New Zealand Books

This is a great book by a brilliant historian who is deeply revered on both sides of the Atlantic. It will be the definitive work. Christopher Catherwood, author of CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS AND ISLAMIC RAGE (Zondervan, 2003)

This is a much more thorough study of Congregational culture and doctrine than that of Perry Miller. Miller's work relied entirely on published weekday sermons. Stout mined the unpublished sermon notes of hundreds of New England preachers to find a balance that Miller missed. Stout convincingly shows that the ministers' commitment to the salvation of their listeners was always paramount, and finds a consistency in their messages that link the ministers of the 1630's with those of the 1770's. Stout finds few doctrinal differences between Old Lights such as John Cotton and New Lights such as Jonathan Edwards. It's a tough read (being intellectual history), but it's well worth the effort if you wish to get inside the Puritan mind.

Harry S. Stout (Ph.D., Kent State University) is currently a professor of American religious history at Yale University. Building on the groundbreaking work of Perry Miller, Stout published The New England Soul in 1986. The study is more extensive than its paperback size might suggest. The main body of the work covers nearly 150,000 words and is supplemented by 68 pages of extensive end notes. The work has become a standard text for college and graduate courses in colonial American history.

Stout's work centers on the content, role, and power of the sermon in Puritan (later New England) America from the first landings to the beginning of the American revolution. His thesis, which is strongly supported through the work, is that the sermon was the central agent in creating a cohesive culture that evolves toward eventual self-identity and independence. Drawing extensively on primary sources, Stout brings to the contemporary reader the piety and passions of the people whose culture forms the soil for the American nation.

Stout follows the sermon through five generations of New England preachers. These generations are marked by gradual but significant changes in the style and, to some degree, content of the sermon. These five generations he labels invention (1620-1665), arrangement (1666-1700), style (1701-1730), delivery (1731-1763), and memory (1764-1776).

These five stages are, he admits, not dramatic shifts as much as a continual evolution. Through these stages Stout demonstrates changes in style (from plain to "Anglican") and, to some degree, in content. He asserts, however, that the essential core elements of the sermon remain consistent, and that the changes reflect the sermon's adjustment to a changing environment. In this assertion Stout challenges to common suggestion that Puritan preaching displaced its original mission and passion over time.

The themes of personal piety and liberty, Stout demonstrates, are constant from the early sermons of John Cotton to sermons like that of Samuel West celebrating the liberation of Boston by George Washington in 1776. These themes are linked by a shared sense of cultural and religious destiny, the "city set on a hill" mission, in which American New England would fulfill the goal of Calvin's Geneva to create the perfect society in which the Kingdom of God might be fully realized on earth.

The New England preacher, more so than the statesman or soldier, was the preeminent power and power-broker in the Colonial period. The sermon was both soteriological and political, reflecting a conceptual marriage of church and state difficult for the contemporary reader to fully grasp.

One great value of Stout's work is, following in the steps of Perry Miller, he brings to the reader the words of voices long forgotten. While John Cotton, Cotton Mather, Jonathan Edwards, and a handful of other divines have remained well known figures, at least to students of early American history, Stout brings to life the words of dozens of other preachers whose works and words are now preserved only in small numbers of rare books and pamphlets.

Stout effectively demonstrates how the sermons, especially of the eighteenth century, laid the foundation for the revolution and the birth of the American nation. The "messianic mission" of the early Puritans was malleable enough to be transfigured into the great battle, against the Beast of the British monarchy, to establish the independence of the colonies. Any student of American or religious history would be well served by including Stout's work in their must-read list. Any teacher of early American history should seriously consider adding this to any list of recommended texts. The contemporary student will be surprised at the multiple connections between religious and political thinking in early American life, as well as the pivotal role the sermon plays in the development of that life.

As I anticipated this publication on Pacific jewelry and adornment is a striking publication. It is beautifully designed and printed.

There are over 240 high-quality photographs illustrating an awesome selection of objects from around the Pacific. The first class photography reveals the exquisite details of artistry used with various materials - all round this book makes great pacific ornamental reference material.

Enhanced throughout with the superb color images of Auckland-based photographer Krzysztof Pfeiffer, Pacific Jewelry And Adornment is the collaborative work of Roger Neich (Curator of Ethnology, Auckland Museum and Professor of Anthropology, University of Auckland) and Fuli Pereira (Curator of the Pacific Collection, Auckland Museum). This impressively informative work of art history showcases 250 representative examples of traditional jewelry from the Pacific made from the raw materials of jade, whale tooth and bone, shark teeth, tapa, shells, and plant fibers. Insightful information is provided to the use of personal decorative items to reflect power, status and community, as well as their significance with respect to high ceremonial occasions. Drawn from the collections of the Auckland Museum, these illustrative items reflect the vast geographical areas of the Pacific from Micronesia, Papua, New Guinea, and Fiji, to Samoa, Tonga, Hawaii, New Zealand, and the Cook Islands. Pacific Jewelry And Adornment is a strongly recommended addition to any academic or community library Oceanic Culture or Art History collection.

Roger Neich is one of the leading experts in Pacific ethnology with a score of informative and readable books and catalogs to his credit. Pacific Jewelry and Adornment is the most recent addition to his remarkable published work. Incorporating some of the best examples of Pacific Jewelry from the Aukland Museum and other collections, the book provides a concise and detailed overview of the diversity of styles, while outlining the forces of migration and trade that influenced the dispersal of form and material. As an ethnologist who has studied and written on Pacific adornment, I have read pretty much everything there is on the subject, and this book is the single best source. Beautifully illustrated also.

I was looking for some thorough information about the island and its inhabitants past and present. This book was very specific and gives a person everything you may want to know and not know.

This book is rich with detail. The author goes beyond the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty and tells us what happens next, from the late 1700s to the present day. This is a fascinating account of the lives of the people who inhabit and visit Pitcairn Island.

I had a strong hunch before purchasing this book that it would turn out to be an exciting read. Last year at our local college I took Professor Robert Kirk's American History course (1865-present), and I was impressed with how he could transform what otherwise might be a series of dry facts and events into themed narrative tales that had the same compelling force as dramatic fiction.

And Pitcairn Island does not disappoint. Kirk just knows how to tell a tale, and he does this with the same narrative drive he uses in his lectures, and with the same wryness. Describing the fate of the captured mutineers: "Slowly gasping for air, each of the condemned was hoisted up by his neck. It was as good free entertainment as George III's government could provide." (p. 44)

The book reads like a novel, but you never forget that the stories are true, since Kirk documents the events, the characters and their actions in exquisite detail. Kirk had access to many primary documents at the Pitcairn Island Study Center at Pacific Union College, with at least 200 sourced references for this book. His own visit to the island must have given him a real feel for the current scene. The result is that the depth of scholarship and analysis is profound throughout all 250 pages. Just one example: When referring to the prison colony on Norfolk island (to which the Pitcairners moved at one point), Kirk writes, "Victims [prisoners] who fainted from the flogger's blows were allowed to rest for a short time until they had recovered sufficiently to continue to receive the number of lashes promised...it was not uncommon to find survivors with no flesh on their backs." (p. 114). How was Kirk able to dig up such morbid and fascinating details from the early 1800's? Clearly he did his homework.

I'm not usually much of a history buff, but it's hard not to be drawn in by an adventure tale that starts with the violent mutiny on the Bounty, a many-year hideout on an uninhabited remote island with violent mutineers and beautiful Polynesian women, and ends with a controversial rape and sex abuse trial that took place just 4 years ago. Along the way, beneath the seediness and steaminess, Kirk shows us how generations of a small group of isolated islanders survive and die, sometimes prosper, and sometimes wither, under adverse and bizarre conditions that are probably unique on this planet.

Anyone who's looking for a history book that reads like a novel, and certainly anyone planning on taking a cruise through the South Pacific with the idea of visiting Pitcairn Island, should pick up a copy of this book. This is the definitive story.

The latest release of Kamminga and Mulvaney's book is a must for anyone interested in Australia's past. For decades, this book has represented the cutting-edge of knoweledge about Australian prehistory and the latest complete re-write fails to dissapoint.

This work covers all areas of Australian prehistory in a clear and concise manner, that makes is invaluable for students/academics and the interested 'armchair archaeologist' alike.

This book is written by two scientists who have played important roles in the rapidly developing subject of Australian prehistory. It is not simply a revision of the 1971 book - the picture archaeologists have of the prehistory of Australia has transformed in the past 30 years, and this book captures that exciting transformation. The archaeology of aboriginal occupancy of Australia is also a politically charged subject and the authors manage the difficult task of presenting this story with sensitivity. I think that the book is a fine example of how to present a mass of scientific evidence by weaving it into an engaging and moving story. The authors presentation of human response to the shifting Pleistocene and Holocene palaeoenvironment in Australia is excellent. The references are thorough and well organised and a useful glossary of archaeological, geological and biological terms is appended. The book concludes with three chapters on aboriginal rock art. Finally, the book is well formatted and easy on the eye. First rate - highly recommended to all literate Australians (given the wide ignorance of this important subject in our country) and to anyone with an interest in prehistory. I can't recommend it highly enough!

This was an interesting introduction to Australian prehistory. I'd not come across a similar general text on the subject before this one, although I've read some of the data as passing references in other books on prehistory. Some of the discussion on the flint technology was a little slow-going because the differences in technique, stone sources, and styles among the various periods and regions were less apparent and less engrossing to me than they obviously are to the authors. In other respects the book is an excellant starting point for anyone with an interest in Austrilia or in prehistoric culture in general.

If you are looking for a detailed work on the history, expansion, and operation of New Zealand's railways, then this is the book for you. Churchman and Hurst's research is meticulous, detailed, and presented extremely well - if you have any interest in railways, you will enjoy reading this vivid insight. Along with a comprehensive overview of how the network has evolved, the book includes the histories of each specific line: some are obviously more detailed than others (generally based on relative importance - the North Island Main Trunk has its own section while the small Greytown branch has just a short article in the Wellington section), and if you have a particularly keen interest in a certain town or line you may be slightly disappointed if it doesn't receive the attention of others, but for a broad overview, the wealth of information is immense. No one part of the country receives favouritism, and one aspect I especially like is that even some proposed routes are given detailed descriptions, notably the oft-proposed Taupo and Nelson lines. The photography is compiled from a diverse range of eras and photographers and is simply stunning. This is not just a book you can read, but one you can pick up, flick through, and admire the images.

This is, in my opinion, one of the ultimate books on New Zealand's railways and belongs in the collection of any rail enthusiast.

If you want to know about how the railways in New Zealand have developed from the earliest days to 2000 then this book tells you virtually everything you want to know. There's not too much on locomotives used but there are other books which are devoted to that. This is more a history of the system and in the second and larger part of the book there is a history of every main line and branch line that has ever existed. A great reference book and great photos!

Geoffery B. Churchman and Tony Hurst have teamed up to update a book that was first produced in 1990. A nice big book full of color and easy to read articals will appeal to young and old alike.

New materal has been added to allow the passage of time,(the continued demise of the network including the now truncated Otago Central Line) however the format is still the same with a few added extras.

Like the United States, New Zealand's rail system was created from the need to open up communications between communities during early settlement. The first operating public railway opened in the South Island in 1863. Originally the Provincial Governments were to provide for their own systems and at one stage New Zealand had three gauges operating. Standardisation came at the start of the 1870s with Central Government stepping in and ordering all railways to operate on the 3ft 6in gauge (instead of 4ft 8in) to allow for easy construction. Today that decision has been seen as a mistake.

An oddity was the privately funded and run Wellington and Manawatu Railway, which was allowed to be built to aid the government during the 1880s depression. A success, the fully American like railway ran until 1908 when the Main Trunk Line was completed and the Government execised it's right to absorb the line into the Government Railways.

By the mid 1870's the South Island had a main line extending from Christchurch south to Invercargill with numerous branch lines sprouting out from it.

The difficult terrain of the North Island saw the capital of Wellington finally connect with Auckland in 1908. Although a British colony, as already metioned, New Zealand adopted American practise in locomotive building (even today) while operating practise maintained some British systems such as signalling while level crossing warning systems were and are very American.

However it was only in the 1940s that the country had a full trunk network with the completion of the difficult to build North Line in the South Island between Picton and Christchurch.

Eventually the spider's web of railways crossed the girth of both islands and this book depics the trials and tribulations of those who built the network,(private consortiums and Government)those who ran it and to many the sad demise of the many secondary and branch lines, including the now famous Fell Railway in the Wellington region. All this was possible as ther were road restrictions placed on the movement of goods, which is explained in detail.

Well written, it is easy to follow and every branch line that the New Zealand Railways owned and/or operated gets a mention. Included are some of it's idiosyncracies,(Passenger carrages on the famous Tranz Alpine Express are over 50 years in age) and it's eventual failed privatisation in 1993.

Now that the rail system is about to be partially re-nationalised after constant failiure to turn a good profit (even though it moves more freight now than it ever did in Government ownership) it now seems that a new chapter in New Zealand's rail history is now beginning. The lesson to be learned, a small population cannot sustain a private railway that has to compete with raod transport.

For those who barely know of New Zealand's rail heritage, this book is a great introduction.

La Boatique is a wonderful intimate view of the dream of many weekend sailors -- to make an ocean voyage, visiting all the islands of the Pacific. She tells which anchorages are best, how they fished for dinner during a 23 day passage between islands in the Pacific. They have medical emergencies, boat problems, etc., but as part of the sailing community, they are in touch with other "yachties" making similar passages, and they all help each other. Great story!

I enjoyed reading about the adventures at the exotic tropical islands far off the beaten path.

As a mother of two with a fixer-upper house, my husband and I stay on dry land and do not take risky vacations. Ms. Wagner's book is great in that she shares the stage for being on an exotic get-a-way far from the comforts of home. Sometimes while doing dishes I look out the window and see the ocean - but fortunately for me - I have yet to get sea sick!

287 Pages, 11.5" x 8.75", Hardback. A simply superb book, lavishly illustrated in full color, beautifully demonstrating the power and magic of the shields of New Guinea and the surrounding islands. Hundreds of full-color items and 14 maps.

It is a bit sad that the people living in such an idyllic location as the islands of the South Pacific. But of course there were people there and that means that there was conflict.

Among the many differences in these shields from those commonly seen in European collections is that the South Pacific islands had no iron, no metals of any type. While the Europeans were constantly innovating and improving their weapons, the islanders were still making fighting equipment from organic materials such as animal hide, bark, wood, rattan. That means, among other things that these shelds were made relatively recently when compared with European exhibits.

Surprisingly, although this book is titled Shields of Melanesia, many of the areas of what is now called Melanesia such as Vanuatu and New Caladonia never developed shields at all. This book will represent the definitive work on this class of shields, it is beautifully printed and illustrated.

A great work about the various shield types of Melanesia. The book deals mostly with mainland New Guinea, but also with surrounding Islands and the Solomons. There are beautiful pictures in color of the shields and old b/w field photographs. It includes also many distribution maps of the different shield types. Until now, this is the first reference book about Melanesian shields, and a must for anybody who is interested in that field. Not only the allready well known regions like Sepik-, Asmat and Highlands of P.N.G. are described, it deals also with lesser known areas like Digul or Waropen.
Barry Craig had long-time field expirience at the Min region (see his other book about that region „Art and Decoration of Central New Guinea". The austrian Harry Beran, is an expert about the Massim Art.
It's a pitty, that the book is not available from the original publisher in australia. He is a specialist for books about Melanesia-New Guinea. Without his enthusiasm, many books about that field, would not have been published.

New Zealander Darcy Farrell has been raising her orphaned niece, Brooke, for the last eight years. Her sister had died in childbirth and had listed the father as unknown on the birth certificate. So when Travis Denton suddenly arrives from America and claims that no only was he her sister's husband, he is Brooke's father too, she's stunned! She's not convinced that Travis knows what he's talking about. However, Travis is determined that his daughter will come to America and live with him. How can Brooke part with the child she's loved as her own for the last eight years? As Darcy and Travis spend time together in order to allow Travis to get to know Brooke, they begin to have deeper feelings for each other. Darcy isn't sure that Travis's feelings for her alone, or because of his daughter. Can they form a family together?

Three Hearts was an enjoyable read. I grew to care about both Travis and Darcy, even though occasionally you want to hit Travis for his totally oblivious determination to tear his daughter from the only home and mother she's ever known. While the story occasionally slows to a crawl, I was still invested in Travis and Darcy's finding their happy ending together. Three Hearts is most certainly an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon!

Melissa
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

At the start of the book I hated Travis Denton who came over as arrogant, self opinionated and judgemental. He made assumptions about Darcy Farrell's way of life, employment and from that he decided that she was not a good guardian for Brooke who he thought was his daughter. There were times when Travis was lovable and I began to warm to him but always he reverted to the kind of person he was when he arrived in New Zealand. On the other hand I wanted to know if the two main characters became a couple so that it had a happy ending for the child. I particularly enjoyed the tour of parts South Island - areas which I visited in February 2006. It brought back such lovely memories of the people and the beautiful landscape together with the folklore wrapped around it.

I took this book on my EBookman to Mexico for a holiday read and found that I couldn't put it down. It was both annoying as well as moving and it was easy to imagine this as a true life situation.

A good story, easily enjoyable and well worth settling into.

A delightful romance. Set mainly in New Zealand, readers are sure to enjoy their little 'tour' of the beautiful South Island. Appealing characters - you'll fall in love with Travis! Definitely a "curl up on a rainy day" book. Enjoy!

This is an excellent, well set out book with clear instructions to make suck quilts as:
Berried Treasures
Bishopdale
D'Urville
Fifeshire
Marble Mountain
Sandy Bay
Tasman Bay
Trafalgar Square and others.
Using Joyce's Squirty & Squiffy family of quilting shorthand one look through this book should make you think "I can make that."
I have very successfully made mitred borders with Joyce's instructions - they're now a breeze!!!
Quilts are photographed on location (eg Berried Treasures in a Berryfruit garden) in and around Nelson, Top of South Island of New Zealand.

Joyce Jones' Uncovering Traditional Quilts provides piecing tips and techniques, showing how to explore combinations of piecing techniques and how to use squares and rectangles to easy advantage. A recommended pick for avid quilters.

This book is more than what it might seem at first look. Yes, it is a primer for making simple traditional-style quilts. Beginners as well as more experienced quilters will have excellent results using Joyce Jones' easy techniques, largely new to America. One happy fact is that no triangles have to be cut or pieced to create any of the many new designs in the book - hard to believe, but true! The author presents her system of quilt construction and her "quilt shorthand" language for analyzing any traditional quilt patterns clearly and with humor. But what I found even more intriguing are the many original designs themselves. I've been quilting for a number of years, and I'm pretty familiar with traditional designs. These quilts look like they might have been made one hundred years ago by our great grandmothers - almost! In each case, there is a freshness to the design; a bit of a different look that lets the reader know this book comes from somewhere else - New Zealand in this case. I'm tempted to make several of these quilts, because I know that each one is going to look original and refreshingly new to my fellow quilters. If you like to piece, like the geometry of traditional designs but want to make something just a bit different from the usual, and want to work quickly and accurately, give this book a try. The author covers, with thoroughness and clarity and excellent illustrations and photos, the basics of fabric selection, preparation, all the steps in quilt construction, and finishing techniques. From inspiration to standing back and listening to the complements, this book will be an invaluable guide to you in your next several projects.

NZ is not littered with large hotels; most tourist accommodation is bed and breadfast and very good at that. This book documents most of the best in the country, with detailed comments, prices and several pictures of each place so that you have a clear idea of what it will be like.

I was in one of the boutique hotels that is featured in this book one night while out of my home town on business. (Dorothy's Boutique Hotel in Christchurch - a must stay place! ) In each of the rooms of this hotel was this fanastic guide to NZ accommodation.

Instead of being one of those typical hotel nights, where you are bored silly, I was fascinated to flick through the pages and see somem of the regions of our great country that have adopted the concept of becoming unique in themselves.

I have since visited many of the Hotels and Guest rooms featured, and in every case it has felt like staying with friends, not that plastic feel that alot of hotels have.

I would seriously recommend this book for all travellers that want to see the "real" New Zealand. Not that NZ is fake, but there are so much more to our country than the central cities.

I have this book on my coffee table at home, representing some of the best NZ places to visit and stay.