Blog Archives

Fighting the good fight, Philip Simpson

Fight for the Forests Paul Bensemann Potton and Burton, $70.00, ISBN 9780947503130 This book is a marvellous chronicle of the people, the campaigns, the sorrows and sacrifices and, ultimately, the achievement to protect New Zealand’s unique publicly owned native forests.…
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Posted in Natural History, Non-fiction, Science

Discovery on the great southern continent, Julia Millen

Dispatches from Continent Seven: An Anthology of Antarctic Science Rebecca Priestley (ed) Awa Press, $55.00, ISBN 9781927249055 New Zealand’s connection with Antarctica began with early explorers. Abel Janszoon Tasman and Captain James Cook sailed south seeking Terra Australis Incognita and…
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Posted in Non-fiction, Review, Science

The colony’s resident expert of choice, Simon Upton

James Hector: Explorer, Scientist, Leader Simon Nathan Geoscience Society of New Zealand, $45.00 ISBN 9781877480461 Simon Nathan’s biography of Sir James Hector fills a major gap in the nation’s historical bibliography. The reasons why the gap remained unfilled for over…
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Posted in Biography, History, Natural History, Non-fiction, Review, Science

The frozen continent, Janet Hunt

Science on Ice: Discovering the Secrets of Antarctica Veronica Meduna Auckland University Press, $60.00, ISBN 9781869405830 “Visiting this frozen landscape,” writes Veronica Meduna, “is to gain a fresh perspective on our world, almost like going to another planet and looking…
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Posted in Non-fiction, Review, Science

Lipstick, ice cream and bombs, Trevor Richards

Mad on Radium: New Zealand in the Atomic Age Rebecca Priestley Auckland University Press, $45.00, ISBN 9781869407278 In April 1960, thousands of Aucklanders and Wellingtonians flocked to their ports to welcome the USS Halibut. For the New Zealand Herald, the…
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Posted in History, Non-fiction, Review, Science

What’s squeezed into the skull, Rebecca Priestley

Pieces of Mind: 21 Short Walks around the Human Brain Michael C Corballis Auckland University Press. $30.00, ISBN 9781869404925   Last year, my sister Rachel returned from 10 years in Italy, laden with fine Tuscan wines – a light bubbly…
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Posted in Non-fiction, Psychology, Review, Science

Tracing ancient footprints, Brent Southgate

Digging Up the Past: Archaeology for the Young and Curious David Veart Auckland University Press, $39.99, ISBN 9781869404659   When I was about seven years old, I started a museum. It stood in our garden shed, and consisted of bones,…
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Posted in Non-fiction, Review, Science

Shaping the land, Ian J Graham

Volcanoes of Auckland: The Essential Guide Bruce W Hayward, Graeme Murdock and Gordon Maitland Auckland University Press, $59.99, ISBN 9781869404796   Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, is often referred to as the “City of Sails” because of its location straddling…
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Posted in Non-fiction, Review, Science

Not all grisly murders, Rebecca Priestley

Expert Witness: Behind the Scenes with a Real-life Forensic Scientist Anna Sandiford HarperCollins, $32.99, ISBN 9781869508753   “The CSI effect” refers to the influence of forensic science-themed TV shows on public perception, particularly when it comes to the courtroom. CSI:…
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Posted in Non-fiction, Review, Science

Science ε = –dø/dt, Peter Calder

North Pole, South Pole: The Epic Quest to Solve the Great Mystery of Earth’s Magnetism Gillian Turner Awa Press, $40.00, ISBN 9780958275002   Consider this passage about magnetism: Cooling basalts, it turns out, contain small crystals of iron-oxide compounds ……
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Posted in Non-fiction, Review, Science
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