The Snake-Haired Muse: James K Baxter and Classical Myth Geoffrey Miles, John Davidson and Paul Millar Victoria University Press, $50.00, ISBN 9780864736581 “What happens is either meaningless to me, or it is mythology.” Though James K Baxter’s vatic pronouncement…
Non-fiction Ray Columbus: The Modfather, Ray Columbus with Margie Thompson, Penguin Books, $42.00, ISBN 9780143206576 The 1960s pop-singer who might have been a priest tells his story, with pictures. Eat, Drink and be Wary: A New Zealand Diplomat Looks Back,…
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…
A Search for Tradition and a Search for Language Douglas Lilburn Lilburn Residence Trust, $24.99, ISBN 9780473183790 When Douglas Lilburn died at his Thorndon home in June 2001 at the age of 85, numerous obituaries, published both here and…
Twelve Minutes of Love: A Tango Story Kapka Kassabova Portobello Books, $39.99, ISBN 9781846272844 Tango is just a dance in the sense that rugby is just a ball game. You live and breathe it. Or you don’t. Fans –…
A Made-Up Place: New Zealand in Young Adult Fiction Anna Jackson, Geoff Miles, Harry Ricketts, Tatjana Schaefer and Kathryn Walls Victoria University Press, $40.00, ISBN 9780864736970 Chapter four of this collection of essays by five authors is called “Utopia”.…