New Zealand Books

This book is about Don Stott and "Z" Force, a New Zealand & Australian special forces unit that operated in SE Asia in WW2. Z Force was an ANZAC unit that conducted some successful raids on the Japanese in SE Asia, much of the experience for setting up the unit having come from the British SAS, SOE and Commando units and from ANZAC troops who had served with these units earlier in the war. Don Stott was one of these, the book largely focuses on him and the Kiwi contribution to Z force. There were other raids conducted by primarily Australian troops on Singapore - there's a couple of other good books on these.

Donald John Stott was born in Birkenhead on 23 October 1914, and grew up in the district. When he left school he joined the New Zealand Herald as a rotary machinist. He enlisted in the New Zealand Army in 1940, and quickly rose to the rank of Sergeant in the Artillery. During 1940 he left New Zealand with the Second Echelon. He fought in Greece and in the Crete campaign of May 1941, where he was wounded and captured by the Germans. After spending two months in a Prisoner of War camp in Greece he escaped, and after seven months on the run, managed to obtain a boat and sail across the Mediterranean Sea to North Africa where he rejoined his unit.

In 1942 Don Stott was commissioned. He was asked if he was interested in going back to Greece to carry out sabotage work, to which he readily agreed. He attended a parachute course, and after many delays, finally parachuted into Greece in March 1943, where he made contact with guerilla bands who were fighting the Germans. During his period in Greece, Don Stott was responsible for many acts of sabotage, one of which was carrying out a daring raid that resulted in the demolition of the strategically crucial, heavily defended and virtually inaccessible Aspos Gorge railway viaduct, one of the greatest exploits of the Second World War, and one which changed the course of the war in Greece. For this action he was recommended by his commanding officer for The Victoria Cross, but because there had been no shots fired during the action, was eventually awarded the Distinguished Service Order. The Colonel who was Second-in-Command of the British Mission to Greece described Don Stott as "the bravest man I ever knew".

Towards the end of 1943 the Germans realised that the war on the Eastern Front was going badly for them, and as Italy had capitulated, the odds were against them. They therefore wished to discuss the possibility of a truce. The Mayor of Athens approached Don Stott and asked him to a meeting with the Germans to discuss proposals for peace. Although this would place him at considerable risk, Don agreed to take part, and after many meetings was given safe passage by the Germans to Turkey, from where he returned to Cairo to put the proposals to the Allies. Although nothing came of the proposals, Don was awarded a Bar to his D.S.O. for his part in the operation.

Major Don Stott returned to New Zealand in May 1944, before going to Australia where he was on loan to the Australian Army as an expert on Special Service work. There he was attached to "Z" Special Unit, a highly secret force of commandos and saboteurs, which was to create havoc behind enemy lines in south-east Asia. This unit, with Major Don Stott in command, was sent on a special operation into Japanese territory in Borneo. The unit was taken to the area by submarine, and on the night of 20-21 March 1945, a very stormy night, set off in folboats (similar to kayaks) for the shore. Major Don Stott was never sighted again. On that day New Zealand lost one of its bravest heroes, a man who, perhaps, had come to the end of his nine lives after cheating death so many times. He had crammed more into his 30 years than most people would into two lifetimes.

Very interested book on one narrow facet of WW2 special forces ops. Good detail, well-written.

I first read this book about 15 years ago with great interest as it was written about one of my wifes relatives this is the second book about the life of James Douglas Stark,a fearless soldier of the ww1 the first book, also written by Hyde is called passport to helland is more to do with his feats during the first world war both books make fascinating reading

I have had this book for a long time. I continue to refer back to the information and understanding of life's rules. I highly recommend it for executives and managers.

Haviland's book is an interesting if not entirely successful experiment in ethnographic literature. Or perhaps we should say, Haviland's and Roger Hart's, since he goes further than most anthropologists in crediting the person who provided him with the information. It is well to remember that we anthropologists do not so much write books as craft accounts of the experiences that people allow us to have into books.
Haviland weaves together three strands in his work: Hart's life story as an elder from the Barrow Point region, the myths of the Barrow Point people (as reconstructed by Hart), and documentary data from the modern history of northern Queensland. He finally accompanies Hart on a journey back to his homeland. Haviland is more aware and more clear than most that an ethnography of a contemporary Aboriginal or any other native group cannot be straightforward reportage but must always been pieced back together from the fractured memories of the survivors of the modernization process. The resultant book, he warns, will always seem more integrated and unified than the experiences that went into it. His book cannot help but suffer from the same defect. He presents a refraction of his disjointed experience of Hart's disjointed memories, but a book that really presented the experience as it felt in the first place would be impossible to read. The whole project is worthwhile not only for what we learn about Aboriginal culture but about anthropological knowledge and the construction of one kind of account and literature out of another.

Here are hunting tales as only Philip Holden can tell them, nostaligc recollections of the days that used to be

Miles Allen is an architect with a wide-ranging and comprehensive knowledge of earth buildings in New Zealand. 'Out of the ground' covers the historical context for the modern earth building renaissance, building methods, soil evaluation and stabilisation, and design issues. It is a practical and user-friendly guide to everything you wanted to know about building with earth.
It has many line drawings by Kristina Cope and photographs (mainly black and white) to illustrate the text but I found the drawings in particular disappointing.
Other than that, it is an enjoyable read with personal anecdotes and lots of very useful information.

This book was a great read, especially for an Aussie, and provided a great look at 50's Australia. This book is autobiographical, and Hugh Lunn really know how to let us into his head, and he definitely isn't afraid to pull any punches. It is amazing to see how far we have come. With plenty of historical info, as well as a few good laughs, I recommend this book.

Miller's book is a good quality book. It does introduce political parties in New Zealand well. However, I feel as though it is more an undergraduate textbook than a research book. I strongly recommend it as an introduction to New Zealand's party system, but not to serious researchers seeking to further their own studies.

Persimmon Culture in New Zealand is pretty good coverage of the subject. Some of the stuff is New Zealand specific, and not applicable to the USA, but most is useful and accurate. At only about 70 pages, it's too short, but it's also about the only book out on the subject. Of course, it has nothing to do with Sociology, Amazon has it mis-filed.

To some Australians, the Mabo case threatened to overturn all that had happened since the British arrived in 1788. But to others, it was a long overdue acknowledgment of historic injustices. The author gives us the background behind Mabo. Chronicling years of effort by Aboriginal activists to assert some residue of native title.

It's not a cheery read. Much is explained of the parlous conditions under which many Aborigines labour; especially those still in rural tribal environments. Still, the account shows how persistent efforts led to a seminal decision by the High Court.

The book does not describe the aftermath. In the few years since it came out, little has changed in the typical Aboriginal condition.