Freyberg - A Life's Journey by Matthew Wright

$45.00 NZD

Category: NZ Biography | Reading Level: near fine

In this fresh account of one of the 20th-century's great New Zealanders, Matthew Wright approaches Bernard Freyberg the man rather than the more widely known figure of a military leader. What took a humble immigrant child in Wellington to become a hero in two wars, friend to literary giants and politici ans, very private father and husband, and very public govenor-general? Freyberg: A Life's Journey is the most accessible biography on 'Tiny' Freyberg yet, with numerous black and white photos. ...Show more

Down South: In Search of the Great Southern Land by Bruce Ansley

$49.99 NZD

Category: NZ Biography | Reading Level: near fine

In Down South, writer Bruce Ansley goes on a journey back to his beloved South Island. From Curio Bay to Golden Bay, in Down South writer Bruce Ansley sets off on a vast expedition across the South Island, Te Waipounamu, visiting the places and people who hold clues to the south's famous character. Not so very long ago, the South Island had most of New Zealand's people and just about all of the money. Gold miners found fortunes in the hills and rivers, sheep barons straddled mountains, valleys and plains. Wealthy southerners ruled the government. Where now lies the South Island's golden fleece? And what is its future? ...Show more

Pull No Punches - Memoir of a Political Survivor by Judith Collins

$36.99 NZD

Category: NZ Biography

A candid and revealing memoir from one of politics' great survivors - National MP, and leader of the opposition, Judith Collins.

The Mirror Steamed Over - Love and Pop in London 1962 by Anthony Byrt

$45.00 NZD

Category: NZ Biography

In the early sixties at the Royal College of Art in London, three extraordinary personalities collided to reshape contemporary art and literature. Barrie Bates (who would become Billy Apple in November 1962) was an ambitious young graphic designer from New Zealand, who transformed himself into one of po p art's pioneers. At the same time, his friend and fellow student David Hockney - young, Northern and openly gay - was making his own waves in the London art world. Bates and Hockney travelled together, bleached their hair together, and, despite being two of London's rising art stars, almost failed art school together. And in the middle of it all was the secretary of the Royal College's Painting School - an aspiring young novelist called Ann Quin. Quin ghost-wrote her lover Bates's dissertation and collaborated with him on a manifesto, all the while writing Berg: the experimental novel that would establish her as one of the British literary scene's most exciting new voices. Taking us back to London's art scene in the late fifties and early sixties, award-winning writer Anthony Byrt illuminates a key moment in cultural history and tackles big questions: Where did Pop and conceptual art come from? How did these three remarkable young outsiders change British culture? And what was the relationship between revolutions in personal and sexual identities and these major shifts in contemporary art? From the Royal College to Coney Island and Madison Avenue, encountering R. D. Laing and Norman Mailer, Shirley Clarke and Larry Rivers, The Mirror Steamed Over is a remarkable journey through a pivotal moment in contemporary culture. ...Show more

New Zealand Nature Heroes by Gillian Candler

$29.99 NZD

Category: NZ Biography

New Zealand Nature Heroes is designed to inspire and empower New Zealand kids to be naturalists and conservationists. Aimed at the 8-12 age range, the book features stories of 15 different nature heroes, people who, in the past, or currently, are working to protect and understand New Zealand's natural w orld. These inspirational profiles are complemented with information about key animals, plants or habitats, and then each matched with an authentic activity that kids can do to make a difference. ...Show more

I Am More Than Just My Tits - Surviving Breast Cancer by Karin Horen

$39.99 NZD

Category: NZ Biography

Karin Horen tells the remarkable story of her continuing battle with breast cancer. At just 26 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and immediately underwent two surgeries, resulting in a partial mastectomy, a twelve-month course of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiotherapy. Unphased by her health sca re, she moved forward with her life - meeting a charismatic actor, Manu Bennett (Arrow, Spartacus), and moving to New Zealand to start a family. When the cancer returned, she had a full mastectomy of her left breast and a preventative mastectomy of her right. After her double mastectomy, Karin struggled with her turbulent relationship and her body image. She took inspiration from her three daughters and found a new purpose with her Breast Cancer fundraising efforts, including co-founding Paddle for Hope, and co-developing Paddle On, a rehabilitation programme for those whose lives have been affected by cancer. ...Show more

Wild Honey: Reading New Zealand Women's Poetry by Paula Green

$45.00 NZD

Category: NZ Biography | Reading Level: near fine

New Zealand women have published poetry for over 150 years. In this landmark book, poet and anthologist Paula Green celebrates and makes connections between 201 of them, from emerging poets and those who are household names to those who have slipped from public view or were not paid the honour they were due in their lifetimes.  Wide-ranging, engaging and affecting, Wild Honey celebrates the many ways in which poems by women deserve a place in the literary canon of Aotearoa. Charming and unique, the book’s chapters follow the structure of a house, with different poets being discussed and assessed in each of the house’s rooms.  The selection is enormously generous, the tone is at times gentle and accessible, and Green’s reach is wide. She brings the pioneers of women’s poetry — Jessie Mackay, Blanche Baughan and Eileen Duggan — back from the shadows, and she also draws our attention to the remarkable stories of forgotten women poets such as Lola Ridge. ...Show more

Parallel Lives: Four Seasons in the French Pyrenees by Jennifer Andrewes

$34.99 NZD

Category: NZ Biography

Increasingly dissatisfied with the humdrum routine of corporate life, Jennifer Andrewes does what many of us can only dream about when in 2014 she and her family pack up and spend two seasons living in a village in the south-west region of France. But it’s not just any region as Jennifer discovers – the Aude region is on the 42nd parallel north. Wellington, her home city here in New Zealand, is on the 42nd parallel south, and is the nearest thing the Aude has to an antipodal sister city.Parallel Lives tells the story of their time in a small town in the foothills of the Pyrenees: how they came to live there, the experiences gained and life lessons learned. In some ways, it’s a story that is still being written as they work out how to live a long-term life on two sides of the world.About the AuthorAs a child, Dunedin-born Jennifer spent time living in France kicking off a life-long love affair with the country. A communications professional, she has worked in tourism and government roles both here and in the UK, as well as undergoing stints as a freelance travel writer. Her blog on the family’s French adventure was widely enjoyed and it was prompting from readers that led Jennifer to write a book about the family’s experiences. ...Show more

Wild Journeys: New Zealand's Fmous & Infamous, historic and off-the beaten-path Journeys, Tracks, Routes & Passages by Bruce Ansley

$45.00 NZD

Category: NZ Biography | Reading Level: very good

In Wild Journeys Bruce Ansley retraces the path of doomed surveyor John Whitcombe across the Southern Alps, follows the raiding party of northern chief Te Puoho along the West Coast, sails around New Zealand's North and South capes, walks through the valley under the Two Thumb Range to mythical Mesopota mia, drives from Waiheke to Wanaka (in a hurry), sets off on a hunt for the South Island's 'Grey Ghost', looks deep into the heart of volcanic New Zealand and tracks the escape route of our most unlikely hero, jail-breaker George Wilder. These are stories about New Zealand, of wild journeys and strange ones, of exhilaration, joy, frailty and fear. ...Show more

Kahurangi Stories : More Tales from Northwest Nelson by Gerard Hindmarsh

$39.99 NZD

Category: NZ Biography

More fascinating untold stories from the backcountry of Northwest Nelson. Building on the success of Kahurangi Calling, this new volume of stories from the Northwest Nelson backcountry, is a compelling blend of natural and social history. An area of astonishing ecological complexity, the area has gener ated a wonderfully rich and colourful human history. Gerard Hindmarsh tells the stories of the fascinating characters who have travelled and lived here, including early explorers, gold miners, flying crayfishers, early forest rangers, trampers and other adventurers. His stories are skillfully told and woven into the natural history of this captivating region, including geological, botanical and ecological treasures. For anyone who enjoys stories of New Zealand’s backcountry, or social history, this new title is a must-read. ‘   ...Show more

Edmund Hillary: A Biography by Michael Gill

$30.00 NZD

$59.99 (49% off)

Category: NZ Biography | Reading Level: near fine

This new and important biography of Sir Edmund Hillary, a truly great New Zealander, breaks new ground among previous accounts of his life. The author, Michael Gill, was a close friend of Edmund Hillary's for over 50 years, accompanying him on many expeditions, and becoming heavily involved in his Himal ayan aid work. He was also granted access by Sir Edmund's children to a large archive of private papers and photos that were deposited in the Auckland Museum after his death. Building on personal experience, and this new unpublished material, Michael Gill has written a wonderfully insightful and illuminating biography. He describes the uncertainties of the first 33 years of Edmund Hillary's life, as well as the always-fascinating stories of the early attempts on Mt Everest, all a prelude to the first ascent which brought him instant world-wide fame. But too, this biography reveals, in part through personal letters, the tender and loving relationship he had with his wife Louise. Her importance to him during their 22 years of marriage only underlines the horror of her death, along with that of their youngest daughter, in a plane crash in 1975. Sir Edmund eventually pulled out of the subsequent depression to continue his life's work building schools and hospitals in the Himalayas. Affectionate, but scrupulously fair, Michael Gill has gone further than anyone before to reveal the humanity of this remarkable man. Edmund Hillary's life was shaped by both triumph and tragedy, and while he became famous through his mountaineering achievements, ultimately it was his humility and great compassion for the people of Nepal that has become his enduring legacy. ...Show more

Curnow: Slipcase Dual Edition by Terry Sturm

$125.00 NZD

Category: NZ Biography

This handsome slipcase brings together the definitive biography and collected poems of Allen Curnow (1911¿2001), widely recognised as one of the most distinguished poets writing in English in the second half of the twentieth century. From Valley of Decision (1933) to The Bells of Saint Babel¿s (2001) he defined and redefined how poetry might discover the possibilities of a world seen afresh. Through relationships with writers from Dylan Thomas to C. K. Stead he influenced the changing shape of modern poetry. And in criticism and anthologies like the Penguin Book of New Zealand Verse he helped identify the distinctive imaginative preoccupations that made New Zealand¿s writing and culture different from elsewhere. By the time of his death at the age of ninety, he had completed a body of work unique in this country and increasingly recognised internationally. ALLEN CURNOW: COLLECTED POEMS SIMPLY BY SAILING IN A NEW DIRECTION. ALLEN CURNOW: A BIOGRAPHY ...Show more