New Zealand/Aotearoa Recent Picks

July 2009

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Me and my little blokes: How fatherhood changes life for the better by Graham Lowe.
"Corporate-box seats at Mt Start Stadium to watch the Warriors or a pre-school barbecue with his kids? These days the famous former league coach Graham Lowe would choose the latter every time. When Jack and Sam Lowe were born in 2003, it changed Lowie's life. Not only did he have twin boys, but he was almost 60 and had suffered life-threatening poor health for several years. Their birth completely changed his thinking and his behaviour. In this inspirational, candid, heart-warming, tear-inducing and chuckle-making book Lowie shares his delight in parenting and in children, and explains how parenting is the best job a bloke can have, ever." (Synopsis, Random House NZ)

Poles Apart: Beyond the shouting, who's right about climate change? by Gareth Morgan & John McCrystal.
"Gareth Morgan couldn't decide whether he believed in climate change or not, so he hired the best international scientists to answer his questions and these are his findings. Combined with anecdotes from his own recent trips to Antarctica and the Arctic ,this is something completely unique in books about climate change - somebody who has approached the topic with an open mind, somebody who has the resources to explore such a topic and somebody who has personally investigated all of the issues. So what was his conclusion? Read the book to find out. In conjunction with excellent researcher and writer Dr John McCrystal, this is an accessible and fascinating exploration of one of the biggest topics of the 21st century. This book defines climate change, explains the science of taking the earth's temperature, looks at the respective cases of the alarmists and the sceptics, examines the anecdotal evidence and the politics of this dialogue, and then comes to a conclusion based on all this research." (Synopsis, Random House NZ)

Anna Kavan's New Zealand edited by Jennifer Sturm.
"New Zealanders live 'in temporary shacks, uneasily, as reluctant campers too far from home', wrote Anna Kavan in a London magazine in 1943. Her seemingly negative comments created a stir both in the UK and New Zealand and suggested Kavan felt nothing but antipathy for the country. However, in researching this prize-winning author of nineteen books, Dr Jennifer Sturm uncovered letters and unpublished short stories written during Kavan's sojourn in New Zealand that show a more complex, affectionate and significant response. Those stories are published here for the first time, along with a fascinating discussion of this experimental writer and talented artist, who struggled with bouts of depression and insecurity, as well as heroin addiction and a stream of unconventional love affairs. Kavan roamed the world trying to find a home, and although her stay in New Zealand was for less than two years, her stories reveal a country where she found temporary peace, a country she captures in a warm and astute gaze. This book provides an intriguing insight, not only into the life and writing of Anna Kavan but also New Zealand of the 1940s." (Synopsis, Random House NZ)

Politics in the Playground: The world of early childhood in New Zealand (Revised edition) by Helen May.
"This book offers a lively account of early childhood education and care in post-war New Zealand, following on from the author's study entitled "Discovery of Early Childhood" (1997), which traced the origins of institutional care for young children in Europe and New Zealand. The provision of care and education for young New Zealand children expanded significantly after 1945: whereas some 2000 children were attending free kindergartens in 1944, there were 171,138 in early childhood education by 2007, representing about 96 percent of children aged three and four. For Maori, early childhood education institutions emerged in the 1960s, but evolved dramatically with Te Kohanga Reo in the 1980s. The place of children in New Zealand's social history also makes this book a remarkable record of social movements. The post-war search for security, the radicalism of the 1960s and 1970s, the rise of feminism, the role of the state in social issues, increasing employment of women - all have impacted on early childhood education. The language of the debate has shifted from 'social progress' in mid-century, to the economic terminology of the 1990s, and some cautious consideration of the young child citizen in the 2000s." (Synopsis, www.amazon.com)

An Improper Daughter by Ruth Jones.
"So easily this autobiography could have been yet another 'poor me' story. It is far from it. With indomitable spirit, humour and a keen eye and ear for events and attitudes, Ruth Jones opens up a world so very different from that which most of us have enjoyed. Ruth, a first-time writer, spent many of her eighty years planning that one day she would write her life story. It has so many twists, turns and coincidences that it could qualify as a detective novel. But it is true. She was born 'the wrong side of the blanket' in 1928, and placed in a children's home at the age of ten days. With her came a note: 'her name is Ruth.' A series of serendipitous happenings, together with a deep awareness of what it means if you 'don't belong to anybody', moved her to begin collecting random and improbable clues that would one day lead her across the world to find her birth family. An Improper Daughter is the result of nearly seventy years of sleuthing in England and in New Zealand." (Synopsis, Cape Catley Publishers)

Kiwi Compañeros: New Zealand and the Spanish civil war edited by Mark Derby.
"In the first-ever account of New Zealand's role in Spain's civil war of 1936-39, Mark Derby presents the personal stories of some extraordinary individuals who became involved. For example: A fighter pilot from Wellington who landed his plane with a shattered shoulder, then left for Hollywood to make movies with Errol Flynn. A tough young wharfie from Napier who buried 80 of his fellow fighters in a single grave, and later became a union leader and thorn in the side of PM Rob Muldoon. Derby records also the actions of New Zealanders who worked for the Spanish cause at home by raising funds, lobbying politicians, writing poems and spreading propaganda. Kiwi Companeros includes contributions from some of New Zealand's leading writers and historians. It draws on personal letters, recently released military documents and previously unpublished photographs to tell an all-but-forgotten story." (Synopsis, Global Books In Print)

Essential New Zealand short stories selected by Owen Marshall.
"The short story has been the forte of distinguished New Zealand writers from Katherine Mansfield and Frank Sargeson through to fresh young talents such as Eleanor Catton and Craig Cliff. There could be no better guide to a sampler of their best work than Owen Marshall, who has been called New Zealand's best living writer of short stories. Marshall's indispensible collection features fifty arresting and significant stories that show why short fiction has been so important in the development of our literature, and also why it continues to appeal. First published in 2002, this new edition of the collection features five new stories from writers who excel at a magnificent national genre: perfectly polished stories peopled by perceptive, quirky and intriguing characters." (Synopsis, Global Books In Print)

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