John Tomb’s Head Stephanie Johnson Vintage, $28.00, ISBN 1869418263 You have to admire The Rev Mr Taylor, whoever he might have been, for chronicling, in the manner of Nigella Lawson discussing the preparation of a steak and kidney pudding, the…
A Life of J C Beaglehole: New Zealand Scholar Tim Beaglehole Victoria University Press, $69.95, ISBN 0864735227 John Cawte Beaglehole remains New Zealand’s best-known and most highly regarded historian internationally. None of the numerous Cook biographies published since his magisterial…
Revolution: The 1913 Great Strike in New Zealand Melanie Nolan (ed) Canterbury University Press in association with the Trade Union History Project, $34.95, ISBN 1877257400 The track record of revolutions is dismal. Failure, betrayal and despair almost assuredly await you.…
Disputed Histories: Imagining New Zealand’s Pasts Tony Ballantyne and Brian Moloughney (ed) Otago University Press, $49.95, ISBN 1877276161 This immensely stimulating volume began life as a tribute to Erik Olssen on the occasion of his retirement from Otago University. The…
Maoriland: New Zealand Literature 1872-1914 Jane Stafford and Mark Williams Victoria University Press, $39.95, ISBN 0864735227 In this excellent reassessment of an important phase of New Zealand’s literary and cultural history, Jane Stafford and Mark Williams challenge previous views…
Best and Bravest: Kiwis Awarded the Victoria Cross Glyn Harper and Colin Richardson HarperCollins, $17.99, ISBN 1869505239 Soldier in the Yellow Socks: Charles Upham, Our Finest Fighting Soldier Janice Marriott HarperCollins, $19.99, ISBN 1869505697 War Zones Helen Beaglehole Steele Roberts,…