New Zealand Books

I loved this story! What makes it so funny is the author's wry sense of humor and her ability to laugh at herself. The description put the reader right there through the whole experience (one I wouldn't want to have!), and I'm sure I sighed with relief when she finally emerged unscathed from the cave. I look forward to more stories from this author.

This book has been so valuable to me when planning outings in the greater Wellington region. I take it along with me on walks too.
It is very well organised with clear information about what to expect on each walk, as well as interesting history and nature insights. Great maps too, which I find clearer than the "official" ones sometimes available.
Good variety of tracks from all around the region, including the central city.
This is good for visitors to the city as well as locals.

The book arrived within two weeks of my ordering it and was in the condition advertised.

These were some of my favorite books growing up, and this one was my all-time favorite! It is sad that they are so hard to find now. Not only were the stories funny, but the illustrations were colorful and appealing to young children. I would love to find more of these for my son who loves to be read to.

This is a comprehensive breakdown of neighborhoods and property values. I'm afraid this is bit dated now in as much as property values go, but the description of the city is still solid. I'm desperately waiting for the fourth edition.

I was given this book to read when it was first published - 1954 - when I was 12 years old. I am now 58!

The courage, humour, resourcefulness and sheer mental tenacity displayed by this group of women astounded me - even as a 12 year old. I seemed to bond with them. I wept when prisoners were abused or died and laughed myself silly when they pulled funny pranks on their loathesome Japanese guards.

I am an avid reader but there has never been another book which has left such an impression on me. As a high school student of English, I chose "White Coolies" as a book review assignment. I remember scoring very highly.

I am keen to obtain a copy of White Coolies, particularly as one of the wonderful women featured in it, Vivien Statham (Bullwinkel) passed away in Perth, Western Australia, this week.

Rowse traces the history of Aboriginal contact with white settlers by examining the economic rewards offered to the indigenous people by pastoralists and missionaries, from the first distribution of foodstuffs through the integration of Aboriginal people into a cash economy in the last 50 years. This is a book that wil suprise you with insights and connections, make even statistics live, and demonstrate how comlicated the skein of relationships between black and white in Australia hav ebeen and continue to be. Each transaction seems to offer good and bad, and although Rowse never attempts to speak for the Aboriginal people, but only examines the voices of whitefellas through their leavings in the historical record, he manages to pressent a balanced and nuanced understanding of both sides of the frontier.

Wild Rivers: Discovering The Natural History Of The Central South Island by Dimedin-based New Zealand guidebook writer and nature photographer Neville Peat and Brian Patrick (entomologist, botanist, and Otago Museum general manager) is a gorgeous, 142 page volume filled from cover to cover with full-color nature photography showcasing the Central South Island of New Zealand. The informative and reader friendly text reveals a wondrous journey through the history of rock, unique ecosystems, and illustrates wide variety of natural settings from coast to icy mountaintops. Wild Rivers is a beautiful and fascinating book, and as close as any reader can get to the natural wonder of New Zealand short of actually going there!

I bought this book with the hope of finding something more authentic than some of the more popular books on Australian Aboriginal culture I'd read. Though these stories have been collected, translated and compiled by Anglo Australians, my impression is that the authenticity of these stories has been retained. I do believe my authenticity-meter is pretty accurate. However, I have no authority on the subject, and would love to see a review here from someone who does. In absence of such, I hope my review is helpful to others.

Each story is followed by Johanna Lambert's commentary. Lambert draws parallels between concepts in these stories, and myths of other cultures. She also explains the contextual beliefs of Aboriginal people in a way that I found helpful and seems respectful to me. At times the psychoanalytical perspective seems a bit forced when applied to these stories and Aboriginal culture in general. I wonder if psychoanalysis is universal enough to be applicable to something so ancient and whole in and of itself. For the most part, though, I found the analysis helpful, and if you don't, you can just read the stories and skip the analysis which follows.

If your exposure to Aboriginal culture from the women's perspective is limited to Lynn Andrews or Marlo Morgan, I highly recommend you read this book. Also a great book for anthropologists and students of shamanism or global spirituality. Or, if you enjoyed "Rabbit-Proof Fence," if you just like to hear about different perspectives than your own or want to understand the various people of the world, this book is for you. Recommended.

~heidimo

For those interested in one of the earliest successful movements for women's suffrage, this book is a must. It is the best of the books on the Australian movement for its thoroughness. While there are more "fun" versions of the movements with oral history excerpts, etc., this is the book to turn to as the authoritative work on the subject.