New Zealand Books

I ordered this book and was amazed and enthralled by it from the moment I cracked the cover. What a find. I had no idea New Zealand had such wonderful plants. I wish the section on Alpine Wildflowers was more thorough but it wasn't bad. It could use information on cultivation, hardiness, and availability and the book would be perfect. I want to grow some of these plants so bad it isn't even funny. I fell in love with this book and would never part with it. It will remain a cherished part of my library as it would be with yours. Don't pass up the opportunity to get this one. It is well worth the money.
I am a botanist and work for a nursery. I have an extensive library, mostly on the area where I live but I love plants from all over the world. Especially if the plants can survive my climate. I got some good information and photographs from this book. I am not kidding when I said I was amazed. I fell in love with in in the first few pages.

I have just re-read this book, and it is a good laugh.

Kersey Hooper runs a large sheep and cattle station in the backblocks of New Zealand. He decides he needs a holiday but his old car breaks down 40 miles down the road and he stops in at a motel. He gives the motel owner a hand to get rid of a couple of dangerous old pine trees, fixes his car, then heads back home to tell his mate he's getting married -to the motel owner's daughter.

She's so into the astrology she won't sleep with him until the signs are right -looks like they are never going to be right and his farm is fast going downhill too. In an effort to please her, he's been following her astrological advice on everything from only killing wild pigs between 6 and 10 in the morning to when it's a good time to dock the lambs tails.

This is a good fast read and another classic Crump, I really enjoyed it. I still think his best is "A Good Keen Man", if you can get your hands on a copy -read it!

While a fan 40 years ago when he first was on TV in the USA, he inspired me to learn the art of cooking. This is a SUPERB book that clearly outlines steps to prepare even the most difficult meal. Having worked in various restaurants ~ it was obvious Mr. Kerr shared that same prep work necessary to accomplish the task. Well laid out, extremely informative, simple to follow, and most importantly ~ some of the best dang receipe's you'll find for FANTASTIC meals! Tip of the hat to the Galloping Gourmet!

My children absolutely love this book about an eccentric grandma who paints her shed in a unique way. great rhyming, the illustrations are wonderful - highly recommended for children 3-8 or so.

This is the seminal (perhaps the only) historical work dealing with the experience of NZ soldiers in Viet Nam. Dr. Deborah Challinor, an historian and sometime lecturer at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, knows her subject and writes fluently. Based upon hours of interviews with veterans, the book does an excellent job of covering the topic.

Interesting to the US viewer is the consensus among the NZ veterans that emerges from the interviews: the US soldiers were great guys, but poorly equipped (by training and life experience) to deal with jungle combat. Reasons? Many were conscripts, and many were city men completely unable to deal with the realities of the Viet Nam environment. The Australians, while not considered nearly as agreeable as the Americans, were predominantly professional soldiers, and so their training and backgrounds had better prepared them for the environment.

This book was actually on the NZ bestseller list for a time. However, its print run was minuscule by American standards, due to New Zealand's small population (approximately 4 million). It deserves a reprint, as scholars of the Viet Nam war will find it invaluable.

I've lived in New Zealand and after coming back to the U.S. I've had the privledge of taking groups back and I highly recomend this book for anyone traveling in NZ. It is better than most guide books although a little large as a guide book. I'd gladly take it because this books gives in detail information about almost every town in NZ from historical information to economic background. Gives places to see and where to see them. Now if they could shrink it you could through away the Lonely Plant book and Fodor's. For a photographer it is a must to read before traveling there. Both great writing and photography.

Fantastic "Dear Diary" tale of the author's trip overseas to pursue a teaching assignment. Try to keep up, if you can, as she takes you through the streets, trails and beaches, local eateries, museums and sightseeing highpoints of many New Zealand cities.

Planning a trip to New Zealand? Read this book first! Enjoy cooking? Try the wonderful recipes included, such as this one (pg.209); Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce. Yum!

Handbook of markets and economies: East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand. ed. by Anthony Pecotich and Clifford J. Shultz II. M.E. Sharpe, 2006. 712p bibl index afp ISBN 0-7656-0972-X, $139.95 . Reviewed in 2006jun CHOICE. * More from M.E. Sharpe *
Particularly over the last few decades, significant economic and social progress has increased the importance of Asian markets and economies relative to other regions of the world. Although progress has been somewhat erratic and has not affected all nations to the same degree, some observers see the possibility of a gradual shift in power from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The upward struggles of Asian economies, including Australia and New Zealand, as well as their potential for further development, are captured in this work, which draws the expert insights of 39 contributors into a single volume via the editing of Pecotich (Univ. of Western Australia) and Shultz (Arizona State Univ.). The challenging task of instilling coherence into disparate contributions was aided by utilizing a common framework of eight systems in examining each country: natural environment/geography, political, economic, social, knowledge, educational, executive, and marketing. The framework was employed, as circumstances permitted, as a guide through the 18 chapters, each covering a single country in the region. Chapters contain extensive references, and statistical data were condensed into tables where appropriate. Those seeking marketing, economic, and cultural information relative to Pacific nations will find this handbook a convenient and accessible resource. Summing Up: Recommended. Public, academic (lower-division undergraduate and up), and professional collections. -- W. C. Struning, emeritus, Seton Hall University

Its really good to know that we have an amazing country with amazing people. I am glad to be living in such a country.

Guy Bransby seems to me to be more typical of the British gentleman-adventurer officer of the 19th Century than of the national servicemen and the time servers in obscurity so common in the last fifty years and in today's service. He spent most of his serving time in the "backwaters" of empire as a light infantryman and an advisor. He was seconded to Vietnam with the New Zealanders, served on the NW Frontier, in Yemen, and on attache duty.
Newly returned to England, and newly married, he was seconded to the RAF Regiment as a trainer. For those of you not familiar with this unit, it's composed of "blue men in khaki togs", and is mostly light infantry, combined with local air defense, tasked with keeping bad guys (Spetsnaz and SAS types) off the flight line and out of the hangers.
Now Bransby as a long-service officer is taking orders from some others twenty years younger and is content to fill out his time.
But, due to his facility in Latin American Spanish gained as an aide to a Uruguayan general, he is chosen to head a team of interrogators in the Falklands.
This is the story of his adventures and misadventures. Well told tales and with a wry humour which serves him well. If you like tales of interesting service this is for you.