Blog Archives
Faith and works, Anna Rogers
Shrewd Sanctity: The Story of Kathleen Hall, 1896-1970: Missionary Nurse in China Rae McGregor Polygraphia, $30.00, ISBN 1877332321 In an age of “icons” and “celebrities”, true heroes are hard to find. Kathleen Hall, however, was the real deal. This extraordinary…
Tagged with: Anna Rogers, Issue 76, Kathleen Hall, Polygraphia, Rae McGregor, Summer 2006
Posted in Biography, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in Biography, Non-fiction, Review
All-seeing but poorly briefed, Linley Boniface
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…
Tagged with: Issue 76, Stephanie Johnson, Summer 2006, Vintage
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
A life lived to the full, Tom Brooking
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…
Tagged with: Issue 76, J C Beaglehole, Summer 2006, Tim Beaglehole, Tom Brooking, Victoria University Press
Posted in Biography, History, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in Biography, History, Non-fiction, Review
Revolution or spectacle, Don Aimer
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.…
Tagged with: Canterbury University Press, Don Aimer, Issue 76, Melanie Nolan, Summer 2006, Trade Union History Project
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Politics & Law, Review
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Politics & Law, Review
Issue 76 | December 2006
Volume 16 | Number 5 | Issue 76 | December 2006 Tom Brooking: Tim Beaglehole, A Life of J C Beaglehole: New Zealand Scholar Books for Christmas Hamish McDouall: John Wright with Sharda Ugra and Paul Thomas, John Wright’s…
Crockery and bad language, Jock Phillips
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…
Tagged with: Brian Moloughney, Issue 76, Jock Phillips, Otago University Press, Summer 2006, Tony Ballantyne
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Review
Poetic hair, C K Stead
C K Stead recalls encountering Rupert Brooke’s The Complete Poems. During WWII my sister Norma, two and a half years my senior, acquired a “pen-friend” in Rugby, England. I don’t recall the friend’s name, but we sent her family food…
Lost writers revisited, Elizabeth Webby
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 of…
Tagged with: Elizabeth Webby, Issue 76, Jane Stafford, Mark Williams, Summer 2006, Victoria University Press
Posted in History, Literature, Māori, Non-fiction, Review, Sociology
Posted in History, Literature, Māori, Non-fiction, Review, Sociology
Books for Christmas
Posted in Comment