The Good Doctor: What Patients Want Ron Paterson Auckland University Press, $40.00, ISBN 9781869405922 Neither title nor subtitle accurately reflects the thrust of this book. It is less about how we might distinguish the good doctor (and define what…
Strong, Beautiful and Modern: National Fitness in Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, 1935–1960 Charlotte Macdonald Bridget Williams Books, $50.00, ISBN 978927131404 In July 1937 the Physical Training and Recreation Act was passed in Britain. A few months later the…
Quarantine! Protecting New Zealand at the Border Gavin McLean and Tim Shoebridge Otago University Press, $45.00, ISBN 9781877372827 The word quarantine derives from the Italian for 40: the number of days deemed appropriate to seclude a vessel known to…
Abortion Then and Now: New Zealand Abortion Stories from 1940 to 1980 Margaret Sparrow Victoria University Press, $40.00, ISBN 9780864736321 It was estimated in the early 20th century that a quarter of all maternal deaths in New Zealand were…
A History of the “Unfortunate Experiment” at National Women’s Hospital Linda Bryder Auckland University Press, $45.00, ISBN 978186940435 The Cartwright Papers: Essays on the Cervical Cancer Inquiry, 1987-88 Joanna Manning (ed) Bridget Williams Books, $39.99, ISBN 9781877242458 July 2008 marked…
Ratana: The Prophet Keith Newman Raupo, $40.00, ISBN 978014310972 Double Rainbow: James Baxter, Ngati Hau and the Jerusalem Commune John Newton Victoria University Press, $40.00, ISBN 9780864736037 Pakeha and Maori find themselves in Martin Heidegger’s phrase “thrown” together in our…
A Perfect World: A Father’s Quest to Unriddle the Mysteries of Autism David Cohen Random House, $34.95, ISBN 9781869418151 As New Zealanders, we like to pride ourselves that we live in a caring egalitarian society with decent, though imperfect, health…
Adverse Reactions: The Fenoterol Story Neil Pearce Auckland University Press, $40.00, ISBN 9781869403744 At the outset I confess to a personal interest in this story. I am a physician (some physicians are among the villains of this piece), and I…
Black November: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic in New Zealand Geoffrey W Rice University of Canterbury Press, $39.95, ISBN 1877257354 Survive Bird Flu and Other Disasters Bronwen King Hazard Press, $14.99, ISBN 1877393185 This week’s papers contain news of progress in…
Frontier of Dreams: The Story of New Zealand ed Bronwyn Dalley and Gavin McLean TVNZ/Hodder Moa, $79.95, ISBN 1869710061 “Another damned, thick, square, book!” We’ve all heard the story about those words spoken by a doltish Duke of Gloucester upon…