New Zealand Books

I both want to thank the author, Graham Langton, and yell at him. By revising and republishing this wonderful work (originally by John Pascoe) about one of New Zealand's most prolific explorers, he has done us a huge favour. Douglas's work is full of wonderful detail that even the least adventurous tramper these days can still experience. However this book has been published with just one totally inadequate map. It doesn't even quite extend to the limits of Douglas's exploration so to read this book you can really do with a good map beside you.

I would recommend reading this book to those who are planning to visit New Zealand and do some south island tramping. What Douglas experienced in the 1860's to turn of the century is very much what you can see in South Westland today. The remoteness of the region has changed very little - well inland and through the alps anyway. Reading Douglas's accounts, his routes, seeing his pictures and so on are great historical detail and background to trips now. His journeys were from Lake McKerrow in the South up to Otira (at the base of Arthurs Pass) in the North.

There is a photo section in here which includes some of his original sketches which have been reproduced in colour. There is substantial trip detail which has allowed both authors (Pascoe and Langton) to retrace his steps, and would allow others to do so also. I do think short maps at the start of each of the chapters would have been a handy reference. There is certainly a huge amount of detial in the appendices at the back which are on Douglas resources available if anyone wants to do anything more.

Douglas did a huge amount of exploration in New Zealand, in hazardous, uncomfortable and arduous circumstances. His writings on the ecology, flora and fauna are unmatched by others at the time and his writings will fascinate modern readers.

This would have been a 5 star read for me but for the frustration of lack of maps which, given the nature of the subject, I thought would be essential.

In this era of google image searching, might it be possible to read a book about visually striking architecture, without photographs? I read Antipodean Structures with the assumption that it could be done, and my assumption was confirmed. In any case, this book goes well beneath the shiny exteriors of buildings like the National Museum of Australia, Federation Square, even The Sydney Opera House. These and five other buildings are examined in terms of societal aspirations in the millennial period, and I'm not sure that could have been done so convincingly in a book that pandered to the market's appetite for archi-sexual imagery.

All of the essays are good, but I will make special mention of Davina Jackson's engaging commentary on Federation Square (it presents as a relatively catchy read in an otherwise dense volume), and Philip Goad's very detailed discussion of the National Gallery of Victoria (this too is an enjoyable read, and a thorough piece of history writing). But I most enjoyed Ostwald's and Fleming's Introduction and Conclusion. These gave me the clearest sense yet of the cultural and geographical factors behind the phantasmagorical architecture of this region. The authors don't say it quite so bluntly as I'm about to, but: ideas received from the Northern hemisphere, breeding within isolated colonies of architects are amplified in this region, leading to buildings as strange as the region's wildlife.

A scholarly and probing analysis of a subject too often broached via imagery. Four Stars. I'll save the fifth star for the reprint, if it includes black and white images.

I wasn't sure what to expect of this book but can honestly say that it has been a very enjoyable read. The question of "who were the first europeans to visit NZ" has been the subject of many myths, legends and much speculation. But finally we have an in-depth look at finding an answer. Of course, you have to make up your own mind after considering all of the evidence as to whether or not Capt. Cook was the first pakeha to set foot on NZ soil. But I found the argument that he wasn't too strong to ignore (then again, i was already leaning that way before i picked the book up).
This is a very easy read, and quite clear, although in places i found it helped to have at least a small understanding of the Maori language.... just to understand pronunciations (in a phoenetic sense), significance of place names and the odd word here and there.... however, most of it is explained in great detail.
My final verdict: well worth a read! Especially if you're interested in NZ history.

I have to confess that I am comfortable with mathematics, but I've only really studied statsitics beyond high school level and not anything much more complicated.

This book is relatively easy to read and introduces interesting concepts that many people may be unaware of such as Feigenbaum's number - used in chaos theory.

The coverage of this book is very broad. Lots of topics are covered, from the shape of water droplets to prime and Fibonacci numbers. You haven't heard of Fibonacci numbers? Read the book, it explains these curious things well, with intereting examples.

"Natures Numbers" is not crammed with formulae, sums, numberical values, or diagrams: any of which could confuse readers with limited mathematical background. In fact, it could even benefit from further pictorial illustration.

Despite the overall positive tone of my review the reason I haven't give this book 5 stars is that it is a little more "dry" than many other popular science books I've enjoyed.

A wonderful read for any trekking enthusiast, someone interested in New Zealand or observers of "human nature." Ms. Orrell's charming command of language combined with her marvelous powers of observation and sense of adventure makes for a compelling, unique travelogue. Well worth the several week wait.

In the 1980s governments of the political left undertook broad reaching market reforms in both Australia and New Zealand. The New Zealand reforms (deregulation of almost all industries, removal of almost all tariffs and subsidies and later almost total labour market deregulation) were most pronounced. This was combined with expected goals of the (new) left (recognition of traditional rights for indegenous peoples through the Treaty of Waitangi Act, and the banning of Nuclear Warships) to produce a Government which was particularly right leaning on economic matters and left leaning on social matters. This book (along with Paul Kelly's "The End of Certainty) are the definitive description of this Antipodean social experiment, an experiment from which both countries are gradually retreating. Bath water really does swirl down the drain in the opposite direction down here.

I just recently finished reading this little book, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who doesn't know much about NZ. It is indeed a "quick guide" but it has a surprising amount of information packed into a few pages. My only "complaint" is that the author doesn't mention any negatives--I'm willing to believe it's a wonderful place, but there must be SOMETHING less than fabulous about it. All in all, it was worth the purchase.

We get an analysis of NZ's foreign policy issues in the last few years. The globalising in the title is not confined to purely economic matters of offshoring. Some chapters delve into the effects of the WTO on NZ's trade activities. But most of the book concerns NZ's activities in the Pacific. Its foreign policies have been distinct from Australia's. In part reflecting historical tendencies to assert a separate identity from a much larger and economically dominant neighbour.

Thus one chapter describes how in the Bougainville unrest, NZ was able to play a more honest broker role than Australia. Since Australia had historically maintained close ties with the Moresby government, the rebels in Bougainville regarded Australia as too biased to act as an effective peacemaker.

Another chapter deals with the contentious arena of French nuclear testing. NZ took strong exception to this, and we see the amount of diplomatic effort expended was considerable.

"This editionfirst published 1977
by john McIndoe Limited, 51 Crawford Street, Dunedin

ISBN 0 908565 31 3 Casebound
ISBN 0 908565 32 1 Paper

Foreword (c) James Bertram 1977
This selection (c) John McIndoe 1977

Printed in New Zealand
by John McIndoe Limited, Dunedin"

INDEX of FIRST LINES
INDEX of AUTHORS

-- no info about dustcover, but likely was there, as no printing on face of my hardcover

- so, Amazon has separate, not linked listings of each ISBN

"This editionfirst published 1977
by john McIndoe Limited, 51 Crawford Street, Dunedin

ISBN 0 908565 31 3 Casebound
ISBN 0 908565 32 1 Paper

Foreword (c) James Bertram 1977
This selection (c) John McIndoe 1977

Printed in New Zealand
by John McIndoe Limited, Dunedin"

INDEX of FIRST LINES
INDEX of AUTHORS

-- no info about dustcover, but likely was there, as no printing on face of my hardcover

- so, Amazon has separate, not linked listings of each ISBN