New Zealand Books

this guide is very informative and well-written. it hits allthe major touristy places and a lot of out of the way sites too. ifyou've never been to new zealand, and are on a budget, this is the guide for you. good options for hostels and restaurants. lots of cheap walking tours and affordable things to do. thumbs up!

As a student traveler I found that this book helped out more than any of the other travel books. It gives good recommendations, lists cheap places to stay, and has more descriptions of the small towns than any other travel book. My next journey is to the UK and I have already bought a Let's Go book for it.

When I found Maddigan's Fantasia by Margaret Mahy, I wanted it immediately because I knew from previous experience that Mahy is simply a very good writer. The book is an adventure and a mystery, a mix of science fiction and fantasy, time travel and post-apocalyptic fiction.

"Maddigan's Fantasia" is actually the name of a traveling circus in a post-nuclear world. The story begins with Garland Maddigan, who is perched on a hillside above the circus's camp when she sees the Fantasia attacked by Road Rats and her father killed. Moments later, two boys step out of thin air holding a baby. They are time travelers, though it will take Garland a while to believe Timon and Eden's story.

The circus travels on, followed by two men who are hunting for Timon and Eden and the secret they carry. Garland is torn by the loss of her father and resents the circus's new leader, Yves. She continues writing in her diary, addressing her entries to her father, Ferdy. She is amazed to discover that Timon and Eden have a battered copy of her diary that they have brought with them from the future.

The Fantasia's journey, in part dedicated to getting a solar converter from the city of Newton and bringing it back to the city of Solis, takes Garland and her companions to a series of grim communities, where various societies have found eerie and oppressive ways of dealing with the terrors of an uncertain world. Garland turns out to be a resourceful and strong-willed heroine. Changes to her new friend Timon raise questions about the long reach of that future villain, the Nennog, and glimpses of a mysterious silver girl occasionally guide Garland along the way.

I'll admit I found Maddigan's Fantasia a little uneven in spots, but it really grew on me. Perhaps best of all, Mahy's circus is almost a living thing, a metaphor she lovingly nurtures, the winding, dynamic entity that somehow stitches this entire miserable, dark landscape together with its constant motion, determination, and hopeful, joyful artistry. While just about everyone else we meet seems to have succumbed to harsh survivalism and short-sighted greed, the circus family reminds us that even in the midst of despair, love, loyalty, and of course the show must go on.

Science fiction, fantasy, time travel, adventure, strong girl/woman characters, all rolled up together in a well-written package that will hold attention. While this seems to be classified as a "teen" book, it's perfectly appropriate for upper elementary readers, who will love it.

"Works of art give joy because they are so well made." This is a paraphrase of a quote from Bill Reid, the gifted Haida sculptor who led the way for today's carvers.

This book is incredible. Every carving, every piece of art is incredibly well made (as is the book itself). If you're interestd in either New Zealand (i.e. Maori) or Northwest Coast art (i.e. totem poles), you should buy this book. The pictures alone are worth it.

If it's a contemporary selection of works from native peoples of New Zealand and the Northwest coast which is needed, MANAWA: PACIFIC HEARTBEAT fits the bill perfectly: it presents modern Maori and Northwest Coast art, covering the history of major exposure of modern young artists to the world and including an excellent representative sampling of their achievements in striking color photos. 31 Maori and 15 Northwest Coast artists are presented to represent over three decades of works and events around the theme. The gorgeous color photos of over sixty selected pieces created especially for MANAWA make for an exceptional presentation.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

I have had Ray Harlow's "A Maori Reference Grammar" in my possession for a while, but I've only recently started using it consistently -- my te Reo studies have recently carried me to the point where a reference grammar of Maaori has become increasingly necessary.

Like Ms. Lemon, I find Harlow's work so far to be very comprehensive. However, I've had no trouble with Harlow's grammatical terminology, and would not say that it's "highly technical"; rather, I think that anyone who has had a reasonable amount of experience with studying foreign language grammars will find the terminology of this text to be no more technical than is necessary, albeit, I've had some education in linguistics, and I've spent some time over the last two years or so exploring the grammar of several Polynesian languages, mostly Maaori and Tahitian, as well as some Hawaiian. I think that, for anyone who has spent some time with Maaori grammar, the level of grammatical terminology used by Harlow in this text is not only acceptable but necessary for advancement into a deeper understanding of the language.

To quote Ms. Lemon, "He taonga miiharo teenei. 'This is a marvelous treasure.'" I highly recommend this reference grammar.

Ray Harlow has completed a thoroughly comprehensive examination and explanation of nga karawarawatanga Maori. I take mine whereever I go and highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to improve their reo. The only thing to consider is the highly technical language that Harlow uses: everything from headless relative clauses to intransitive verbs.

He taonga miharo tenei =)

...and it's dedicated to me, so I kind of had to read it. Still, I'm glad I did. It was more interesting than I expected, discussing the evolution of settlers to being "native" to North America and the Antipodes. About a chapter into it, I stopped reading out of fillial duty, and kept going because I was interested. (How could I resist the events on-board the H.M.S. Bounty being described as "a crisis in labor relations"?)

Now, I'm going to have to read his other books. So, in my unbiased opinion, buy lots of copies so that I can go to grad school.

...and it's dedicated to me, so I kind of had to read it. Still, I'm glad I did. It was more interesting than I expected, discussing the evolution of settlers to being "native" to North America and the Antipodes. About a chapter into it, I stopped reading out of fillial duty, and kept going because I was interested. (How could I resist the events on-board the H.M.S. Bounty being described as "a crisis in labor relations"?)

Now, I'm going to have to read his other books. So, in my unbiased opinion, buy lots of copies so that I can go to grad school.

You will want to go to New Zealand after you have visited the South Island through Mary Bull in her book New Zealand Tales and Tours: South Island Adventures. She draws the reader into the landscape through descriptions of land, sea, people and weather as well as history and stories of the region.The pictures are lovely and enticing to make the trip - a Mt. Cook Lily from the mystical area of their highest mountain to a successful fisherman showing the NZ fish "rig".

Bull invites the reader to become "family" as she quotes poems or includes personal photos from her own travels around the South Island. Small animal pictures bring the material alive. I want to put on my hiking shoes, sun hat, warm sweater and find some sheep to walk the back roads.

This book is well written by a local resident who loves her corner of the world and dares to share secrets of these warm and welcoming people; so as a traveler, you will want to return many times.

If you are planning a trip to New Zealand's South Island, you will want to take this book with you. I really like it.

I actually bought this for friends who plan to visit New Zealand soon, but found myself reading it cover to cover, loving the author's personal approach and regretting that we had not visited the South Island when we visited the North Island a few years ago. The author and her husband have spent half of each of their last 24 years living on the South Island and she recommends 4 road trips lasting one month for travelers who want to thoroughly familiarize themselves with the country's dramatic landscapes and unique history, culture, plants, and animals. The trips start and end in the city of Christchurch, but most of the travel is through fascinating small towns. The author provides helpful details about the lifestyle, accommodations, and unique activities of each community and tips about driving and changeable weather conditions. She also includes Maori myths, local legends, personal experiences, a glossary of New Zealand terms and information about topography, sheep farms, farm stays, fishing, winter and summer sports, and wineries, as well as original sketches of the flora and fauna, numerous photos, and listings of web sites. As a retired library director I would highly recommend this travel book.

I am searching for a book as the above with the Most Common High-Frequency Words, in Spanish. I was told that this book mentioned above was also in spanish. However, due to the fact that the spanish language is different and I do not only want a translation of the english words. What information do you have for me? Thank you

The book AN OBSERVATION SURVEY is available in SPanish. It is called Instrumento De Obsedrvacion De Los Logros. It is by Marie Clay. It is not a literal translation of Clay's original book, but a conceptural recreation from English to Spanish based on extensive research in bilingual education. It may be available at Amazon. If not, try www.abcstuff.com Resources for Reading. Hope this helps.

This massive, oversize, extremely weighty and well-made (Made In Italy) book is a very broad survey of so-called Oceanic Art. This genre may be defined geographically as that area surrounding and surrounded by the Southern Pacific Ocean stretching from Irian Jaya (Indonesian Half of New Guinea), the Northern and Eastern coast of Australia stretching down to New Zealand, as far East as the Easter Islands and up North and West to the Sandwich Islands, and all of the vast number of islands that dot the surface of the ocean in between.
This is then, obviously, a huge undertaking and explains the sheer mass of this publication (along with the fact that the book's text is printed in the French, German and English languages). It also makes it inevitable that some very worthy objects will be left out or overlooked. I'll get to that but first would like to praise the author for having the foresight to place objects in the context of their cultural use, discuss the native flora and fauna (there is even a section dedicated to the ubiquitous betel nut) that go into the artwork (literally and figuratively), describe and explain the religious or secular significance of certain objects and speculate upon probable ancient migration patterns which peopled the region. There is much information here that I am certain you will be exposed to for the first time, and there is a surfeit of excellent photographic reproductions of objects and the people who created them. Because of the large scope of this survey it is likely that you will need to come back to it time and again as you make your way through the various island 'nations'. You may also wonder if, for the same reason, this book has missed anything. I think it has. For instance, I was a little disappointed to see no so-called 'Story Board' carvings from the Palau Islands. These are, as the name implies, carved pictorial representations of local legends, typically done in a single frame on a hand-carved board as long as four feet, and one foot high. There is probably a good reason for this omission, but it causes me to wonder if there are not more categories, knife sheaths, for instance, that were also left out. Still, one must trust the editorial judgment of the author if for no other reason than the overall quality of the book's content is so high that concern over possible ommissions somewhat recede into the background. At present, this book is available right here on Amazon for a ridiculously low price below the issue price. I strongly encourage anyone who collects art books to purchase this, as well as anyone who studies or is interested in the islands, people and cultures of the South Pacific, and anyone who collects books with an eye toward re-selling them for a profit as I predict that this book is one that goes into the 'rare' book category within a year or two.

Want to refresh your eyes amongst the visual boredom of thecity landscape? Feel like having a non-occidental approach tofigurative arts and religion? Then read this book and find the amazing collection of photographs along with a concise and effective study on representative arts in Oceania by Anthony J.P. Meyer. This edition could well be recommended as an obligatory visual encyclopedia for anyone who has read studies on art, magic and religion like that of Mircea Eliade on shamanism or J.G. Frazer's Golden Bough. As a visual artist I consider that this carefully selected collection of images is a golden mine until the present day for all creative person, like it was for cubist and surrealists long decades ago. Find a brilliant example of art and tradition that has given European painting and sculpture a new vitality and a wider perspective on Man. Sit back and enjoy a lavish design and a trustworthy source of info on Oceanic art for the demanding reader.

Old New Zealand put legs under two opinions I've gained in the last ten years or so: 1) many pre-Christian societies were incredibly savage and no Westerner would want to live among them w/o the incentives of Christian missionary work or mistreating them by enslavement or unfair trading practices; 2) most moderns have idealized the "noble savage" by ignoring the "nasty, brutish, and short" aspects of their lives.

I reached conclusion #1 by reading of the savagery, cannibalism, or both in pre-Christian Rome and Greece, Ireland, Germany, Vikings, Fiji, Tasmania, Mexico (Aztec), Peru (Inca), and America (our word "cannibal" comes from the word for the Carib Indians). Try reading the Mohawk treatment of Isaac Jogues or the Auca treatment of Jim Eliot for a peek at the "noble savage."

Maning's experience and sympathetic writing of the "good old times" of the Maori culture stretches the mind to wonder just how anybody could live they way they did, and how any modern could possibly kvetch at Christian missionaries "for not respecting native customs."

How many murders of innocent children is the "right number" that the missionaries should have approved? How much foot-binding in China is good? How many widows should be burned in India with "Suttee?" How many people are the right number to have their hearts cut out while still alive to make sure the sun will rise in Mexico? (Does the Modern really believe that number is above zero? What if HE is the one?) Is Cortez really to be despised for putting an end to the ritual murder (and consumption) of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of innocent people each year?

If Maning put legs under my respect for Christians who brought the concepts of mercy and justice to benighted people, the review by Jacques Coulardeau put a centipede's legs under my belief that moderns---in their general rejection of Christianity, especially Catholicism---have let their animus blind themselves to a simple reading of history.

Of course I've heard the claim that more people have been killed in the name of religion than all other causes. And, if one will agree that Communism is a religion (answering man's deepest questions), albeit a godless religion, than I must agree. The Communists certainly killed more people in the 20th Century than all the "religious wars" of the prior 1.9 millennia.

Back to Coulardeau. He writes, "With the musket everything changed. It was necessary, for it being used in best conditions, for the Maoris to move their forts and villages to the lowlands. This made them live in swamps, in very unhealthy territories. Their wars were changed, some of their customs were also changed and their habitat was changed. This last element caused the propagation of serious diseases among the population, causing its reduction over a few decades. This book is thus a perfect testimony about the changes colonialization brought to those populations, those people who some like to describe as primitive."

Well, yes and no. What Coulardeau left out is that Maning described the need to move from the forts on the hills to the swamps near their crops was their survival need to get muskets, and they way they could get trade goods was from their farms (e.g., growing flax). What Coulardeau leaves out is the sad reason they needed muskets to defend themselves is that in this "primitive" (nay, let's call it SAVAGE) society. That sad reason is that they believed "might made right."

Simply put, pre-Christian Maoris considered quite OK, even admirable, for any man or group to murder and pillage any other man or group if strong enough to pull it off.

Viking raiders had the same opinion when they "went shopping" in England. In their society, it was morally right to swoop in, kill and plunder those who had eked out a living on the land. Imagine the Hatfields and McCoys running total amuck with revenge, murder, and even eating each other. Would any Modern admire THAT as a wee cultural pecadillo?

Today's Maori do not live in constant dread of an individual or marauding gang appearing at any time holding the belief that they have every right to "harvest" the possessions and even the flesh of their neighbors.

We Americans so respect the caribou that migrate twice each season for their economic benefit that we built parts of the Alaskan pipeline underground to preserve their travel patterns.

Cannot we extend to the English a similar respect vis a vis Australia or New Zealand? French, Spanish, Dutch, Irish, Scots, English, Italians, Germans, Russians, Norse, Greeks, Pakistanis, Sihks, Gujratis, and Mexicans who move to the USA? Or Americans themselves, such as Daniel Boone, who moved "out west" to have a little more room, or Mormons who moved for a more peaceful clime than Nauvoo, Ill.?

I think we should respect them when they did it peacefully. When they acted like Hitler looking for "lebensraum" or Maoris looking for plunder, we must chasten them. Why? Because they are not being "good Christians." The best Christians, e.g. Jogues and Elliot, were utterly peaceful. Cortez and many others fell short, yes, of the CHRISTIAN ideal. The Maoris, however, had no such ideals.

In modern times, nobody ever say Stalin was a "bad atheist." You might call him a "bad man," but when you do you're smuggling in from Christianity your very definition of good and bad.

Modernists! Admit your source for your belief in right and wrong: It emerged from Christianity not pond slime.

F.E. Maning was one of those Englismen who arrived in New Zealand before its being integrated in the British Empire. He became a Pakeha Maori, the personal « property » of a Maori chief, trading with his tribe in many articles particularly muskets and gunpowder. The book is interesting because it describes the Maori civlization before its being completely destroyed by colonialization. But it is of great interest in its showing the direct influence of European culture, particularly of the musket, on the fate of the Maoris from the very start of the European presence. Before, this warlike people was living in forts positioned on hilltops and on cliffs, that is to say in dry and healthy places. Only their agriculture was concerned by the low lands that were cultivated. This location of the forts and villages was perfectly well adapted to the use of the spear to defend them. With the musket everything changed. It was necessary, for it being used in best conditions, for the Maoris to move their forts and villages to the lowlands. This made them live in swamps, in very unhealthy territories. Their wars were changed, some of their customs were also changed and their habitat was changed. This last element caused the propagation of serious diseases among the population, causing its reduction over a few decades. This book is thus a perfect testimony about the changes colonialization brought to those populations, those people who some like to describe as primitive.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Ollie goes off an a ski trip and meets a few strange characters. King Winter has trouble with a witch and its all rather good fun in a simple way

We love all of her books and buy them 1 at a time as we can afford them. In an age of big in your face pop up books and childrens books that make your eyes hurt these books are a wonderful find. As always the illustrations are beautiful - I read all the reviews first but few had actual specifics about the actual invdividual stories of her books, so that's what I've done here. I hope it helps others know what wonderful books they are. I wish they were easier to find in Canada.

This story is about Ollie - his father gets him a pair of skis for his 6th birthday. He waited longingly for winter to come. He was so excited when it did that he wanted to go use his skis. His mum made sure he ate his porridge and was dressed warmly before he headed out. He came across Jack Frost who takes him to King Winters castle. They come across Mrs. Thaw who is trying to melt the snow but Jack Frost chases her off and breathes on everything to make it all frozen again. They go off to king winters castle which is beautiful and built of polished ice. He meets king winter and gets to see people sitting around the fire working away happily making ski boots and women knitting thick socks. In another room he sees girls knitting ski mitts and embroidering and in a big workshop some boys were building skis and tobggans and sledges and skate blades. They were trying to finish them all for everyone before Christmas. When they all took a break, Ollie gets to go outside and ski, skate and built snowmen and big snowcastles and have a huge snowball fight. When the break was over the children went back inside and Jack Frost offered to take Ollie home, so they harnessed a reindeer and had him pull them on Ollie's skis. Jack Frost said goodbye at the edge of the forest. Come Christmas morning Ollie was so excited to find a pair of magnificent skates for himself and a toboggan for his little brother. He knew at once Jack Frost had paid him a visit! He used his skates nearly every day that winter and they tried to get Mrs. Thaw to not come in the spring but she came and melted all the snow. Then spring came driving up in her airy carriage, and curtsied to Mrs. Thaw and Ollie decided he really liked Mrs. Thaw after all. Wonderful story!

Ollie gets his first pair of skiis and uses them in the woods near his home somewhere in Scandanavia. He meets up with Jack-Frost, and some other colorful characters. The art-work is of a style and beauty long missing in childrens' books. Ms. Beskow's drawings are from an earlier period in children's literature, and are quite nostaligic for those of us raised with our grandparent's childrens' books.