New Zealand/Aotearoa Recent Picks
November 2009
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Aphrodite's Island : The European Discovery of Tahiti by Anne Salmond.
""Aphrodite's Island" is a bold new account of the European discovery of Tahiti, the Pacific island of mythic status that has figured so powerfully in European imaginings about sexuality, the exotic, and the nobility or bestiality of 'savages.' In this groundbreaking book, Anne Salmond takes readers to the center of the shared history to furnish rich insights into Tahitian perceptions of the visitors while illuminating the full extent of European fascination with Tahiti. As she discerns the impact and meaning of the European effect on the islands, she demonstrates how, during the early contact period, the mythologies of Europe and Tahiti intersected and became entwined. Drawing on Tahitian oral histories, European manuscripts and artworks, collections of Tahitian artifacts, and illustrated with contemporary sketches, paintings, and engravings from the voyages, "Aphrodite's Island" provides a vivid account of the Europeans' Tahitian adventures. At the same time, the book's compelling insights into Tahitian life significantly change the way we view the history of this small island during a period when it became a crossroads for Europe." (Synopsis, www.amazon.co.uk)
Looking for Answers : A Life of Elsie Locke by Maureen Birchfield.
"Writer and activist Elsie Locke was a remarkable woman whose contribution to New Zealand went largely unrecognised during her lifetime. In a long and eventful life she campaigned for birth control, women's rights, nuclear disarmament, social justice and the environment before such causes were popular. She wrote almost 40 books, numerous articles and School Journal stories, and was a published poet. Forthright she might have been, but the diminutive Elsie Locke was a very private and modest person. In this insightful and compelling biography, Maureen Birchfield peels back the layers of the public firebrand to find an ordinary woman who negotiated enormous personal obstacles to raise four children while striving tirelessly to improve the world around her. A fascinating portrait of a woman ahead of her time. " (Synopsis, Global Books In Print)
Ricki Herbert : A New Fire by Russell Gray.
"Every Kiwi football fan knows Ricki Herbert. A star of the 1982 World Cup-qualifying All Whites, who under the inspired coaching of John Adshead and Kevin Fallon did the impossible, and took on the world from Mt Wellington, as Eriksson Stadium was then known, he then played professionally in the UK for Wolverhampton Wanderers. At the end of a successful playing career, one of the most highly respected and best-loved figures in the local game took his considerable skills into coaching the game he has loved with a passion all his life. When a New Zealand franchise, the Knights, finally joined the Australian league, their struggles and misadventures became headline news. In danger of losing their place in the competition after a disasterous year and facing an ignominious last on the results table, Herbert, by now coach of the All Whites, was called in to see them through the last five games of the season. He pulled them up from the bottom of the table. When millionaire developer Terry Serepisos came to the rescue and formed the Wellington Phoenix from the ashes of the Knights, no one was surprised that he wanted Herbert as coach. In a revealing and very readable account of the trials and tribulations of a life spent playing and coaching football from New Zealand, Ricki Herbert: A new fire is one for the Yellow Fever, the Phoenix fans, and general sports readers alike." (Synopsis, www.amazon.co.uk)
1001 best things to see and do in New Zealand (Second edition) by Peter Janssen.
"Visiting New Zealand? Embarking on a road trip? Want to know where to send the visiting rellies? This 2nd edition of 1001 Best Things To See and Do in New Zealand should be your travel bible. It includes both the obvious places to visit - Sky Tower, Whakarewarewa, Te Papa, Larnach's Castle - and the quirky and not-so-well-known things to see and do - the world's largest totara tree, Wairoa Maori Film Festival, Foxton Windmill, Castlepoint Races. Tourists, nature lovers, history enthusiasts and even armchair travellers will discover hours of pleasurable reading in this compendium of the famous and not-so-famous. Pop a copy in your glove box." (Synopsis, www.amazon.co.uk)
Way Back Then, Before We Were Ten : New Zealand writers and childhood compiled and edited by Graeme Lay.
"In this wonderful collection twenty-six distinguished New Zealand writers evoke memories of their early years. Their stories and memoirs resonate with love and betrayal, friendship and disloyalty, elation and anxiety. The writing features parents and teachers, peers, siblings and other relatives, the loveable and the unloveable. There are wondrous discoveries of the natural and cultural world and glimpses into the enigmatic realm that is adulthood. From the Victorian era of Katherine Mansfield's upbringing to that of today's multicultural society, the contributions reflect many of the personal and social changes that our society has undergone over the last one hundred years. The collection is packed with emotion as the writers conjure up that never-to-be-forgotten time, 'Way Back Then, Before We Were Ten'. Every contribution has biographical information on the author and a photo of them before they were ten." (Synopsis, David Ling Publishing)
Struggling to Fly by Sharyn Steel.
"A young woman struggles to enter the male world of general journalism in 1969. Catapulting through the changes for women in the workforce in New Zealand over the next 20 years, she breaks down barriers, and involves in protests, political changes and motherhood. She experiences a secret service investigation in the 1970's and becomes a business editor in the 1980's. This is a story of her personal, professional and political challenges during that period." (Synopsis, back cover)
Plume of Bees : a literary biography of C.K. Stead by Judith Dell Panny.
"Plume Of Bees: a Literary Biography of C. K. Stead considers the temperament Stead brings to his art, and, conversely, the idiosyncrasies and preoccupations that are revealed through his work. The inquiry begins with an account of his childhood to seek situations or influences that may have contributed to his talent and ambition. As Plume of Bees develops, it focuses on reasons for the extremes of Stead's reputation, and for the fact that his reception in Britain often differs from that in New Zealand. Relying mainly on resources in the public arena - Stead's many publications, talks, lectures and radio interviews, and his letters to Sargeson and Curnow lodged in the Alexander Turnbull Library - Judith Dell Panny's work shows a commitment to impartiality and probity." (Synopsis, Global Books In Print)
Law Breakers & Mischief Makers : 50 notorious New Zealanders by Bronwyn Bell.
"Recounts the fascinating tales of 50 of New Zealand's most notorious citizens from 1806 until today. New Zealand was supposed to be a model society at the end of the world, a utopia for 'men and women of good character' who were willing to work hard for a better life. And, for most, so it proved. But this book is about the others - the misfits, the swindlers, the fallen women, the love rats, the escaped convicts, the hoaxers, the charlatans, the highwaymen, the mass murderers - from the earliest days of European settlement to the present day. Murder and Mischief gives the scandalous details of those who've made a name for themselves in New Zealand for all the wrong reasons. Take for example, Charlotte Badger, a pistol-wielding English thief who launched a mutiny on a Tasmanian convict ship in 1806 and sailed over to hide among the Maori of the Bay of Islands, and Amy Bock, a con woman who masqueraded as a wealthy man to marry the daughter of her landlady in 1909. Some of the people featured in this book are monsters, some are merely rascals, but all make fascinating reading. A lot of the people featured in it have somewhat disappeared into the mists of time and readers will be surprised at the shady characters in this country's past." (Synopsis, Global Books In Print)
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