New Zealand Books

I found this book very captivating and absorbing. My heart was full of tears reading this book. I would recommend this book to anybody especially people like me living in states and not fully aware how events took place in this sad story of Pakistan

Mr. Roedad Khan writes an rare, insightful anecdotal account of the personalities instrumental in shaping Pakistan today. As a senior civil servant, he was close to all the decision-makers (from Ayub Khan to Ghulam Ishaq Khan). I feel that he is a very honest man who is just as critical of himself as he is of others. If there were more like him in Pakistan, I believe that Pakistan would have been a better country to live in. Relations with India would also have been better, although Mr. Khan does not dwell upon Pakistan's foreign relations.

Some quotes from the book are telling - "...This is not the country I opted for in the Referendum held in my home province of the NWFP in 1947, and this is not the country I would like to die in. I badly want a Pakistan to defend, a nation I can belong to, fight for, and die for...These days our country is collapsing into itself...Pakistan today is a land of opportunities for corrupt, unscrupulous, unprincipled politicians, corrupt and dishonest civil servants, smugglers and tax evaders..."

The book lacks consistency (contextual and editorial) and is at times boring with lengthy legal documents prepared by Mr. Khan in his various capacities in the Pakistan government. The book does a good job of diagnosing Pakistan's ills, but does not offer any solutions.

A know Roedad Khan and some of his sons. Mr R. Khan was one of the most corrupt bureaucrats in the history of Pakistan. As Secretary General of the interior ministry, the police from all the country was under his control and he was well known to be receiving bribes from the famously rich police elite. Mr. R. Khan is arrogant, rude, obnoxious and nothing more than an opportunist who was part and parcel of corruption and nepotism rampant in that unfortunate country. After helping himself to ten of millions, getting prestigious and high profile jobs for his numerous sons, this hypocrite "in the evening of his life" is shedding crocodile tears. The Pakistan dream turned sour because crooks like Roedad Khan were carrying out the dictates of the dictators and making themselves rich.

Stan Krasnoff's tale 'Shadows on the Wall' is at best a piece of fiction, which is tied together with pieces of fantasy. Firstly, the then Captain Krasnoff was not in Vietnam during operation Rapid Fire IV. He did not get to Saigon until 5 December 1967. His participation in Rapid Fire Operations was limited to five patrols that amounted to less than 24 hours in the field. Copies of the official after action reports from these patrols do not match Krasnoff's hyperbole, especially the 'heart yammering' action where he allegedly killed the enemy soldier in the 'spider hole'. Krasnoff has made basic errors of description throughout the novel and some of his Acronyms are wrong. Shadows on the wall does not live up to its extravagant promotion. At best the words are a promotional tease written by someone with not one iota of knowledge about special forces operations in Vietnam and at worst it is a deliberate misleading of the reading public. False advertising, if you will. The book should be treated as a tale based around some actual events, but Shadows on the wall should never make it to the history or reference shelves of any library. In the telling of a story that needs no embellishment, this writer has done himself a disservice. It is a sloppy book.

Capt. Krasnoff was the team leader of 5 Australian SAS attached to a U.S. Special Forces unit for project Rapid Fire (B-36). If you enjoy true first-hand accounts of SF operations then this is for you. I had some reservations about buying this book because of another 'anonymous' reviewer who somewhat bitterly alleged that it was a work of fiction. I contacted via email the commander of this particular operation, Col. Bo Gritz. He stated in no uncertain terms that Capt. Krasnoff did indeed serve under him during the operation and that the account was true in every word. He further added that anyone who says different - wasn't there. Since the negative reviewer declined to identify himself it is his own credibility (at best) that is obviously lacking. I enjoyed the book thoroughly!

Bo Gritz wrote the forward and it IS ABOUT
his first tour in the Cambodia region of
Southeast Asia. Written in vulgar (and non-
Christian) style by an Aussie named Krasnoff,
who served under Gritz for about one-and-a-
half years. The previous reviewer, who is
such a coward, he won't reveal his name, this
story IS MOST ASSUREDLY not fiction. By the
writting style is best suited for someone other
than a fine Christian like Bo Gritz to be assoc-
iated with. Bo's intro is very good though. It
adds to: 'A Nationa Betrayed', 'Called To Serve',
and 'My Brother's Keeper'. Interesting if you can
stand the language...

The first reviewer in this list has a very skewed view of Australian History and the significance of what happened to Whitlam. I was young at the time so I will not attempt to make any defence of the competence or otherwise of the Whitlam Government. Certainly, there were those in the Ministry who had simply been out of Government for far too long and perhaps, had forgotten how to govern.
However, the 'facts of the matter' are, despite the first reviewers obviously conservative view that;
The Governor General of Australia (elected by no-one and representative of a foriegn monarch) did not act on the advice of his Prime Minister which remains a well established convention. The Queen of the United Kingdom would be held to account if she dared to speak against the British Government of the day, such is the seriousness with which this is viewed.
Secondly, two State Premiers defied another long held convention and did not replace casual Senate vacancies with members of the same party - they were conservative politions (the State Premiers).
Thirdly, Whitlam returned to the House of Representatives after he was dismissed whereupon a vote of no confidence was passed in the 'caretaker' Prime Minister - Conservative Fraser.
The Speaker of the House was asked to convey this to the Governor General so that, once again, following convention of the Westminster System and it's derivatives (Australia's Government is often referred to as 'Wash-Minster' because Australia is a Federation and the system has elements of both the U.S. and Westminster Systems) the party who could command a majority in the House of Representatives could be commissioned to form a ministry. The Governor General, for whatever reason, REFUSED to see the Speaker until after the caretaker PM, who could not command a majority had had time to return and request a dissolution of parliament.
So, despite any alleged bias on the part of E.G. Whitlam in the book under review, the Whitlam Government was 'manouvered' out of office by manipulation of the Australian Constitution by the conservative parties.
Whitlam himself was demonstrated to have always followed convention as far as the parliament is concerned and he was taken advantage of by both the Governor General and the conservatives who could not stomach the thought of not being in power after 23 years of uninterrupted rule, maintained as at present through fear (communists under the bed) and doing precisely nothing to develop the country other than riding on the sheeps back.
I have no truck with either party personally but commend the book to anyone interested in Australian Politics as one viewpoint of a critical time in the nations history. Because of 1975 the Australian transition to a Republic is inevitable and I would encourage the reading of other volumes on the subject as well, including the one by Sir John Kerr so a balanced opinion can be formed from both books.
Those who might think the action was justified might consider that it is no coincidence that Whitlam and Fraser now agree almost entirely on every aspect of government policy and are both staunch critics of the current government even though it is the same party as Fraser.

This may be Whitlam's personal account of events but it is as factual an assessment of what actually happened as that of 'My Life' by Bill Clinton. In short this is a personal diatribe of vitriol from one man who, 30 years on, still maintains the rage against a conservative opposition who would dare precipitate a constitutional crisis over the actions of one individual who is as contemptuous of the democratic process today as ever.

Conveniently, the other reviewer of this book, whilst mentioning that Whitlam decided to "tough out" the senate blocking supply, fails to point out that this is actually a breach of parliamentary procedure of the highest order and also fails to mention that to facilitate the hang tough strategy, Whitlam organised a loan (illegally) with a pakistani con-man to the tune of $US4 billion dollars so that he could implement his progressive social reform agenda.

The only thing out of date about this book is this reviewer's claim that the book is irrelevent as the recent election in Australia would suggest. With political "son of Whitlam", Mark Latham, running his election campagn very firmly off the back of a Whitlamite agenda, the Australian electorate (apparently not as myopic as some would assume) delivered the balance of power in the senate into conservative hands for the first time since Whitlam's dissmissal almost 30 years ago.

This book (despite the 1-star) is actually worth reading for those who have their doubts that the US is the only place where left-wing politicians and political agendas can convince themselves they are the majority party whilst suffering defeat after defeat after defeat.

In 1975 Australia had a constitutional crisis. In 1972 after some 23 years out of power a left wing labour government was elected to power. Because of the way the upper house in Australia was elected at the time the conservative party dominated that chamber.

In 1974 Australia was affected by the high inflation and falling demand levels which were occuring throughout the Westen World. The conservatives in the Senate forced the Labour party to an election in 1974 which they won. The Senate still remained in conservative hands.

In 1975 as the economic position of the country got worse the conservatives thought that they would have another shot. The supply bill was deferred and the conservative leader thought Whitlam the Labour leader would be forced to an election again. Whitlam had other ideas and decided to plunge on without supply, that is the legal ability to spend tax revenue. The country drifted into a crisis.

Whitlam thought that if he could tough it out the conservatives would change their vote in the Senate and his popularity would go through the roof. Instead the Governor General a former judge with a love of alcohol John Kerr sacked Whitlam and installed Fraser the conservative leader. Kerr wrote a book defending his actions called Matters for Judgement. It was a work of mind blowing tedium that was immediately remaindered.

This book is Whitlams side of the story and in reality it is now dated as the crisis is so remote from most peoples memory. However it is full of his usual wit and it is a savage attack on John Kerr taking frankly about his drinking and his many bad qualities.

The reality is that Kerr is now dead and Whitlams book although enertaining is a bit partisan. Kelly has written what is the definative book on the crisis called 1975 which is the best thing to read.

This book has no credibility at all. I am a New Zealander and have had kids at New Zealand schools through the nineties and they are currently still in New Zealand schools. New Zealand has never had a voucher system. New Zealand schools have never had complete operational autonomy and most schools had attendance zones. A minority of schools had `bulk funding', ie they were funded a set amount per child, depending on the number of children on their role, on a given day in the year. The authors may have confused this with a voucher system but a voucher system is very different to bulk funding, and most schools were not bulk funded. Intelligent discussion on competition between schools is required but these authors have taken some far away country then made up a story to fit their political agenda.

Few issues in public education are guaranteed to provoke the kind of emotional response as vouchers. Yet despite the fervent arguments made by both sides in the debate, no hard evidence was available to judge the validity of their claims. That has all changed with the publication of "When Schools Compete" by Edward B. Fiske and Helen F. Ladd.
The authors present a probing and comprehensive report of New Zealand's experiment with vouchers, which stands as the definitive study of the subject. It's a compelling story, with far-reaching implications for this country. Fiske and Ladd make the events that took place in that faraway land come alive through a combination of exhaustive research and brisk writing.
In the early 1990s, New Zealand granted all public schools complete operational autonomy and abolished attendance zones. Parents were free to choose any school, including parochial schools. Vouchers followed students to their school of choice. In one fell swoop, the government created the kind of educational free marketplace that supporters assert will improve schools.
What happened,however,was contrary to expectations. The best schools quickly filled up. Hard-to-teach students, disproportionately poor and minority, were turned away and were effectively forced to return to their schools of origin. These schools became significantly more polarized along ethnic and socioeconomic lines than before. Realizing that its grand experiment was not working, New Zealand began to pull back in the late 1990s. The country is still trying to recover from the fiasco it created.
While New Zealand is not the U.S., it shares many values, customs and traditions, including a common language. Moreover, it has a sizable number of minorities in the form of Maoris and Pacific Islanders, many of whom live in the inner cities.
Fiske and Ladd's groundbreaking book should be required reading for everyone interested in education. Given the emotional issues involved, however, that isn't likely to happen. The losers in all of this,unfortunately, will be those students most in need.

Walt Gardner
Los Angeles CA

Walt Gardner, who taught for 28 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District, writes often on education.

As review of New Zealand's important public school choice program, the Fiske-Ladd book is a must-read, and indeed a "cautionary tale." Unfortunately, Fiske and Ladd squandered an opportunity to make an even larger contribution to discussions of public school choice by imagining that competition arises when families can choose which government-owned and operated facility to enroll their children in. They spin their facts into an imaginary tale even though their thorough research and meticulous reporting makes it quite clear that none of the conditions that prevail in a market exist in New Zealand's school system. There are no prices or profits. Unpopular schools are not closed or reconstituted into clones of the over-crowded, popular schools. The government won't expand or duplicate popular schools while unpopular schools have unused capacity. Instead the New Zealand central government has reacted to the waiting lists at some of the popular schools by re-imposing attendance areas on a limited basis. It means they force some families to enroll their children in a school they had hoped to escape. Again, unlike a market, parents' enrollment choices are not the only determinant of each school's share of government funding. That further mutes the limited rivalry for students possible within a government-controlled system. New Zealand schools cannot differentiate themselves to nearly the extent that independently owned schools would do in a true market system. The central government mandates a core curriculum, and political pressures limit remaining opportunities to specialize. The effects of public school choice we are supposed to be cautious about are not the result of competition, but, instead, are the result of its absence. Sadly, the Fiske-Ladd mistake of imagining the presence of competition and market forces where they do not exist is a common assualt on the integrity of the public debate of K-12 reform options. Editorials in the Wall Street Journal and Education Week have already mistakenly cited the Fiske-Ladd book to bolster a claim that competition has limited benefits and noteworthy costs. That may be so, but the Fiske-Ladd findings are not evidence for the effects of anything but the effects of open enrollment within a government education monopoly.

"Colour and Clarity of Natural Waters is a modern classic. It is just as relevant today as when first published. The text is lucid -- the authors have taken great care to communicate clearly. The content is comprehensive; it touches on every conceivable aspect of the subject. Print quality is excellent, the figures are clear and legible, and while the photos are perhaps copies, they convey all the needed information. Besides, these photos -- in colour no less -- are available on the publisher's website (www.blackburnpress.com) -- something not possible heretofore. One of the best things about this book is that it draws on disparate fields of knowledge, including optical physics and the natural aquatic environment, and blends them seamlessly. Thus the book has wide relevance in the complex field of water management. This classic book "Colour and Clarity of Natural Waters" is a "must have" for any serious student or practitioner in the field."

This book may be useful if you can read it. It is terrible print quality, the photographs look like bad xeroxes with figure captions that are barely legible. Unless the publisher improves the quality, you are better of getting the older edition from the library.

While I enjoyed reading this book for my research, I was disgusted by the author's constant references to Christianity as a better religon than the pagan traditions of the Vikings. When I engage in historical research, I expect to be presented with facts, not the author's opinions as to which religon is better. The author constantly makes comments such as, "The viking raids were caused by the poor resources of the region, but eventually ceased when Christianity was introduced and the Vikings became more satisfied with their lot in life."

I intend to write a long letter to the publisher about the editor's inability to remove religious commentary from a book concerning the history of a people. I advise serious researchers to locate other sources, as this book is excessively biased.

The author writes to educate a general audience about Viking society. While the Vikings are certainly remembered, few histories that mention them go into much details about the actual culture. Wolf gives a broad sweep through what is known to specialist historians. We see the cultural affinities between the Vikings in Scandinavia and the societies in Germany and eastern Europe.

The book also describes the visual art. Most of which appears on functional items as decorative emblems. Very applied, as Wolf puts it. The book has several photos of Viking artifacts. Nice, but perhaps some of these should have been in colour. And more of them.

The role of slavery is also examined. Not race-based, as it was in America. But the thrall or chattel slavery practised by the Vikings was arguably just as brutal. The book also points out much that still remains unknown, like their legal system. Little has survived in writing to attest to this.

I was amazed to read the current review surrounding the Footprint New Zealand Handbook and would like to rally to its support!
I am a journalist based in London and do a great deal of traveling in the South Pacific. I always carry a guidebook and until recently relied on Lonely Planet or Rough Guide. This time however, on a recent two-month trip around New Zealand, tired of these major players (which always seem to rely more on their brand name rather than quality) I decided to try Footprint and the work of sole author Darroch Donald.
I can say without a shadow of a doubt the book was a valuable companion and the best and most entertaining guidebook I have ever come across.
The style was so refreshing and at times most amusing which was a nice change from the usual stuffy historic ramblings and bland descriptions.
Over all, compared to other guides I have used and regarding New Zealand in particular, I felt it was very well researched, accurate and up to date. The fact that the same author (who obviously loves the place) wrote and researched the entire book was also a major asset.
Of course there are a few spelling errors and I did come across the odd company or restaurant no longer in existence, but that is to be expected of any travel guide.
I was also interested to read about the omission of Milford Sound. In the book I purchased Milford Sound was included in the text so I presume this was just an error in editing with the first print run.
So in summary don't hesitate-I thoroughly recommended the Footprint New Zealand Handbook and now travel as a true convert to the company. I see Donald also contributed to the first edition of Australia and if New Zealand is anything to go by that book will be equally as much fun.

Rebecca Robinson

I purchased this guide as a break from the Lonely Planet guide I used the last time visiting New Zealand three years ago. With that guide, I encountered the same travelers again and again. This was my second trip--the first was two weeks touring by motorcycle, this second trip was for 6 weeks engaged in a variety of activities on both the North and South islands.

Unfortunately, while Mr. Donald provides a refreshing tone to the book, the inaccuracies and lack of critical information made the book useless to me. As my trip continued, I became increasingly annoyed by minor and major issues, and eventually stopped using the book by week 4.

A glaring example is a lack of useful information (and index reference) regarding Milford Sound itself. Perhaps it was just an editorial oversight with a section cut mistakenly, but this is one of the most desirable places to visit in New Zealand. There is a description of the road to Milford, but as I approached the area looking for lodging and activity information, I could find none and had to turn to the internet for useful information. As a popular, yet remote destination, it is critical to have information about boat trips, kayaking, flights, lodging, fuel, bookings and other transportation options. I can't see how this could have been omitted deliberately--but it's just not there (although it is pictured on the cover and not referenced in the photo).

A second example is the dearth of useful maps to help get orientation. The book mentions a lot of towns, but doesn't provide map guidance to show you where they are. The primary maps seem to be the ones that show 3-6 major cities at the head of each of the 15 sections that discuss potential destinations. There a few local maps, but not nearly enough as other guides. A travelers problem that resulted: The listed bus went close to Invercargill, but not through--couldn't find out how far Gore or Balfour are from Invercargill (pretty far).

There are several small instances of a lack of clarity which could be editorial overight, but for travelers, some small omissions could end up as larger problems. I.e., the transportation section for Whitianga discusses a 5 minute ferry crossing--in the graphic it says "passenger ferry" but in the text discusses it as an option for gaining access to the sights on the other side. Unfortunately, there are few transportation options once you get across without a vehicle--or you'll need to backtrack 40km in your car if you don't want to take a tour.

There are numerous minor editorial mistakes (mis-spellings, innacuracies, businesses and activities that no longer exist) which you expect with any guide book. These are easy to bypass initially, but after finding a pretty shallow look at the rest of the country, they leave you feeling more and more annoyed than patient.

Overall, one would do far better by joining the local auto club, where you can get a guide to lodging, maps, and guides to activities that are actually up to date (which I ended up doing). The Lonely Planet guide was the only other one I used, which as better, but still mediocre (3 stars) Originally, I purchased the book as a change. I got that--a fresh tone, but I also received too much empty space and won't look to Footprint again for now.

This is the third "Let's Go" guide I've used in my travels. I never take a vacation without one of these books in my ruck!

While I thought that Let's Go Europe was great, this guide really wasn't as good as I expected. I found myself constantly asking to borrow other traveler's Lonely Planets. While I like the style in which they write, there just wasn't enough information provided. They would only list 2 hostels in a town which had 6, which would really annoy me when trying to book rooms during the peak season. Additionally, I didn't feel that the Let's Go researchers even attempted to go off the beaten path. While I am not the kind of person who needs a travel guide to tell them everything, I think the Let's Go New Zealand has a long way to go. Perhaps once it has a few more years under its belt it will be a more worthwhile read.

Summary: Written by the ex-adviser of Pauline Hanson ( Australias version of the KKK's Grand Dragon ), this book is worth reading only for the insight it gives into the internal functioning of a far right wing party.

A little background: Pauline Hanson brought the politics of race to Australia. Her party One Nation ( why do racist parties have Nat* ) in their names ?) briefly appeared electorally viable before it disintegrated due to infighting. Her anti-Aboriginal and anti-Asian policies were taken onboard by the current ruling party and have now unfortunately become mainstream politics in Australia. Indeed, Australia's Prime Minister of the day, John Howard is probably her most successful and most highly visible disciple.

The Author: Pauline changes political advisers the way we change trousers: almost daily. Pasq was once a highly placed Pauline advisor. Yes, he knows... He is also guilty of having helped her formulate many of her most populist policies. Pasquarelli now works for another Australian politician , Graeme Campbell of the National Party (yes another Nat* party with all that it implies )

Ultimately, this book is worth reading only for the insight it gives into the internal functioning of a far right wing party.

Give it a miss....

Before reading this book, I had assumed that books on Pauline Hanson and her affect on Australian politics, could appeal only to either the pro or the anti. Pasquarelli, Pauline Hanson's former adviser, proves otherwise. This book, written with wit and intelligence would be thoroughly enjoyed by ANY Australian who has an opinion of Pauline Hanson - whether it be positive or negative. As well as providing entertainment in the form of somewhat "snide" gossip, it also opened my eyes to a lot of issues and concerns that have been raised by Pauline Hanson over the past 3 years.

All in all - a fantastic read.

While I did appreciate the details and the statistics provided by this book, as well as all the great photographs and period advertisements; it reads like a book report. Its a summary of some very good stuff, but it's written such that it never really really drew me into the book.

This book has great pictures and some basic facts about the great Phar Lap but it's really geared for kids. If you are an adult you may find it a bit lacking.