Product Description
A Traveller's History of New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands gives the curious tourist not only a modern-day portrait of New Zealand and the far-flung islands, their political systems, and economic diversity, but also looks at the early settling of this massive area which covers about a fifth of the surface of the earth.

When European navigators first sailed into this region, they were astonished at the exotic shared culture and language of the natives, separated in some cases by terrifying stretches of open ocean.The story of the peopling of the South Pacific Islands and New Zealand is one of the world's great sagas.

The book covers the whole scope of New Zealand's past and present history and allows the reader to make sense of what they see in a way that no other guidebook can. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great read for a North American visiting New Zealand
This book starts very slow (with the geology of the country) and then ramps up as it approaches modern day New Zealand.It covers almost every major event that has been recorded in the country and explains the cultural and social significance on what happened and why it happened that way.I was there for 2 weeks and found myself referring back to what I had read to provide more background to what we were seeing.This book makes you semi-fluent in New Zealand history.MUST READ and definitely worth the money.

As a side note: the original Polynesian inhabitants are the Maori people.I was corrected (embarrassingly by a Maori) on how to say the word.It is not May-ore-ee (like most think).It is Mar-ee.

A Well written introducton
This is a well written general introducton to New Zealand, and is a bt more than just a "Traveller's History".Chambers explains how the geology affected the geography of the region, and how this in turn determined the development of flora and fauna.The ethnographical dscusssion is interesting and written with considerable wit.I found the modern history to be intriguing, and beware the MMP!The book has nice maps and line drawngs and a good bibliography. I am at a loss, however as why one would need the historical gazetteer or list of rulers. ... Read more

Product Description
In this new account of New Zealand's history, Philippa Mein Smith considers the rugged and dynamic land from its break from Gondwana 80 million years ago to the beginning of the twenty-first century. Mein Smith highlights the effects of the country's small size and isolation, from late settlement by Polynesian voyagers, very late colonization and settlement by Europeans, and the interactions that made these people Maori and Pakeha, to struggles over land, and efforts through time to manage global forces.Placing New Zealand in its global and regional context, the book reveals its links to Britain, despite being immersed in the Pacific, and part of Australasia. Distinctively, it reveals key moments contributing to the founding of the country's national myths. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Little Too Cut and Dry For My Taste
A Concise History of New Zealand is exactly that -- concise.It is an "easy read".The author covers all bases on the history of the human settlement of the archipelago.However, I find Philippa Mein Smith's writing style a bit too cut and dry for my tastes.Certainly, it is not riveting reading as in the case of "The Fatal Shore" the excellent history of the settling of Australia. ... Read more

Product Description
New Zealand was the last country in the world to be discovered and settled by humankind. It was also the first to introduce a full democracy. Between those events, and in the century that followed the franchise, the movements and the conflicts of human history have been played out more intensively and more rapidly in New Zealand than anywhere else on Earth. This title tells that story in all its colour and drama. The narrative that emerges is an inclusive one about men and women, Maori and Pakeha. It shows that British motives in colonizing New Zealand were essentially humane; and that Maori, far from being passive victims of a "fatal impact", coped heroically with colonization and survived by selectively accepting and adapting what Western technology and culture had to offer. The latter part of the book reveals how an insulated and dependent British colony transformed itself into an independent nation, open to and competing with technological and cultural influences sweeping the globe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

New Zealand's pre-eminant historian
King combines a very thorough scholarship with an eminently clear and readible style. His book is an ideal introduction to New Zealand for the outside world, owing to its strong emphasis on specific unique qualities that set this country apart. He starts his history millions of years ago, when New Zealand first broke off from the giant continent Gondwana (consisting of South America, Africa, Australia and parts of southeast Asia). He credits this event for New Zealand's unique collection of pre-historic plants and animals. New Zealand happens to be the last colony settled by Europeans (mid nineteenth century), a distinction which also means its indigenous Maori were the last major human community to be totally unaffected by the outside world.

King devotes particular attention - unusual for historians of European origin - to the painful process of colonization. However he goes beyond an enumeration of instances of land expropriation and mass killings, by describing the amazing adaptive capacity of the Maori people and the profound influence they had on their colonizers. As New Zealand was the first country in the world to enact women's suffrage, he also devotes significant attention to this period - as well as to the post 1950s self-organizing among Maori to reassert their claim to their ancestral land and cultural heritage (which includes recognition of Maori as an official New Zealand language).

A page turner - in my experience quite rare for a 500 page book.

By Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall, author of THE MOST REVOLUTIONARY ACT: MEMOIR OF AN AMERICAN REFUGEE

A good read, but...?
I should explain that I am an Australian (now also a NZ Citizen)who has lived in NZ for 36 years.Like most Australians, I was almost totally ignorant of NZ before coming here, but have tried to read what has become available over the years in order to gain a better understanding of my adopted country.That reading included the short Penguin history of New Zealand by Sir Keith Sinclair.That history was written with an emphasis on the Pakeha ('European') perspective characteristic of the times.Michael King's book redresses the balance and greatly emphasises the Maori perspective, and Maori/Pakeha relations.I found this fascinating and instructive, and not irrelevant to gaining a better understanding some current social issues.The book is strikingly coherent, and is an easy read because it flows so well.The book is an example of excellent writing.I am left, however, with a strange feeling of unease.Although the book is a long one, there is a feeling that it often just skims the surface.The big picture, as the author saw it, appears to have obscured or even obliterated other material.For example, one is none, or only a little, wiser about how New Zealanders, both Maori and Pakeha, lived at home during World War II and the Great Depression.The author's admiration for NZ soldiers comes through strongly, but is not balanced by an adequate treatment of the appalling, unjust, and well-documented, abuse of conscientious objectors, particularly during World War I.He embraces the scientist Maurice Wilkins as a New Zealander who went abroad to pursue his career: in fact, Maurice Wilkins was born in New Zealand, but taken back to Britain by his parents as a small boy, and never returned.This may be the only inaccuracy in the book, but it does not inspire confidence in its complete accuracy.In short, this book is a good and compelling read, written from a particular point of view.It should not be read as the only account by people who want a balanced understanding of the short history of these islands.Tragically, the author is no longer alive to revise his work: one hopes that another historian will do so.

The Penguin History of New Zealand
An essential but not easy read for all Kiwis and anyone else interested in the land down under.

Easy read for its length
When I was younger my family and I lived in New Zealand. We moved back to the US while I was still in grade school and for the first time since then we went back this winter. Being older this time I had decide that I wanted to learn a little bit about NZ history. I was luck because New Zealand is such a literal society that they had more than enough suggestions for me. This book however was the book that came up most often when I asked book store. I was real apprehensive to get it though because it looked so long and I had really just been looking for something I could read while on vacation. I couldn't be happier with my decision in the end. For being so thick I was able to read this book in only a couple of weeks and I am not a fast reader. Not only was it a quality book that keep me reading it was also broken up into chapters and sections that made it easy to read. Not living in New Zealand or planning on going back as often as I would like, I only wanted information on certain aspects of NZ history. The way this book read I was able to get into the parts I wanted to and skim over some areas with out feeling like I was missing out on the flow of the book. It had everything I could have wanted to know and more in it. Good read.

History in the making
This book is essential to anybody interested in NZ history, and History in general. It is wonderfully written and summarises a detailed history of NZ very well. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Bringing one thousand years to life, this is an illustrated history of New Zealand from the settlement by Polynesians to the present day. The book covers the period of colonization after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the wars between the Maori and the British Army of the 1860s, the beginning of party government in the 1990s, votes for women in 1993, fighting in South Africa and Europe, the Depression, the Maori drift to towns, the influx of Pacific Islanders, and the economic reforms since the fourth Labour Government. Each chapter has been written by an acknowledged expert in his or her field, and a new chapter by Dr Jack Vowles brings the book fully up to date. ... Read more

Product Description
When The Oxford History of New Zealand was first published in 1981 it was acclaimed as the standard reference. The turbulent 1980s have changed much about the way we see New Zealand and its history. Some of these new ways of regarding the past have arisen, directly or obliquely, from the activities of the Waitangi tribunal and the wealth of scholarship, Maori and Pakeha, which now surrounds the treaty of Waitangi. Others come from the events of the 1980s, with their profound social, political, and economic consequences. This new edition provides coverage of the last decade, and takes account of recent historical writing. Six new chapters have been added, and many others have been enlarged or updated, making this a substantially revised and expanded second edition. As before, the book draws upon the work of archaeologists, social scientists, economists, historians, and critics, to provide a comprehensive account of New Zealand's past from the first Polynesian settlement to the present day. Like its predecessor, it is essential reading for every student, scholar, and teacher of New Zealand history, and for the general reader, curious to know about New Zealand's past. ... Read more

Product Description
A loving celebration of an earthly paradise; a cautionary appeal for environmental wisdom.

"One does not have to look to the universe to behold the unusual. There is so much more to be seen and believed right here in the frequently bizarre nature of New Zealand." -from the prologue

This stunning book combines spectacular photography with natural history and personal experience to guide readers into "the land of the long white cloud." Second only to Hawaii in natural diversity, the New Zealand archipelago has borne centuries of environmental tumult and species destruction. At present, dedicated conservationists are working hard to revive shattered ecosystems and to restore endangered species.

In a heartfelt tribute to those efforts, the authors chronicle the environmental successes and failures while revealing the islands' otherworldly organisms and plant life. All of the photographs were taken either in the wild or in conservation areas, and many reveal plants and creatures rarely before seen.

From cabbage trees not unlike Dr. Seuss' Truffula trees to predatory snails, whiskered parrots and three-eyed lizards, New Zealand: A Natural History reveals a captivating world once thought to reside only in the human imagination. This is an impassioned celebration of the paradise the authors call home. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great value, lovely book
I bought this on a whim, before a trip to New Zealand, and was pleasantly surprised.

I did not pay much for it, and was unsure what to expect. It turned out this is a fascinating book with a lot of information about New Zealand's flora and fauna. The photographs are lovely, and there's a lot here you won't see in a standard book about the country.

I gave this as a gift, and it was a very popular choice.

Great gift
I gave this book as a gift to a friend who just returned from New Zealand as a memento of her trip.She loved it, and as she looked through it she remarked how typical the photos are of her experience.

... Read more

Product Description
General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1894Original Publisher: Longmans, Green, and co.Subjects: AustraliaNew ZealandNotes: This is an OCR reprint of the original rare book. There may be typos or missing text and there are no illustrations.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Product Description
With its closest neighbor some 1,200 miles away, New Zealand is one of the most geographically isolated countries in the world. Its remoteness led to its relatively late settlement. Brooking traces New Zealand from its earliest Maori settlers to issues in 2003, covering intertribal relations, the effects of European contact, the challenges of globalization, and more. The volume includes a timeline of historical events, biographical entries of notable people in the history of New Zealand, a glossary of Maori terms, and a bibliographic essay. ... Read more

Product Description
Environmental Histories of New Zealand presents an interdisciplinary account of one of the most rapid and extensive transformations of nature in human history: that which followed Maori and then European colonization of New Zealand's temperate islands. New Zealand is noted for its extraordinary environmental histories, but this is the first book from within the country to chart and analyse these histories for wider audiences.L Unusualamong environmental histories, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of change, in its wider as well as its local contexts. It is organized into five parts, and the chapters in each part elaborate on the themes of: encounters, colonizing, special environments, modernizing and contemporary perspectives. The book is well illustrated with photographs, maps, and other graphics. It will appeal to students of history, geography, Maori studies, anthropology, and environmental studies, in New Zealand and overseas, and to anyone interested in the environment. ... Read more

Product Description
ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF NEW ZEALAND tells the story of New Zealand's short but dramatic history.Marcia Stenson's succinct and lively text is brought to life by over 200 colour and black and white photographs and illustrations.Beginning with the days when moa ruled the land, this book covers all the important events, key people and major themes of our history.Among other things it includes: the arrival and settlement of the Maori; European explorers; missionaries; the Treaty of Waitangi; the gold rush; and fighting both inside and outside New Zealand.Illustrated History of New Zealand also takes a thematic approach where appropriate - looking at things like the role of government and the way our daily lives have changed over time.This is an essential reference guide for every home, and both children and adults will learn from its fascinating content. ... Read more

Product Description
The New Oxford History of New Zealand is a new, multi-authored revisionist history of Aotearoa New Zealand. The book tests the idea that New Zealand history can be explained as a quest for "national identity" and considers whether narratives that rely on the "colony-to-nation" storyline are still relevant in the early twenty-first century. The book proposes instead that history and identity have been shaped by culture, community, class, region and gender, and that these have been more important than ideas of evolving nationhood. Above all, this new book responds to the need for a general re-interpretation of the "big picture" of New Zealand history.

All the chapters in this book feature new and previously unpublished research, informed by international as well as interdisciplinary scholarship and in keeping with the aim of the book to set the agenda for future historical research imperatives. Chapters showcase research that explores trans-national, comparative and regional contexts.

The New Oxford History of New Zealand adopts a thematic approach to re-reading history. It takes a number of discrete topics as case studies and highlights particular incidents and stories to illustrate points of interest. A chronological structure within each chapter complements the overall thematic approach of the volume to enhance the book's utility as a teaching resource. The book also takes a slightly broader geographical definition of what constitutes "New Zealand," locating Aotearoa New Zealand in wider international and regional contexts. ... Read more

Product Description
New Zealanders have a strong affinity with the land, and firm connections are drawn between the land and cultural identity in the economy, in politics and in art. The collection of essays explores these complex relationships in different parts of the country and at different times. Environment versus settler society has been a long-standing theme and these essays look at aspects of this. Land ownership - Maori and Pakeha - and the families that make communities are the subjects of two further essays. The next two contributors look at rural society, in search of the itinerant worker and harvest festivities. Two final essays deal with more recent subjects: the challenge to a major government hydro-electric project and New Zealanders abroad in the world. ... Read more

Product Description
Vaggioli (an Italian monk, and one of the first Benedictine priests to be sent to New Zealand) published this history in 1896. Drawing on first-hand accounts, he describes the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the Taranaki wars, and the war in Waitkato. He also recorded details of the lives and customs of the Maori people he was evangelising and presents criticisms of both Protestantism and British Colonisation. This is the book's first translation into English. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Contemporaneous and irreverent
It might seem a bit weird to review a book by a Catholic missionary by calling it irreverent, but this author does not hesitate to frankly address areas that many others have ignored or glossed over.He is openly a champion of the Maori people and his recounting of history does not hesitate to criticize the colonising forces that exploited them in the early to mid-19th century.The biggest drawback to the book is where it is obvious that he is a product of the continuing hatred between the Roman Catholic and Anglican (and other Protestant) churches and often digresses about how terrible the Protestants are.These parts, however, are easily identifiable and can be considered in that context.Beyond those parts, Vaggioli has done a very detailed research and documentation of the settlement of New Zealand and many of the doings that went on to bring about "civilisation."Many historians seem to gloss over this book, but it should be considered seriously.It presents many facts that might otherwise be lost to us, documented by other contemporaneous sources.This edition, a recent translation from the Italian, is a must for anyone wishing to go beyond "the party line." ... Read more

Product Description
Illustrated with over 150 historical photographs, paintings and maps, "Presenting New Zealand" is a visually sumptuous and informative account of how the country has developed into the independent nation that the rest of the world recognises today. Starting with the huge rifts of prehistoric times that tore it apart from Gondwana, the book traces the arrival of the first Polynesian canoes, the exploration and settlement by Europeans and the modern-day social, economic and political achievements of this remarkable country. In forgoing modern scenic illustration, and instead focusing the text and images exclusively on history, this fully revised edition is a major departure from the work as it appeared in its original edition, which was published in 2001 by New Holland under the title of "Presenting New Zealand: A Nation's Heritage". ... Read more

Product Description
New Zealand historians - many of whom have served as policy-makers and workers in social services, and most of whom are children of the welfare state they investigate - discuss such aspects of social policy as welfare, the voluntary sector, and the government, the administration of old-age pensions to 1938, and government reporting on Maori aspirations and treaty meanings. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Recommended New Zealand History
Milestones: Turning Points in New Zealand History by Tom Brooking.

Milestones tells the story of New Zealand in a distinctive new way. The milestones are turning points that have shaped our past and made us what we are today. The volume covers the entire sweep of New Zealand history - from voyages of discovery, decisive battles and women's rights to landmarks in race and industrial relations. For ready reference and ease of use, each of the milestones is written as a complete episode. Where necessary the milestones are linked by a narrative that covers the years in between. A year-by-year list of key events concludes the book. Authoritative yet easy to read, every New Zealand family will find it an essential guide to their national heritage. Soft cover, 222 pages. Published in 1999.

Pacific Island Books
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Product Description
Three graduate students, several academics, and several researchers are the contributors to this collection of accounts by and about women immigrants to New Zealand. The stories, which mainly post-date World War II, consider the experiences of women from a variety of backgrounds and countries, including Germany, China, Samoa, Ireland, as well as native Maori migration from rural to urban centres. ... Read more