Japan through a Cutter-Knife by Shunji Mizuno

$55.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: very good

Living in China by Angelika Taschen (Editor); Reto Guntli (Photographer); Daisann McLane (Text by)

$40.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: very good

Unique homes in the People's Republic Dating back more than six thousand years, China is the world's oldest civilization and most populous nation. With its remarkable history, rich culture, and diversity of ethnic groups, China is an endlessly fascinating country. Sneaking a peek at an array of differen t homes, from ancient to modern, Living in China brings you to places that most will never have a chance to visit. Whether it's a house in Beijing by Chinese contemporary architect Ai Weiwei, Shigeru Ban's minimalist bamboo Furniture House, a 19th century Qing dynasty temple, a Mongolian farmhouse, a 7th-century mansion in Dong Yang incorporating Confucian ideology and Feng Shui theory, or an exclusive club in a renovated 17th-century palace, all of the interiors featured here capture intriguing facets of life in China today. ...Show more

War in the Tenasserim - The Japanese Invasion of Southern Burma, 1942 by Alastair Shephard

$45.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: new

"The entry of Japan into the Second World War with its attack on Pearl Harbour found the British defense of Burma very much unprepared. No invasion threat from the east had been envisaged. The British deemed the jungle and precipitous mountain ranges surrounding three sides of Burma to be impassable by any invader. At that time Britain was more concerned with the war against Hitler in Europe. The Japanese invaded southern Burma - "the Tenasserim" - in order to protect the flank of their invasion of Malaya. And they subsequently occupied the rest of the country because they viewed it as the western bastion of the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere", their name for their conquered territories... The book begins by tracing the initial Japanese thrust by two relatively small forces to tak the key airfields of southern Burma. The book then follows the advance of the main invasion force under Lt-General Shojiro Iida which crossed the border of Myawaddy. The arrival of the newly-formed 17th Indian Division under Major-General "Jackie" Smyth did little to arrest the momentum of the Japanese advance, culminating at the Sittang bridge. The author has recently visited many of the battle sites of southern Burma, places where numerous British, Indian, Burmese and Japanese soldiers lost their lives and which today sadly have been largely forgotten. His colour photographs along with rarely seen black and white images of wartime Burma - both British and Japanese - vividly augment the story of the first phase of the Burma Campaign."--Book cover. ...Show more

Birds of Aotearoa : A natural and cultural history by Margaret Orbell

$45.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: very good

To Maori, as in all traditional societies, birds have been a constant source of ideas and metaphors because of their power of flight, their songs, their beauty, and the great variation in their appearance and behaviour. The calls of some birds are believed to convey a message to listening humans, either a warning or a reassurance, and the feathers of many kinds of birds were greatly valued for their beauty, all the more so when they were rare or difficult to obtain. In Birds of Aotearoa, Margaret Orbell describes the early relationship existing in New Zealand between Maori and the extraordinary birds they found here. She provides scientific information, recounts traditions explaining the birds origins and natures, quotes from songs that they appear in, and shows us some of the beautiful items used by Maori that are prompted by the birds' existence. Birds of Aotearoa Margaret Orbell In this book, Margaret Orbell explores the representation of over 60 birds in Maoritanga. To Maori, as in all traditional societies, birds have been a constant source of ideas and metaphors because of their power of flight, their songs, their beauty, and the great variation in their appearance and behaviour. The call of some birds often small ones such as the fernbird or the grey warbler or riroriro, the robin or pitoitoi, the marsh crake or were believed to convey a message to listening humans, either a warning or a reassurance. The feathers of many kinds of birds were greatly valued for their beauty, all the more so when they were rare or difficult to obtain. Plumes of the huia, the white heron or kotuku, the albatross or toroa, and the gannet or takapu were especially treasured, being worn in the hair by people of rank. During the early nineteenth century feather cloaks were, it seems, seldom worn. Later again, in the last decades of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth, feather cloaks, or kahu huruhuru, became newly popular, and soon were treasured heirlooms. Since sculpted figures possessed a life of their own, they too were adorned with plumes. Ancestral figures, whether in the palisades of a pa or forming part of the houses and tombs of rangatira, were hung with bunches and garlands of feathers; so too were the ancestral figures that formed part of the prow, sternpost and top strakes of large vessels. The carved heads of taiaha the weapons of rangatira had red feathers elaborately fastened around them. Many other treasured possessions were decorated with carefully chosen plumes. Format: 244 x 255 mm, portrait, b/w photographs and line drawings throughout 4 sections of 8 pages of colour First published 2003. Shortlisted for the 2004 NZ Montana Book awards, Environment section.   ...Show more

The Oxford Companion to the Photograph by Robin Lenman (ed.)

$55.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Series: Oxford Companions | Reading Level: good-very good

Global in scope, this work focuses on the technology, history, and practice of photography, from its origins to the digital era. It also includes a bibliography, a chronology, a list of websites, and an index.

The Complete Chronicles of Narnia with illustrations hand-coloured by the artist by C.S. Lewis

$150.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: fine

This is a fabulous limited gift edition of all seven Chronicles in one volume with leather binding, cloth finish in a foil embossed slipcase. All the Chronicles are bound together here in one magnificent volume, with a special introduction by C.S. Lewis's stepson, Douglas Gresham. The original illustrat ions, always first-class, have been rendered outstanding by the wonderfully detailed addition of colour. A stunning package, this title will be treasured by families forever. ...Show more

Kitaj by Marco Livingstone

$80.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: very good

R. B. Kitaj (1932-2007) is recognized as a modern master whose powerful, controversial and highly personal paintings, pastels and drawings reflect his commitment to the human figure as a subject and his complex involvement with the art of the past, with political and social issues and with his own Jewis h identity. Marco Livingstone's definitive and much-praised monograph on Kitaj, based on an extraordinary series of interviews and letters between the artist and the author, provides full documentation of Kitaj's life and work. The artist himself participated actively in the design of the book, and a series of articulate and revealing 'prefaces' to his own paintings are also included here. For this fourth and final edition, the author has written a new chapter surveying Kitaj's work from 1997 to 2007, an extremely productive period following the tragic death of his wife the artist Sandra Fisher and his return to the United States. This text is complemented by a new plate section illustrating 30 works from this final phase and 20 images of previously unillustrated earlier works, as well as 25 additional 'prefaces' written by the artist. The Bibliography has been updated and the Catalogue of Works completed, and finally many illustrations that were black and white in earlier editions are now reproduced in full colour. As the definitive monograph on one of art's modern masters, this authoritative monograph is indispensable for all admirers of the artist. ...Show more

Pacific Pattern by Susanne Küchler & Graeme Were

$35.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: very good

Lavishly illustrated with contemporary, archival and museum images, Pacific Pattern takes us on a stunning visual journey through the history of the Pacific, the various techniques and culture associated with fibre and fabric. This is the first book to cover not only the ritual domain but everyday patte rns, including floor coverings, cooking and storage containers and the use of fibre art in architecture and interiors. This treasure trove of inspiration will be an indispensable sourcebook for artists, craftspeople, designers, architects and anyone who has ever been interested in what anthropologists can tell us about the expression of our deepest feelings and beliefs. Photography by Glenn Jowitt. ...Show more

The Early Journals of Henry Williams Senior Missionary in New Zealand of the Church Missionary Society 1826-40 by Lawrence M. Rogers (ed.)

$110.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: very good

The Violent Bear it Away by Flannery O'Connor

$125.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: very good

Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino

$115.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: very good

Translated by Archibald Colquhoun

Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds Volume 1 Ratites to Ducks Part A Ratite to petrels and Part B Australian Pelican to Ducks by S. Marchant and P. J. Higgins (co-ordinators)

$350.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: near fine

This encyclopaedic reference book will cover all 900 species (including those recently extinct) occurring in Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica, and in the Australian and New Zealand dependencies and subantarctic islands. To be produced in five volumes, it will be the most authoritative and up-to-da te handbook of the birds of Australasia. Volume 1 covers emus to ducks - 196 species of which 162 breed in the region. The text for each bird includes field identification, habitat, distribution, movements, food, voice, social organization and behaviour, breeding, and plumage. There are superb colour illustrations of every species, showing developmental and seasonal changes in the plumage and bare parts. Distribution both within and beyond the range is shown on maps. Line drawings of displays and other postures, diagrams of the annual cycle of each species, and sonagrams of important calls are also included. ...Show more