New Zealand Books

This is a compact but detailed guide to surfing in New Zealand. It contains a list of 300+ surfing locations with comments, plus tips for the visitor (local terms, food, accommodation, transport etc.). It's the only recent book of this type as far as I'm aware. Unfortunately the author Wayne died a while back surfing (Bali?) , but his legacy lives on. The publisher appears to have gone out of business so it may be difficult to get copies.

The history of each ski area mentioned in this book can be slightly repetitious but brings an extra dimension to New Zealand skiing. The club ski areas are unique I think and may appeal to the intrepid skier. Some effort is required to even reach these locations so it is unchartered territory in many ways. Information is also provided about transportation options, ski hire availability, meals and accomodation. Reference is made to major ski towns like Queenstown and Methven. I don't know why "National Park" hasn't got a name but this and other curiosties will surely make for an interesting journey. For each ski area there is a description of beginner, intermediate and advanced skiing. A slightly smaller typeface and a star system of ratings might have saved a few trees but all in all it is a good effort.

Ravi de Costa has developed a unique perspective on Aboriginal Australian political activism and this book is an impressively researched contribution to Aboriginal history. An international scholar, his roots with third world people who migrated to the west, he has lived and worked in Australia and now in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University, Toronto. His analysis of Aboriginal political activism is free of the bondage of settler colonial adherence to the notion of the egalitarian Australian polity that often compromises Australian scholarship on Indigenous issues. For this reason the book provides a refreshing view of Aboriginal activism and includes activists and the events that they have been involved in as legitimate and important to the ongoing development of Aboriginal rights and by inference, the Australian polity in general.
De Costa's book rightly places Aboriginal transnationalism within the global movement for rights of colonised peoples the world over and describes the key players, their alliances and networks developed over time. The overall impression is of intelligent Aboriginal players and activists, utilising the instruments of domestic and international activism to seek redress for their people caught in the hegemony of the settler colonial regime.
Global colonial capitalism has subjugated Indigenous peoples and ironically established the communication networks that have fostered interchange about the impacts of these regimes, whereby the seeds of discontent have developed into anti-colonial activism. While primarily concerned with the local and regional, Indigenous people have transcended their seemingly parochial concerns and the borders of the nation state, to develop international means of pursuing their claims for justice. The `higher authority' to which they have appealed, is identified by de Costa as `both ideological and institutional manifestations of universal moral order' (p. 4) he identifies as humanitarian, Christian, feminist, Communist and socialist philosophies, more recently expressed in terms of decolonisation.
While de Costa positions Aboriginal political action in relationship to western human rights movements, he reminds us that it is also from Indigenous knowledges and the activism of Indigenous people that the world has been constantly reminded of the need for justice. This is a highly thought provoking book.

I borrowed a copy of this via interlibrary loan while working on my own new book COOL MAPS OF INDONESIA (Nimble Books LLC 2007). The HISTORICAL ATLAS OF INDONESIA is a very useful scholarly compendium of hundreds if not thousands of maps developed using a very extensive GIS. Features I particularly liked were a list of islands over x size and a map that showed name changes next to islands. Most of the maps are based on modern era data. This would be an excellent reference for any library. Indeed, I might say it's a must purchase, given that Indonesia has the 4th largest population of any country in the world.

It might seem a bit weird to review a book by a Catholic missionary by calling it irreverent, but this author does not hesitate to frankly address areas that many others have ignored or glossed over. He is openly a champion of the Maori people and his recounting of history does not hesitate to criticize the colonising forces that exploited them in the early to mid-19th century. The biggest drawback to the book is where it is obvious that he is a product of the continuing hatred between the Roman Catholic and Anglican (and other Protestant) churches and often digresses about how terrible the Protestants are. These parts, however, are easily identifiable and can be considered in that context. Beyond those parts, Vaggioli has done a very detailed research and documentation of the settlement of New Zealand and many of the doings that went on to bring about "civilisation." Many historians seem to gloss over this book, but it should be considered seriously. It presents many facts that might otherwise be lost to us, documented by other contemporaneous sources. This edition, a recent translation from the Italian, is a must for anyone wishing to go beyond "the party line."

While in essence a history of a movement, covering over 200 years, this books brings the past to life, inciting the reader to search for deeper meaning, and seek out reasoning which may have previously been overlooked.

Another excellent feature is the colleciton of photos - I only wish there were more.

A fantastic read, for anyone interested in the environment movement, and in particular the politics and the people behind it. A book no university student in related fields should overlook.

This is a very well-written introduction to South Pacific history, with the additional bonus of the author rejecting the 'politically correct' bias of more recent works which tend to demonize Europeans and sanctify the 'natives'. A must-read for anyone interested in the Pacific beyond the beaches and resorts.

"Home and Away" accompanies an exhibition of artworks from the Chartwell collection, held in Auckland, New Zealand 1999. The collection contains major pieces of contemporary Australian and New Zealand art, and while there is nothing groundbreaking in this particular exhibition of the works, the publication is refreshingly straightforward. McAloon groups the works classically under 3 thematic headings - signs/place/indigenity, abstraction/expression/transcendence, and abstraction/material/signs. While these are not new themes, the publication concisely highlights significant issues in the recent history of Australasian art. The text is informative, yet very readable and the reproductions of the works are simply luscious! A highly enjoyable book.

While parts of the book are slow moving it does convey the sophistication of Titokowaru from his military strategy to his letters to the British. It also provides a picture of life for early settlers in New Zealand.

A good read for New Zealanders who think that history only happens in the battlefields of Europe!

Nicolas Baudin and Matthew Flinders were commissioned by their respective governments to chart the unknown coastlines of Australia (then known as New Holland). Both did brilliantly well: Flinders making the first close circumnavigation of Terris Australis (or Australia, whose name he invented), and Baudin charting the the last unexplored slab of Western Australia, plus making numerous botanical and other scientific discoveries. Both captains, however, met with disaster: Baudin dying on his return (only to have his posthumous reputation sullied by a hostile biographer), and Flinders detained for five years by the notorious Governor Decaen, the Napoleonic commander at French Mauritius. This is the first book to chronicle their achievements along the same timeline, and naturally the narrative reaches a climax where they meet at South Australia's Encounter Bay.