Good-Bye Maoriland: The Songs & Sounds of New Zealand's Great War by Chris Bourke

$35.00 NZD

Category: Music | Reading Level: very good

Be it `Tipperary' or `Pokarekare', the morning reveille or the bugle's last post, concert parties at the front or patriotic songs at home, music was central to New Zealand's experience of the First World War. In Good-Bye Maoriland, the acclaimed author of Blue Smoke: The Lost Dawn of New Zealand Popular Music introduces us to the songs and sounds of World War I in order to take us deep inside the human experience of war. ...Show more

The Forgotten General: New Zealand's World War I Commander Major-General Sir Andrew Russell by Jock Vennell

$12.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand | Reading Level: good

The Forgotten General highlights the courage, intelligence and determination of an exceptional New Zealander. Major-General Sir Andrew Russell was a distinguished soldier and a dedicated leader of men. He was among the top-ranked divisional commanders in the British armies that fought on the Western Fro nt in World War I. He has been described as 'the one military commander of genius that New Zealand produced in the twentieth century. Yet little of his story is known. Born into pioneer farming stock, Russell's early days were spent on sheep stations in the Hawke's Bay region; he was educated at Harrow and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and later served in the British Army in India and Burma. When World War I broke out, Russell commanded the New Zealand brigade that served with distinction at Gallipoli. He was subsequently knighted and given command of the 20,000-strong New Zealand Division that under his leadership became one of the finest fighting formations on the Western Front. The Forgotten General, however, is not just about a consummate military commander. It also tells the story of the men he led through four unbroken years of war-starting with the raw and inexperienced brigade that arrived on Gallipoli in May 1915 and finishing with the lite division at the spearhead of the British counter-offensive that finally ended the war on the Western Front. ...Show more

The Iron Hand: New Zealand Soldiers' Poems from World War II by Les Cleveland (ed.)

$30.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand Poetry | Reading Level: very good

Kiwi Companeros: New Zealand and the Spanish Civil War by Mark Derby (ed.)

$30.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand | Reading Level: very good

In the first-ever account of New Zealand's role in Spain's civil war of 1936-39, Mark Derby presents the personal stories of some extraordinary individuals who became involved. For example: A fighter pilot from Wellington who landed his plane with a shattered shoulder, then left for Hollywood to make mo vies with Errol Flynn; A Cromwell surgeon who operated as close as possible to the firing line, and was described as 'the most important volunteer to come from the British Commonwealth'; A tough young wharfie from Napier who buried 80 of his fellow fighters in a single grave, and later became a union leader and thorn in the side of PM Rob Muldoon; A Christchurch-born academic who risked his life as an intelligence agent in Spain, and was later termed the handsomest man at Oxford University; An elegant young Englishwoman who fought with anarchist militia units and, under the guidance of Frank Sargeson, turned that experience into a writing career; A Wellington film-maker, show-jumper and flamenco dancer who fought for Franco's Fascists. Derby also records the actions of New Zealanders who worked for the Spanish cause at home by raising funds, lobbying politicians, writing poems and spreading propaganda. Kiwi Companeros includes contributions from some of New Zealand's leading writers and historians. It draws on personal letters, recently released military documents and previously unpublished photographs to tell an all-but forgotten story. ...Show more

The Kia ora Coo-ee. The Magazine for the Anzacs in the Middle East 1918 by David Kent

$30.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand | Reading Level: very good

Australians in the Waikato War 1863-1864 by Leonard L. Barton

$55.00 NZD

Category: Maori | Reading Level: near fine

Dark Of The Moon by Scott Arch

$15.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand | Reading Level: very good

Like many of his compatriots, Mortarman Arch Scott fell victim to Auchinleck's luckless campaign when captured at El Mreir in 1942. Yet his war, far from ending, was just beginning. This revised edition of Arch Scott's acclaimed memoir contains new material, including an expanded account of the remarkab le deeds of his comrade in arms Dave Russell, one of the only two New Zealanders awarded the George Cross. ...Show more

Regular Soldier: A Life in the New Zealand Army by Frank Rennie

$30.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand | Reading Level: very good

This title is not meant to be an autobiography or a history, it is a bit of both. What the book depicts, is the psychological strength of New Zealand soldiers and soldiering in human terms, there is nothing which the well - trained and well - led Maori / Pakeha soldier combination cannot achieve. This h as been acknowledged and documented by those who should know, our opponents and our comrades in arms. New Zealanders operate on the simple premise that there is no point in being second in the serious business of soldiering, and for this reason they will not accept inferior leadership or performance. Rennie has been quoted as saying that there is nothing as fulfilling as serving with New Zealanders in an atmosphere of mutual confidence and respect - and it is a relationship as unique as it is effective which is the measure in this book. ...Show more

Desert Duel: New Zealand's North African War 1940-43 by Matthew Wright

$20.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand | Reading Level: very good

In June 1942 the Panzerarmee Afrika, led by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, surged into Egypt. The only intact force standing between the Axis army and Cairo was the Second New Zealand Division -- classified by Rommel as the elite of the British Army. They were led by Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Freyberg , a man the Germans officially considered a 'dangerous opponent'. A few days later, a German Panzer division surrounded 2 NZ Division at Minqar Qaim. Outnumbered and cut off, the Kiwis should have surrendered. Instead, they smashed their way out with rifle and bayonet. This was not an isolated performance. American observers thought 2 NZ Division was 'by far the best fighting unit in the Middle East', and described Freyberg as a 'very great leader of men, possessed of tremendous courage and sound judgement.' These observations are at odds with post-war attempts to 'de-mythologise' New Zealand's desert war -- to cut the Kiwi contribution down to a size befitting a small South Pacific nation. Desert Duel tells the story of New Zealand's desert war, which surged back and forth across the arid, stony wastes of Egypt and Lybia for nearly four years from 1940.In a lively and well-illustrated account, making extensive use of original source material, Matthew Wright argues that modern efforts to re-interpret the performance of the New Zealanders and their commander are not supported by the documented facts. ...Show more

Private Paton's Pictures: Behind the Lines with Kiwi Soldiers in North Africa 1941-1943 by Harold Paton

$25.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand | Reading Level: very good

Harold Paton’s evocative Second World War photographs record the hardship, camaraderie and daily rituals of the North African and Syrian Campaigns of 1941–1943. This is the book produced from an exhibition of photographs of Kiwis in the North Afr ica campaign, 1942-43, during the Second World War. It includes extra photographs and captions in the photographer’s own words. Paton’s amazing photographs show how war really was, not how Hollywood has since portrayed it - ‘long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror’. These photographs graphically show us the daily lives that our fathers and grandfathers endured, as nearly every New Zealand family had a loved one involved in this campaign, and many of course did not come back. They also capture the lighter side, when the soldiers found time to entertain themselves by organising team sports, boxing matches, making toys and trinkets for their loved ones back home and enjoying the sights. ...Show more

The Great Adventure: New Zealand Soldiers Describe the First World War by Jock Phillips, Nicholas Boyack and E. P. Malone (eds)

$25.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand | Reading Level: very good

Khaki All Blacks - A Tribute to the Kiwis, the 2nd NZEF Army Rugby Team by Mike Whatman

$20.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand | Reading Level: very good

"Khaki All Blacks" is a detailed account of of the 1945-46 Kiwis' tour at the end of the Second World War. The tour was the brainchild of Major-General Bernard Freyberg, when the New Zealand Expeditionary Force was stationed in Cairo in 1940, and subsequently came under the able direction of the 'Colone l' - Colonel Allan Andrews. At the end of hostilities the Kiwis undertook an arduous tour of England, Scotland and Wales, then on to France and Germany before returning home to another five games against New Zealand provincial sides before they were finally reunited with their families. In total they won 32 of the 38 games they played. The style of rugby was fast, open and highly entertaining and, in the immediate post-war era when people were starved of entertainment of any kind, was received with enthusiasm and accolades wherever they played. Once back in New Zealand, many of the team went on to become All Blacks, coaches and selectors, including great names such as Bob Scott, Fred Allen and Charlie Saxton. The book includes forewords by Bob Scott and Major General Gerry Matapare, Chielf of Army General Staff, as well as comprehensive tour statistics and details on each of the players' rugby careers. Mike Whatman has written on sport for the Christchurch star and also had a long association with the Petone Rugby Club. ...Show more