The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power

$18.00 NZD

Category: America | Reading Level: very good

Pulitzer-Prize winner Samantha Power is widely known as the moral voice of her generation. A relentless advocate for promoting human rights, she has been heralded by President Barack Obama as one of America's "foremost thinkers on foreign policy." The Education of an Idealist traces Power's extraordinar y journey, from Irish immigrant to human rights activist to United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Power began her career as a war correspondent and as a vocal critic of US foreign policy, and then put her ideals into practice while working with Obama in the Senate, on the campaign trail, and throughout his presidency. Power's perspective on government is unique, as she takes us from the streets of war-torn Bosnia to the Situation Room and out into the world of high-stakes diplomacy. In her characteristically gripping prose, Power illuminates the messy and complex worlds of politics and geopolitics while laying bare the searing battles and defining moments of her life. She also reveals what it's like to juggle the demands of a 24/7 national security job with raising two young children. And, in the face of great challenges, she shows us not just how the United States can lead, but why there is always something each of us can do to advance the cause of human dignity. The Education of an Idealist is a humorous, stirring, and ultimately unforgettable account of the world-changing power of idealism - and of one person's fierce determination to make a difference. ...Show more

Savage Grace - The True Story of Fatal Relations in a Rich and Famous American Family by Natalie Robins; Steven M.L. Aronson

$12.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: very good

A spellbinding tale of money and madness, incest and matricide, "Savage Grace" is the saga of Brooks Baekeland, heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune; his beautiful wife, Barbara; and their handsome, gentle son, Tony, who destroyed the whole family in a violent chain of events. "Savage Grace" unfolds ag ainst a glamorous international background (New York, London, Paris, Italy, Spain); features a nonpareil cast of characters (including Salvador Dali, James Jones, the Astors, the Vanderbilts, and European nobility); and tells the doomed Baekelands' story through remarkably candid interviews and private letters and diaries, not to mention confidential hospital, State Department, and prison documents. A true-crime classic, it exposes the envied lives of the rich and beautiful, and brilliantly illuminates the darkest corners of the American Dream. First published 1985. Film based on the book released 2007. ...Show more

Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan by Herbert P. Bix

$12.00 NZD

Category: Asia | Reading Level: good-very good

In this groundbreaking biography of the Japanese emperor Hirohito, Herbert P. Bix offers the first complete, unvarnished look at the enigmatic leader whose sixty-three-year reign ushered Japan into the modern world. Never before has the full life of this controversial figure been revealed with such clar ity and vividness. Supported by a vast array of previously untapped primary documents, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan is perhaps most illuminating in lifting the veil on the mythology surrounding the emperor's impact on the world stage. Focusing closely on Hirohito's interactions with his advisers and successive Japanese governments, Bix sheds new light on the causes of the China War in 1937 and the start of the Asia-Pacific War in 1941. Also while conventional wisdom has had it that the nation's increasing foreign aggression was driven and maintained not by the emperor but by an elite group of Japanese militarists, the reality, as witnessed here, is quite different. Bix documents in detail the strong, decisive role Hirohito played in wartime operations, from the takeover of Manchuria in 1931 through the attack on Pearl Harbor and ultimately the fateful decision in 1945 to accede to an unconditional surrender. Until the very end of a career that embodied the conflicting aims of Japan's development as a nation, Hirohito remained preoccupied with politics and with his place in history. Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan provides the definitive account of his rich life and legacy. Meticulously researched and utterly engaging, this book is proof that the history of twentieth-century Japan cannot be understood apart from the life of its most remarkable and enduring leader. Herbert P. Bix grew up in Winthrop, Massachusetts, and earned his Ph.D. in history and Far Eastern languages from Harvard University. For the past thirty years he has written extensively on modern and contemporary Japanese history in leading journals in the United States and Japan. He has taught Japanese history at a number of American and Japanese universities, most recently at Harvard, and is currently a professor in the Graduate School of Social Sciences at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. ++ Winner, Pulitzer Prize (General Non-Fiction), 2001 ++ ++ Shortlisted, Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize (Non-Fiction), 2000 ++ Paperback ...Show more

One Hundred Miracles - A Memoir of Music and Survival by Zuzana Ruzicková; Wendy Holden

$18.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: very good

The remarkable memoir of Zuzana Ružicková, Holocaust survivor and world-famous harpsichordist. Zuzana Ružicková grew up in 1930s Czechoslovakia dreaming of two things: Johann Sebastian Bach and the piano. But her peaceful, melodic childhood was torn apart when, in 1939, the Nazis invaded. Uprooted from her home, transported from Auschwitz to Hamburg to Bergen-Belsen, bereaved, starved, and afflicted with crippling injuries to her musician's hands, the teenage Zuzana faced a series of devastating losses. Yet with every truck and train ride, a small slip of paper printed with her favourite piece of Bach's music became her talisman. Armed with this 'proof that beauty still existed', Zuzana's fierce bravery and passion ensured her survival of the greatest human atrocities of all time, and would continue to sustain her through the brutalities of post-war Communist rule. Harnessing her talent and dedication, and fortified by the love of her husband, the Czech composer Viktor Kalabis, Zuzana went on to become one of the twentieth century's most renowned musicians and the first harpsichordist to record the entirety of Bach's keyboard works. Zuzana's story, told here in her own words before her death in 2017, is a profound and powerful testimony of the horrors of the Holocaust, and a testament in itself to the importance of amplifying the voices of its survivors today. It is also a joyful celebration of art and resistance that defined the life of the 'first lady of the harpsichord'– a woman who spent her life being ceaselessly reborn through her music. Like the music of her beloved Bach, Zuzana's life is the story of the tragic transmuted through art into the state of the sublime. ...Show more

The Boy Adeodatus - The Portrait of a Lucky Young Bastard by Bernard Smith

$10.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: very good

This is the story of an illegitimate son and the mother who decided to keep him. It is the story, too, of a foster mother who loved children and of her extended family. This extraordinary autobiography recreates the atmosphere of a Sydney suburb around World War I, and subtly explores the changing times . ...Show more

Six Weeks in the Sioux Tepees - A Narrative of Indian Captivity by Sarah F. Wakefield; June Namias (Editor)

$15.00 NZD

Category: America

The Dakota War (1862) was a searing event in Minnesota history as well as a signal event in the lives of Dakota people. Sarah F. Wakefield was caught up in this revolt. A young doctor's wife and the mother of two small children, Wakefield published her unusual account of the war and her captivity shortl y after the hanging of thirty-eight Dakotas accused of participation in the Sioux uprising. Among those hanged were Chaska (We-Chank-Wash-ta-don-pee), a Mdewakanton Dakota who had protected her and her children during the upheaval. In a distinctive and compelling voice, Wakefield blames the government for the war and then relates her and her family's ordeal, as well as Chaska's and his family's help and ultimate sacrifice. This is the first fully annotated modern edition of Six Weeks in the Sioux Tepees. June Namias's extensive introduction and notes describe the historical and ethnographic background of Dakota-white relations in Minnesota and place Wakefield's narrative in the context of other captivity narratives. ...Show more

The Cowshed - Memories of the Chinese Cultural Revolution by Ji Xianlin; Chenxin Jiang (Translator); Zha Jianying (Introduction by)

$16.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: near fine

The Chinese Cultural Revolution began in 1966 and led to a ten-year-long reign of Maoist terror throughout China, in which millions died or were sent to labor camps in the country or subjected to other forms of extreme discipline and humiliation. Ji Xianlin was one of them. The Cowshed is Ji's harrowing account of his imprisonment in 1968 on the campus of Peking University and his subsequent disillusionment with the cult of Mao. As the campus spirals into a political frenzy, Ji, a professor of Eastern languages, is persecuted by lecturers and students from his own department. His home is raided, his most treasured possessions are destroyed, and Ji himself must endure hours of humiliation at brutal "struggle sessions." He is forced to construct a cowshed (a makeshift prison for intellectuals who were labeled class enemies) in which he is then housed with other former colleagues. His eyewitness account of this excruciating experience is full of sharp irony, empathy, and remarkable insights into a central event in Chinese history. In contemporary China, the Cultural Revolution remains a delicate topic, little discussed, but if a Chinese citizen has read one book on the subject, it is likely to be Ji's memoir. When The Cowshed was published in China in 1998, it quickly became a bestseller. The Cultural Revolution had nearly disappeared from the collective memory. Prominent intellectuals rarely spoke openly about the revolution, and books on the subject were almost nonexistent. By the time of Ji's death in 2009, little had changed, and despite its popularity, The Cowshed remains one of the only testimonies of its kind. As Zha Jianying writes in the introduction, "The book has sold well and stayed in print. But authorities also quietly took steps to restrict public discussion of the memoir, as its subject continues to be treated as sensitive. The present English edition, skillfully translated by Chenxin Jiang, is hence a welcome, valuable addition to the small body of work in this genre. It makes an important contribution to our understanding of that period." ...Show more

Bold and Dangerous Family - The Rossellis and the Fight Against Mussolini by Caroline Moorehead

$20.00 NZD

Category: Europe | Reading Level: very good

Praise for A Train in Winter: "A story of stunning courage, generosity and hope...In Moorehead's expert hands it is a triumphant one." (Mail on Sunday). Praise for Village of Secrets: "An uplifting tale of courage and morality." (The Sunday Times). Mussolini was not only ruthless: he was subtle and mani pulative. Black-shirted thugs did his dirty work for him: arson, murder, destruction of homes and offices, bribes, intimidation and the forcible administration of castor oil. His opponents - including editors, publishers, union representatives, lawyers and judges - were beaten into submission. But the tide turned in 1924 when his assassins went too far, horror spread across Italy and twenty years of struggle began. Antifascist resistance was born and it would end only with Mussolini's death in 1945. Among those whose disgust hardened into bold and uncompromising resistance was a family from Florence: Amelia, Carlo and Nello Rosselli. Caroline Moorehead's research into the Rossellis struck gold. She has drawn on letters and diaries never previously translated into English to reveal - in all its intimacy - a family driven by loyalty, duty and courage, yet susceptible to all the self-doubt and fear that humans are prey to. Readers are drawn into the lives of this remarkable family - and their loves, their loyalties, their laughter and their ultimate sacrifice. Paperback secondhand copy, the front cover is creased. ...Show more

How to Murder Your Life - A Memoir by Cat Marnell

$14.00 NZD

Category: Fashion | Reading Level: very good

'I was twenty-six years old and an associate beauty editor at Lucky, one of the top fashion magazines in America. That's all that most people knew about me. But beneath the surface, I was full of secrets: I was a drug addict, for one. A pillhead. I was also an alcoholic-in-training who guzzled warm Veuv e Clicquot after work alone in my boss's office with the door closed; a conniving and manipulative uptown doctor-shopper; a salami-and-provolone-puking bulimic who spent a hundred dollars a day on binge foods when things got bad (and they got bad often); a weepy,wobbly, wildly hallucination-prone insomniac; a tweaky self-mutilator; a slutty and self-loathing downtown party girl; and - perhaps most of all - a lonely weirdo. But, you know, I had access to some really fantastic self-tanner.' By the age of 15, Cat Marnell longed to work in the glamorous world of women's magazines - but was also addicted to the ADHD meds prescribed by her father. Within 10 years she was living it up in New York as a beauty editor at Condé Nast, with a talent for 'doctor-shopping' that secured her a never-ending supply of prescriptions. Her life had become a twisted merry-go-round of parties and pills at night, while she struggled to hold down her high-profile job during the day. Witty, magnetic and penetrating - prompting comparisons to Bret Easton Ellis and Charles Bukowski - Cat Marnell reveals essential truths about her generation, brilliantly uncovering the many aspects of being an addict with pin-sharp humour and beguiling style. 'New York's enfant terrible...Her talent has resided in her uncanny ability to write about addiction from the untidy, unsafe, unhappy epicentre of the disease, rather than from some writerly remove.' Telegraph 'I LOVE this book' Catriona Innes, Cosmopolitan Magazine UK 'An unputdownable, brilliantly written rollercoaster' Shappi Khorsandi 'Brilliantly written and harrowing and funny and honest' Louise France, Times Magazine UK 'Easily one of the most anticipated memoirs of the year...[Marnell's] got an inimitable style (and oh my god, so many have tried) and a level of talent so high, it's impossible not to be rooting for her.' NYLON ...Show more

Margaret Thatcher - The Authorized Biography Volume Three - Herself Alone by Charles Moore

$16.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: very good

The final part of Charles Moore's bestselling and definitive biography of Britain's first female Prime Minister, 'One of the great biographical achievements of our times' (Sunday Times) A TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, TELEGRAPH, IRISH TIMES, NEW STATESMAN AND SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR How did Margaret Thatcher change and divide Britain? How did her model of combative female leadership help shape the way we live now? How did the woman who won the Cold War and three general elections in succession find herself pushed out by her own MPs? Charles Moore's full account, based on unique access to Margaret Thatcher herself, her papers and her closest associates, tells the story of her last period in office, her combative retirement and the controversy that surrounded her even in death. It includes the Fall of the Berlin Wall which she had fought for and the rise of the modern EU which she feared. It lays bare her growing quarrels with colleagues and reveals the truth about her political assassination. Moore's three-part biography of Britain's most important peacetime prime minister paints an intimate political and personal portrait of the victories and defeats, the iron will but surprising vulnerability of the woman who dominated in an age of male power. This is the full, enthralling story. ...Show more

The Fiji and New Caledonia Journals of Mary Wallis 1851-1853 by Mary Wallis; David Routledge (ed.)

$16.00 NZD

Category: Pacific | Reading Level: very good

The thirteen essays presented here offer a refreshingly new portrait of geography in the Pacific: new perspectives, new research priorities, a refusal to be constrained by traditional disciplinary boundaries or by some imaginary frontier between pure and applied endeavour, a blending of scientific inves tigation and of individual experience. ...Show more

Caxton and His World by N. F. Blake

$15.00 NZD

Category: Books About Books | Reading Level: very good