Blog Archives

Hat-tricks, Geoff Robinson

The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, volume 5 (1941-1960) Auckland University Press/Department of Internal Affairs, $130.00, ISBN 1869402243   When asked to review this fifth volume of The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, my first reaction was “why me?”; and…
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Posted in Biography, History, Non-fiction, Review

Overlapping associations, Tom Larkin

Japan and New Zealand, 150 Years ed Roger Peren New Zealand Centre for Japanese Studies, Massey University, in association with the Historical Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, [not for sale], ISBN 0958350574   In 1878, Asajiro Noda, the eight-year-old son…
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Posted in History, Non-fiction, Pacific, Review, War

On the beat, Neil Cameron

A Policeman’s Paradise? Policing a Stable Society, 1918-1945 Graeme Dunstall Dunmore Press in association with the Historical Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, $49.95, ISBN 0864693567   This (large) volume is the fourth in the “official” history of the New Zealand…
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Posted in History, Non-fiction, Politics & Law, Review

A chance for scrutiny missed, Tom Brooking

Land and Water: Water and Soil Conservation and Central Government in New Zealand 1941-1988 Michael Roche Historical Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, $24.95, ISBN 0 477 05691 1 Visiting American academics are intrigued by the over-confident manner with which New…
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Posted in History, Non-fiction, Politics & Law, Review

Why fire engines are red, Ian Thynne

Scandal at Cave Creek: A Shocking Failure in Public Accountability Graeme Hunt Waddington Publications in association with the National Business Review, $24.95, ISBN 0 473 03943 5 Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Collapse of a Viewing Platform…
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Posted in Non-fiction, Politics & Law, Review

Purveying books, John Roberts

Landmarks in New Zealand Publishing: Blackwood and Janet Paul, 1945‑1968 Janet Paul and John Mansfield Thomson National Library Gallery, $13.50 ISBN 0477 027490 The Turnbull: A Library and its World  Rachel Barrowman Auckland University Press in association with the Historical…
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Posted in History, Non-fiction, Review

The value of being sensible, John Martin

New Zealand Health Policy: A Comparative Study Robert Blank Oxford University Press, $34.95, ISBN 0 19 5583191 Whaiora: Maori Health Development  Mason Durie Oxford University Press, $32.95, ISBN 0 19 5583167 Children’s Health, The Nation’s Wealth: A History of Children’s…
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Posted in Health, Non-fiction, Review

Collecting and classifying, Charlotte Macdonald

The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Volume Two 1870‑1900, Bridget Williams Books/ Department of Internal Affairs, $130.00 Te Timatanga ‑ Tatau Tatau: Early Stories from Founding Members of the Maori Women’s Welfare League, Maori Women’s Welfare League/ Bridget Williams Books,…
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Posted in Biography, History, Māori, Non-fiction, Review

The Yanks in New Zealand, Andrew Mason

Brief Encounter Jock Phillips, Historical Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, $29.95 United States Forces in New Zealand 1942-45 Denys Bevan, self-published, Kakanui Post Shop, $39.95 The Yanks Are Coming Harry Bioletti, Century Hutchinson, 1989, out of print It is fifty…
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Posted in Health, Non-fiction, Review

Don’t expect the head, George Griffiths

A People’s History: Illustrated Biographies from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Volume One, 1769-1869, W H Oliver (ed), Bridget Williams Books/ Department of Internal Affairs, $39.95 Taken alone, this collection of biographical essays can be summed up quickly. Wellwritten,…
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Posted in Biography, History, Non-fiction, Review
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