John Hobbs 1800-1883 Wesleyan Missionary to the Ngapuhi Tribe of Northern New Zealand by T M I Williment

$25.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: very good

Daughters of Erebus by Paul Holmes

$20.00 NZD

Category: Aviation | Reading Level: very good

The technical side of what happened on Mt Erebus on that fateful November day back in 1979 has been brilliantly explained by Justice Mahon, the Royal Commissioner appointed to investigate the crash of the Air New Zealand DC-10. His magnificent investigation and conclusions were rubbished by a Prime Mini ster desperate to remove blame from Air New Zealand who, as Prime Minister and Finance Minister, was desperate to save the airline, to save its face and its possible financial ruin as a result of negligence claims. Without a doubt, the airline was grossly negligent in changing the navigation co-ordinates early in the morning on the day of the flight and not informing the pilot. Daughters of Erebus is the story of five people who were left behind and how the whole tragedy affected their lives. On the night of the crash, Maria Collins - wife of captain Jim Collins - was a 45-year-old mother of four girls, Kathryn, 15, Elizabeth, 13, Phillipa, 9 and Adrienne who was 6 years old. That night, their lives changed. The next day, because her Dad would have expected her to do so, Kathryn sat a School Certificate exam and passed. The girls have all been successful, all are highly educated. They are all quite different, all strong, independent individuals. They all have great senses of humour. Elizabeth says the accident made her an adult overnight. It broke forever a beautiful marriage of two people who loved each other desperately. Kathryn says they all became forever "collateral damage" of both the accident and the Chief Inspector's findings. They have never been able to end their grief. This is a New Zealand story told by one of the great New Zealand storytellers. It literally drips with pathos. It is a story which should - nay must - be read by all New Zealanders.About the author:Over a long career, Holmes has received unprecedented recognition and awards for his work across the news media. After retirement from his long-running, top-rating TV and radio shows, he now pens a hugely popular weekend column in the Weekend Herald while still hosting a weekly TV One current affairs programme. In this medium, he has also excelled, honoured with the Qantas Media Award for best columnist in 2008, after being a finalist in 2007. ...Show more

One Step Beyond: How an Ordinary Man Took on the Ultimate Running Challenge and Won by Malcolm Law

$10.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: very good

Malcolm Law is an ordinary man who set out to achieve an extraordinary goal. Many said it was impossible and even Mal himself doubted whether he would succeed. But he had a secret weapon that kept him going: he carried a photo of his late brother, Alan. In November 2009, Mal set out to run New Zealand' s seven mainland 'Great Walks' in seven days (the equivalent of running nine mountain marathons), to ease an ancient pain, to honour Alan's memory, and to raise funds for others battling leukaemia, the cruel illness that robbed him of his only brother. Recounted in One Step Beyond, what followed is an uplifting story of determination, courage, camaraderie, out-and-out hard yakka, and, ultimately, triumph. We share the endorphin-fuelled ecstasy and the agony of doubts, fears, blood, sweat and tears that became Mal's life for nine months. Vividly written and disarmingly candid, One Step Beyond is a story that will astound, enthral and inspire. ...Show more

He Ming Qing: the Life of Kathleen Hall by Tom Newnham

$12.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: very good

This publication looks at the life and work of "heroine in China", Kathleen Hall. The book contains numerous black-and-white photographs as well as maps.

The Bethells of Te Henga by Mary D Woodward

$14.00 NZD

Category: Regional | Series: Practising History Ser. | Reading Level: very good

Diary of James Hamlin April 13 1830 by James Hamlin

$20.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: very good

Harry Ayres - Mountain Guide by Michael Mahoney

$20.00 NZD

Category: Mountaineering | Reading Level: very good

Daughter of Gloriavale: My Life in a Religious Cult by Lilia Tarawa

$15.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: very good

When Lilia's parents fled the cult and its dreadful secrets, Lilia and her many siblings were wrenched away from the only life they knew. Lilia struggled to adapt to life on the outside. Would she be damned to Hell for leaving? How could she learn to navigate this strange place called 'the world'? And w ould she ever find out the truth about her grandfather and the cult that had shaped her life? ...Show more

Southern People - A Dictionary of Otago Southland Biography by Jane Thomson (ed.)

$65.00 NZD

Category: Biography

Oscar Garden: An Tale of One Man's Love of Flying by Annamaria Garden

$25.00 NZD

Category: Aviation | Reading Level: near fine

One day in 1930, a man walked into a department store in London and bought an aeroplane. Having just learned to fly, Oscar Garden dreamed of flying to Australia. In his newly purchased aeroplane, he did just that. This adventure and myriad others this risk-taker embarked on are recounted in this book. O scar's love of flying saw him joy riding to many places in the world, including New Zealand, South Africa, and up through Africa to Palestine. While based in London, he joined British Airways and Imperial Airways flying flying boats across the Empire. Finally, he came to rest in Auckland, New Zealand, after delivering the Awarua, the second of New Zealand's flying boats, used during World War II for communication and travel, reducing New Zealand's isolation. He became Chief Pilot of TEAL, the New Zealand airline, for half of the war years and beyond, and eventually resigned due to serious disagreement over management and political agendas. This biography describes Oscar Garden's fascinating journey through these episodes. ...Show more

An Outsider Looks Back - Reflections on Experience by Ormond Wilson

$30.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: very good

Frontiers: A Colonial Dynasty by Simon Best

$30.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: very good

Two airmen of Māori descent lie buried together on a hilltop in Dorset, England. They are the grandson and great-grandson of a whaling captain who entered New Zealand waters in 1835, and who became one of the leading pioneers of European settlement in Wellington. The story’s main thread covers the four generations involved, and touches on early whaling off New Zealand and in the Pacific, European trading along the East Coast, the settlement and expansion of Wellington, the Thames gold rush and the first sheep stations in the Inland Patea. In 1883 the whaler’s natural daughter, her mother a local Māori, inherited her father’s wealth and moved with her husband to England, living in some of the country’s grand houses. Her eldest son became one of the world’s first aviators, winning a posthumous Victoria Cross over France in 1915. His son, also a noted pilot, was killed at the height of the Battle of Britain ...Show more