Every neighbourhood has its swimming hole up the river, its local beach, or a back road to the lake. A love of swimming is one of the things that defines Kiwis, and all over the country the start of summer is mark ed by most of us heading for the water. S wim is the result of Annette Lees' personal quest to swim every day of a full year in the natural waterways of New Zealand. From Northland to Fiordland, she swam outdoors through the four seasons in rivers, lakes, ponds, the sea, estuaries, wetlands, springs and outdoor lido pools. Across the country people shared swimming stories of their own, introduced elderly family swimmers who swim right through winter, and invited her to try their local, often secret, swimming places. During her watery adventure Annette discovered New Zealanders' serious passion for water and swimming. She collected stories of urban swims, night swims, forbidden swims, swimming in the dead of winter, Maori legends of swimming feats, the endurance swimmers of the Depression, and the swimming ANZACs. These memories and stories go back hundreds of years and this inspiring and beautifully written book reminds us to appreciate this precious aspect of New Zealand life. ...Show more

Navigators and Naturalists - French Exploration of New Zealand and the Pacific 1769-1824 by Michael Lee

$69.99 NZD

Category: NZ History and Society

As historian James Belich put it: `There is little doubt that Cook has been emphasised to the unfair exclusion of the massive French contribution to European knowledge of New Zealand.' This book seeks to redress this balance, drawing in the main on primary sources (both here and in France, and including primary research from original French documents never before translated into English) and scholarship from key researchers in this field. As well as fascinating descriptions of what the French saw when they travelled around New Zealand's coast, Lee focuses on the key characters of this age of French exploration (names such as de Surville, du Fresne, La Perouse, D'Entrecasteaux, Duperrey, Freycinet, D'Urville and Lesson), their relationships with Maori and the desire of France to complete with the British in the Pacific. ...Show more

Bravo Kiwi by Craig Wilson

$39.99 NZD

Category: NZ Military History

Major Craig Wilson is a decorated former SAS member, and has been in more combat zones than any other Kiwi soldier. He was the commanding officer of Bravo Company, which lost 2 soldiers when they went to the aid Afghan police at Baghek in August 2012. Craig was left injured, shot in the shoulder, and wa s Medevac'd to a German hospital. There he heard 3 more of his team had died in an explosion. This is the story of Craig Wilson and the men and women of Bravo Company. It starts in 2010 at Burnham army base and includes infantry preparations for; Christchurch earthquake; planning for Afghanistan; life in Bamiyan; the battle at Baghek and its aftermath. ...Show more