Our New Zealand nonfiction section features books and eBooks about travel, history, law and more. This list updates when we add new titles to our collection.
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Book
"New Zealand music was made on beer-stained stages, in grimy toilets and smoky back rooms. Venues like Dunedin's Empire Tavern and the Gladstone Hotel in Christchuch were the cradle for scenes that won worldwide acclaim, where idiosyncratic styles were...
Four classic New Zealand plays from the South Island.
eBook
Following on from volume 1 of Australians on the Western Front 1918: Resisting the Great German Offensive, volume 2, Spearheading the Great British Offensive, concludes with a detailed account of the final battles of World War I and the defeat of German...
"The University of Otago has always taken pride in its status as New Zealand's first university. Starting a university in 1869 was a bold move: other regions observed Otago's action with a mixture of surprise, scepticism and envy. The venture paid off:...
"The International Board of Books for Young People, IBBY, presents a collection by scholars of children's literature about outstanding stories and picture books that explore issues of identity, belonging and empathy in many parts of the world. The bo...
"Born in 1949, Bluff-based Cilla McQueen is one of New Zealand's best-loved poets. Poeta: Selected and New Poems brings together a definitive selection of her poetry spanning five decades, arranged by the poet in a thematic narrative that elucidates ...
"Ken Kendalls deep desire to live by his art took him around the world through thick and very often thin. For forty years his response to what he saw took form, initially in ceramic and terracotta, then flourishing in bronze, with many sculptures cast...
"From green forests to blackened basalt, from snowy mountains to golden beaches, adventure awaits around every bend on these dramatic islands. Dive into Middle Earth with Moon New Zealand. Inside you'll find: Strategic itineraries including a week on...
The experience of parenthood is different for everyone. And every day can be different too. Read a hilarious and moving collection of perspectives from the well-loved Emily Writes and her friends. Some of them are experienced writers, others have put...
Lonely Planet's Hiking & Tramping in New Zealand is your passport to the most relevant and up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Spot seals and laze on golden sands along the Abel Tasman Coast Track; explore...
My childhood abuse in the orphanage, is New Zealand's shameful, dirty secret of physical, mental and sexual abuse of innocent children by nuns, lay staff, the older girls and the priest and bullying at two orphanages in Christchurch New Zealand. From...
"Following the success of Wine Trails, we now bring you 40 perfect weekends in Australia and New Zealand wine country, introducing vineyards in regions including the Clare Valley, Margaret River, Hawkes Bay, Tamar Valley and Marlborough, as well as c...
"From August 2015 to July 2017, archaeological fieldwork at different sites and times, uncovered evidence of Māori occupation dating back to c1450-1850, and European artefacts dating back to the late 1800s. While the artefacts themselves were common to...
"The world has too many shrinking violets. When through illness or disability your body begins to let you down, you have two choices; live like a hermit or be loud and proud. Being loud and proud is the path I have chosen."--Back cover.
This book brings together work by national and international scholars committed to honouring and building on the work of a passionate educator and lifelong advocate for children: Professor Anne Smith. Anne Smith was at the forefront of the children's...
"Work hard. Raise children. Retire. And in between all that, have a little fun, eat good food, and travel. A normal life, for normal people. For Kim and Helen Chuor, normal was what they desperately sought, without the in between stuff. During the fi...
A history of Port Waikato, or Putataka, on the mouth of the Waikato River. Includes information about the area's original purchase from Ngāti Karewa and Ngāti Tahinga in 1839, discussion of landmarks and characters from over the years, and the reminiscences...
New Zealand's worst public health disaster occurred in November 1918 when around 9000 people died in the so-called "Spanish" influenza pandemic. Here are the voices of 110 survivors describing what they saw and what happened to them in that terrible time...
"The greatest success story of New Zealand’s modern environmental movement were the pivotal campaigns between 1970 and 2000 that stopped the destruction of our native forest. They began with the battle to save Lake Manapōuri from being flooded,...
"We will all die. Yet we don't talk about death and dying very much. Currently, and for the most part, a small group of people manage death for us behind closed doors. We are increasingly unlikely to know what options are available to us and those we...
"Generations of New Zealanders have memories of themselves or their children at kindergarten, and new memories are being made every day. The first kindergartens appeared here in colonial times-a revolutionary idea imported from Germany that suggested...
"In the dead of the night, robbers broke into the commission building and made off with an audacious loot equivalent to almost$1million today. The heist, which eventually came to be known as the Waterfront Payroll Robbery, was executed with military ...
"What is a New Zealander? What does it mean to be a citizen of or a resident in this country? How do we understand what makes New Zealand complex, and unique? And what creates a sense of belonging and identity, both here and in the world? Now's a critical...
This is the first complete edition of Katherine Mansfield’s poetry, including 26 poems, dating from 1909–10, discovered by Gerri Kimber in the Newberry Library in Chicago in 2015. This edition is made up of 217 poems, ordered chronologically, so that...
"This book is in tribute to Ian McLean Wards (1920-2003), who as researcher and writer, civil servant and cultural activist, contributed greatly to promoting awareness of NZ history. The authors explore themes dear to Wards' heart, providing new insights...
"'New Zealand's Rivers: An environmental history' explores the relationship between New Zealanders and their rivers, explaining how they have arrived at a crisis point, where fresh water has become their most contested resource and many rivers are too...
Every single photo coloured by hand? Using cotton wool? Yes, such was the era of hand-coloured photography - a painting and photograph in one - the way you got a high-quality colour photo before colour photography became mainstream. Some of New Zealand's...
"By the nineteenth century the ancient urban churchyards of Britain, burdened with generations of dead. were unable to cope with rising numbers of corpses. Partially decomposed bodies were regularly disinterred and dumped in pits to free up room for the...
"All vintage jewellery is collectible and none more so than that made from paua shell. No longer regarded as the tourist kitsch of yesteryear, the book explores this fascinating history and shares the many stories of how and why it came to be produced...
"Australia and New Zealand are home to a remarkable and unique assemblage of flora and fauna. Sadly though, by virtue of their long isolation, and a naive and vulnerable biota, both countries have suffered substantial losses to biodiversity since Eur...
Geoff Chapple set out on a year-long journey to seek out the powerful forces that shape this country. For company, he chose to walk with geologists and the artisans who work the rock. The journey took him back through geology's global history and onward...
"Auckland's lawyers have been an important, iontegral part of life in the city since the earliest days. ... It Was All Legal looks back at barristers and solicitors like Frederick Whitaker, first President of the Law Society of the District of Auckland...
"With a history now stretching back four decades, Pacific festivals of Aotearoa assert a multicultural identity of New Zealand and situate the country squarely within a sea of islands. In this volume, Jared Mackley-Crump gives a provocative look at t...
"This book provides a social, cultural, and political history of migration, ethnicity, and madness in New Zealand between 1860 and 1910. Its key aim is to analyse the ways that patients, families, asylum officials, and immigration authorities engaged...
"Scots made up nearly 20 per cent of the immigrant population of New Zealand to 1920, yet until the past few years the exact origins of New Zealand's Scots migrants have remained blurred. From Alba to Aotearoa establishes for the first time key chara...
"A personal portrait of West Auckland's Te Atatu Peninsula ... Recorded over a seven year period [2005-2012], Turner's photographs celebrate the character and pulse of life of the unique yet typical multicultural New Zealand urban community where he...
"Using previously unpublished sources from the United States, social historian Tony Simpson explores what lies behind the Treaty of Waitangi by plunging us vividly into the world of the early nineteenth century: prevalent world views, the British go...
"No battles were fought here, yet the First World War intruded into the daily life of every New Zealander who remained at home. This ... book provides vivid new insights into their experiences through exploring the places where they lived, worked, coped...
"Wellington was only a fledgling settlement of some 3000 people when it was struck by a cluster of devastating earthquakes in 1848. The fearful violence of the shocks, the destruction of property, and the frequency and continuance of the danger caus...
"On first contact, trade practices between Europeans and Māori were deceptively similar - exchanges were reasonably straightforward and efficient. Far-[Northern] Māori encouraged European settlement as the basis of a new economy, but as settler numbers...
"All new photos of garments from the last two shows, as well as new photos of some of the most extraordinary award-winning entries from the last decade"--Back cover.
"... New Zealand by design richly illustrates the way product design has been formed by the isolation of the country most recently inhabited by 'tool making animals'. It will inform, entertain, intrigue and surprise readers interested in Kiwi herita...
"In this book, John McCrystal tells the story of Eden Park, from its humble beginnings as a swamp to its illustrious present as New Zealand's premier sporting venue, and Lindsay Knight records the ground's notable sporting occasions - some of Auckland's,...
"[This] is both a personal account of Brian Flintoff's career as a carver, but also an important exploration of Maori art and how it relates to bone carving. Heavily illustrated with exquisite examples of his, and other people's work, this book explains...
Printed music
"A comprehensive history of the Kaipara Harbour and district, which for three decades to 1907 was New Zealand's leading timber export port and an economic power-house of the young colony. The book brings local history alive on the page. Hardy gumdigg...
"As a group of islands in the far south-west Pacific Ocean, New Zealand has a history that is steeped in the sea. Its people have encountered the sea in many different ways: along the coast, in port, on ships, beneath the waves, behind a camera, and in...
"Photographer Martin Toft spent six months living among iwi deep in the Whanganui River lands in the mid-1990s. They honoured him with the Māori name Pouma Pokai-whenua. By returning 20 years later, again with his camera, Toft completed part of a promise...
"EATS is a reflection of the heart and core values of One Mother to Another which are love, support, and generosity. EATS collates favourite recipes from parents, hospital staff, chefs and celebrities and is also full of stories from brave mums who have...
Do you want to learn how to preach and lead worship, but don't know where to start? This practical guide by experienced Methodist lay preacher Rosalie Sugrue will get you going.
"As historian James Belich put it: ̀There is little doubt that Cook has been emphasised to the unfair exclusion of the massive French contribution to European knowledge of New Zealand.' This book seeks to redress this balance, drawing in the main on ...
Child prodigy, genius, freak, a man who lived frivolously and died a pauper... The myths surrounding Mozart, composer of some of the world's most sublime music, have long overtaken the known facts of his life. Now, in this charming and very personal ...
"A one-stop-shop for making the most of what you have ... Mary Holm is the most trusted writer and reliable long-term adviser on money matters in New Zealand ... Better than anyone else, she knows what worries New Zealanders about money, what they...
"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...
"Lonely Planet's Hiking & Tramping in New Zealand is your passport to the most relevant and up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Spot seals and laze on golden sands along the Abel Tasman Coast Track; explore...
In All of Us, established New Zealand author Adrienne Jansen and exciting new writer Carina Gallegos use poems and short prose to weave together the vibrant, expansive, and sometimes heart-wrenching stories of immigrants and people from refugee backgrounds...
"Galleries of Maoriland looks at Māori prehistory in Pākehā art; the enthusiasm of Pākehā and Māori for portraiture and recreations of ancient life; the trade in Māori curios; and the international exhibition of this colonial culture. By illuminating...
An insight into the world's southernmost wine-producing region by Rebecca Gibb MW. Features chapters on the history of the New Zealand wine industry, the culture, climate and geography of the islands, cultivation, production and wine tourism. Chapters...
"This is a biography of one of New Zealands most colourful and persuasive politicians. When James Macandrew arrived in Dunedin from Scotland in 1851, other settlers were impressed by his energy and enthusiasm for new initiatives. With his finger in a...
"Life is nothing more than a collection of stories – but within those stories there are threads of meaning that, over a seventy-year journey, make sense of one human life. Kim Workman grew up in the Wairarapa, son of a Pākehā mother and Māori father....
"Feilding-born Cranleigh Barton travelled extensively most of his life, and his journals and paintings capture a world that has vanished. He began his diary in 1908 when he was 17; ten years later he took up the challenge of becoming a watercolour artist....
"Te Waikoropupū Springs in Golden Bay New Zealand is a national treasure. Crystal clear waters surge to the surface to form a bubbling fount. Over 90,000 people flock to visit each year. Many experience a ‘spiritual presence.’ People return again and...
"Raymond Boyce set the benchmark for New Zealand's theatrical staging in the 1950s-60s. His career has spanned over 50 years as a stage and costume designer for playhouses, opera and ballet. His work is exceptional, and his talent gives visual expression...
"A series of accounts of journeys in New Zealand, from sailing round the North and South Capes to tramping through the Southern Alps and walking along Auckland's main thoroughfare, Queen Street"--Publisher information.
"A collection of proverbs and sayings from the Taitokerau region - stretching from Auckland to Cape Rēinga. Pepeha and the longer whakataukī are proverbs and sayings passed down by Māori to capture key moments in history, important places and celebra...
"The youngest of four, I had two sisters: Emily was eleven, Mollie (christened Mary) was ten, and brother Tom was six when I arrived. Mother told me that I was born at home, and when Tom came home from school she asked what he thought she had in bed with...
In My Body, My Business, 11 former and current New Zealand sex workers speak frankly, in their own voices, about their lives in and out of the sex industry. Their stories are by turns eye-opening, poignant, heartening, disturbing and compelling. Based...
"This is a book about New Zealanders and their deep connection to swimming in the outdoors. Every neighbourhood has its swimming hole up the river, its local beach, or a back road to the lake. A love of swimming is one of the things that defines Kiwis,...
"Last year, Edith was invited to the Hawke’s Bay by the Hastings City Art Gallery to work with the students at Kimi Ora School in Flaxmere. Over five weeks, Edith taught the students about photography, and invited them into a conversation about what it...
"Tall young pilot Geoffrey Rothwell flew Wellingtons and Short Stirlings in WWII; and anyone who knows anything about that task will understand the significance of the fact that he completed more than 60 bombing missions. But the story doesn't end there:...
"Over 200 photographs from a classic era of NZ rugby from 1950s to early 1990s, many unusual images from behind the scenes. Fascinating (and funny) captions from renowned rugby writer Phil Gifford."--Provided by publisher.
"Goneville is at once a coming-of-age memoir and an intimate look at the evolving music scene in 1970s New Zealand. It show how this music intersected - sometimes violently - with the prevailing culture, in which real men played rugby, not rock. Nick...
"Norma Marina Godfrey, the youngest of eight children, was born on the 18th November, 1934 in Upper Hutt to Margaret, a Scottish woman and Walter Godfrey of the Nelson Mounted Cavalry. She contracted polio at the age of two and spent much of her chil...
"Kiwi-as Toilets is a quirky and light-hearted coffee-table book and travel guide that takes the reader on a tiki tour of New Zealand's top toilets. This compilation of convenient convenience stops is full of facts and photos of fancy flushers, inter...
"Many of us dream of having a life free from rent, mortgages and utility bills and for some this dream is being achieved by living in a tiny house. Small, compact buildings offer an appealing way to live more sustainably, providing smart, energy-effi...
"The state of New Zealand's freshwater has become an urgent public issue in recent years. From across the political spectrum, concern is growing about the pollution of New Zealand's rivers and streams. We all know they need fixing. But how do we do it?...
"Simon Mannering is one of elite sport's great enigmas. Since 2005 he has been a regular fixture in the Warriors and Kiwis rugby league teams and has captained both sides. He is, in short, the ultimate warrior, who will always put the good of the team...
"In Maori culture, architecture is approached as a construction of beliefs: a building must emulate and amplify personalities, hopes and aspirations, becoming the physical expression of those who inhabit it. These ideas and others are the inspirations...
Pacific Films was founded on the belief that without locally made feature films, a country imperils its very identity. Led by its idiosyncratic producer John O'Shea, the story of Pacific Films begins at the emergence of a New Zealand national cinema in...
"Definitive field guide to all of New Zealand's tuatara, geckos, skinks, frogs, marine turtles and marine snakes"--Publisher information.
"This lavish book explores the story behind the promotion of New Zealand's mountains - through posters, advertisements, hand-coloured photos and more. It explains how the country built its reputation as an alpine playground and, alongside, how mountains...
The Mongrel Mob of Aotearoa New Zealand is notorious for extreme violence, and they have long been regarded as the nation's monsters. In layers of apparent contradictions, their icon is the British bulldog wearing a Nazi helmet, while their members are...
"Buffeted by the forces of modern change, it can be tough to hold onto what we value most, or sometimes, even to slow down and think what that is. This is a book about New Zealanders who have found what they hold dear, and, with an eye on the future,...
"The Village Table, is a gathering of recipes and stories from some of the many artisans, producers, families and local heroes who give Matakana such heart. With over 130 recipes ranging from family favourites to the signature dishes of renowned local...
"Bernard Brown lived through WW2 in Suffolk, England, where he was strafed by bullets from a German Messerschmitt; dived to fetch sculpturing clay for a young Lucian Freud; went to school with the notorious gangsters the Kray brothers; and visited the...
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