Penguin History Of New Zealand 1/e,The

By Michael King

Book Overview

New Zealand was the last country in the world to be discovered and settled by humankind. It was also the first to introduce a full democracy. Between those events, and in the century that followed the franchise, the movements and the conflicts of human history have been played out more intensively and more rapidly in New Zealand than anywhere else on Earth. The narrative that emerges is an inclusive one about men and women, Maori and Pakeha. It shows that British motives in colonizing New Zealand were essentially humane; and that Maori, far from being passive victims of a fatal impact, coped heroically with colonization and survived by selectively accepting and adapting what Western technology and culture had to offer.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0143018671
• ISBN13: 9780143018674
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Penguin New Zealand
• Length: 564 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 1.7" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

The Penguin History of New Zealand

An essential but not easy read for all Kiwis and anyone else interested in the land down under.

Easy read for its length

When I was younger my family and I lived in New Zealand. We moved back to the US while I was still in grade school and for the first time since then we went back this winter. Being older this time I had decide that I wanted to learn a little bit about NZ history. I was luck because New Zealand is such a literal society that they had more than enough suggestions for me. This book however was the book that came up most often when I asked book store. I was real apprehensive to get it though because it looked so long and I had really just been looking for something I could read while on vacation. I couldn't be happier with my decision in the end. For being so thick I was able to read this book in only a couple of weeks and I am not a fast reader. Not only was it a quality book that keep me reading it was also broken up into chapters and sections that made it easy to read. Not living in New Zealand or planning on going back as often as I would like, I only wanted information on certain aspects of NZ history. The way this book read I was able to get into the parts I wanted to and skim over some areas with out feeling like I was missing out on the flow of the book. It had everything I could have wanted to know and more in it. Good read.

History in the making

This book is essential to anybody interested in NZ history, and History in general. It is wonderfully written and summarises a detailed history of NZ very well. Highly recommended.

Perhaps there are paralells between U.S. and NZ histories

I was fortunate to visit New Zealand this summer. Prior to the trip, I read what I could find on NZ...Captain Cook's travelogues, of course the Lord of the Rings movie books, even dabbled in a Maori-English dictionary. However, all had their shortcomings. I spoke about this with a friend in Lake Taupo (on the North Island), he recommended to me the Penguin History of New Zealand. I followed suit and became hooked! Michael King, a former professor of New Zealand history at Georgetown University, has written an incredibly detailed and thought-provoking survey of New Zealand history. He challenged popular ideas of the first inhabitants of the islands and raised several interesting arguments (the idea of the Maori's ancestors being traced to Peru being one of my favorites. In all honesty, I still have not completed the book. If I can think of one drawback to the book, it is that Mr. King is no longer here to continue on his work, as he was killed in a car accident shortly before the release of the book. Nonetheless, if one is looking for a provoking read on one of the world most dynamic democracies, this is a good one.