New Non-fiction

The glitter and the gold - Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsam This is the fascinating story of the American heiress, Consuelo Vanderbilt, who married the ninth Duke of Marlborough for anything but love in 1895. A very human story told with candor and objectivity. It will keep your interest from the first page to the last. Everybody who was anybody can be seen in these pages. From artists and writers to statesmen of the world - view her world from the splendors of the courts of St. Petersburg and Vienna to the cold and desolate winter in France of 1940's. Here is a very candid and revealing personal story coupled with a unique insider's view of aristocracy's golden age.
World's ultimate running races The global sport of running has captured people's imagination since the first competitive race several thousand years ago. Hundreds of running races are held every day and the biggest of those are watched by millions of people. Races featured range from ten second sprints to several days worth of running over hundreds of miles. There are running races included from every continent and most are open to anyone in the world.
The NZR steam locomotive - Sean Millar Between 1863 and 1971 the steam locomotive was the best known part of railways, and these steel kings of the steel road touched everyone{u2019}s lives. Stories abound regarding the steam locomotive and what made them special. This is a history of the steam locomotives owned by New Zealand{u2019}s national railway system. Numbering more than a thousand, they were enormously varied {u2013} ranging from little over five tons to almost 148 tons in weight, and from the occasional failure to trend-setting designs of international significance. This book combines the best available research with the largest collection of photographs on the subject ever assembled. Each locomotive is described by class with brief specifications, and information about the work each performed in New Zealand locomotive history.
Long journey to the border - Vincent O'Sullivan Author of the classic novel Man Alone, John Mulgan emerges from this penetrating biography as a man who spoke for the generation that grew up between the wars, overshadowed by one and matured in another. From one perspective he was a glamorous figure - handsome, gifted, good at whatever he took up. From another the darker threads begin to dominate - from the sharp political concerns that saw little to celebrate, the commitment to ordinary decencies that he felt even war would not necessarily preserve, to his final years in Greece, the country that confirmed his deepest values yet helped provoke the final decision to take his own life.
Adventures in correspondentland - Nick Bryant Adventures in Correspondentland is part memoir, part travelogue, and part polemic. How did Bill Clinton react when, in front of a ballroom full of over 2,000 people, he had to present the award for 'Journalist of the Year' to the reporter who discovered the existence of Monica Lewinsky's little blue dress? And what did Hillary Clinton make of it all? Why did the BBC report on the night that Princess Diana was killed in a Paris underpass that she was walking around at the scene of the crash, and then continue to broadcast that she was alive even when it knew she was dead? Adventures from Correspondentland takes you around the world and back home to Australia. Our journey ends with an inside view of events such as the death of Steve Irwin, the 2007 election, and the 2011 Queensland floods. Nick Bryant gives readers a unique insight into how the world sees Australia at the start of the 21st century.
The power of modern spirituality - William Bloom William Bloom identifies for the first time the core strategies found at the heart of all spiritual traditions and explains how everyone - regardless of background, beliefs or personality type - can develop them and immediately put them into practice.
Shadow of the Titanic - Andrew Wilson In the early hours of 15 April 1912, after the majestic liner Titanic had split apart and the 1,500 men, women and children struggled to stay alive in the freezing Atlantic, the sea was alive with the sound of screaming. Then, as the ship sank to the ocean floor and the passengers slowly died from hypothermia, a deathly silence settled over the sea. The echoes of that night reverberated through the lives of each of the 705 survivors.
Chanel - Lisa Chaney By the end of the First World War, Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel had revolutionised women's dress. But dress was the most visible aspect of more profound changes she helped to bring about. Unearthing an astonishing life, this biography shows how the influential designer of her century became synonymous with a rebellious and progressive style.
Blue nights - Joan Didion From one of America's greatest and most iconic writers: an honest and courageous portrait of age and motherhood. Several days before Christmas 2003, Joan Didion's only daughter, Quintana, fell seriously ill. In 2010, Didion marked the sixth anniversary of her daughter's death. 'Blue Nights' is a shatteringly honest examination of Joan Didion's life as a mother, a woman and a writer. Recently widowed, and becoming increasingly frail, 'Blue Nights' is Didion's attempt to understand our deepest fears, our inadequate adjustments to aging and to put a name to what we refuse to see and as a consequence fail to face up to, 'this refusal even to engage in such contemplation, this failure to confront the certainties of aging, illness and death.
A home-grown cook - Alison Holst Alison Holst has never had the flamboyant madness of Julia Child or the luvviness of Nigella Lawson but her influence has been far-reaching. A Home-grown Cook is more than a culinary journey. From a modest upringing in Dunedin , she has become one of New zealands most endearing icons.
Beyond the front line - Mike McRoberts Admired for his credibility and willingness to go to the hot spots, in a reporting career spanning 25 years, Mike is best known for his work in some of the world's most dangerous places, covering conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, East Timor and the Solomon Islands. He has also covered some of the world's worst natural disasters from tsunamis, to wildfires and earthquakes, including the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010, and then, close to home, his informative and compassionate coverage of the Christchurch earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.
A daughter's tale - Mary Soames Now in her eighty-ninth year, Mary Soames is the only surviving child of Winston and Clementine Churchill. Younger than her siblings by several years, she went to day school and enjoyed an idyllic childhood played out in her very own 'Garden of Eden' - Chartwell. Here she roamed house and grounds, tended diligently to her collection of pets, and had her first glimpses of the glittering social world in which her parents moved. Then, in 1939, Chamberlain's declaration of war dramatically ended this world as she and her family had known it. Hereafter we follow Mary's life through her fascinating personal diary, published here for the first time.
Now is the season - Laura Faire This sophisticated cookery book reveals the key elements to good living and great honest food: seasonal cooking. Chef and gardener Laura Faire takes us back to our roots with her original recipes made from locally and seasonally sourced produce with temptations such as Warm Duck and Black Grape Salad from the Autumn menu, and Grilled Nectarines with Vanilla Mascarpone and Almonds from the Summer menu. Broken into seasons with sample menus for each, this rustic cook book includes recipes for starters, sides and lunches, mains, puddings, stores and tisanes.
The 3rd alternative - Stephen Covey Outlines a breakthrough approach to conflict resolution and creative problem solving that draws on the techniques of thinkers from a broad range of disciplines to explain how to incorporate diverse viewpoints for win-win solutions.
So brilliantly clever - Peter Graham The brutal, premeditated murder of Honorah Parker in 1954 in a lonely park by her 16-year-old daughter Pauline and Pauline's 15-year-old friend Juliet Hulme made shock headlines around the world. International media flocked to New Zealand to follow the trial. Still today, the murder remains one of the most interesting criminal cases of all time, and a source of intense public fascination throughout the world – especially since one of the murderers was revealed to be the murder-mystery writer Anne Perry, whose books sell in the millions.
All of me - Kim Noble Kim Noble is an accomplished artist whose work has been exhibited around the world. She is a mother with a 13-year-old daughter. She is a bubbly and vivacious woman. To meet her you wouldn't think anything was wrong. But when Kim was younger than five years old, her personality splintered and fractured. In 1995 she was finally diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) which has been described as a creative way to cope with unbearable pain. Now her body plays host to more than 20 different personalities, or 'alters'.
Old Bucky and me - Jane Bowron On February 22, 2011, journalist Jane Bowron had been living back in her hometown of Christchurch for three years when the city was struck by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake  As the historic city lay in ruins Bowron managed to find a phone, call her newspaper, and deliver a moving human account of the scene around her. For the next three months, she continued to send regular dispatches of everyday life being lived in the most extraordinary of circumstances as she and everyone else in Christchurch struggled to cope with grief, loss and the new reality. Brilliantly written and suffused with unexpected humour, Bowron's stories have become a modern classic - a rare and priceless account of how human beings can survive and overcome even the most terrible of tragedies in the most ordinary of ways."
Stoked - Al Brown Fishermen and good home cooks alike devoured Go Fish and its winning combination of excellent recipes, great yarns, gorgeous photography, devotion to the stunning NZ coastline and way of life, all with a touch of nostalgia. Now Al Brown applies this same formula to that icon of Kiwi life: the barbecue. But not just any old barbecue: Al explores a wide range of outdoor cooking styles - grills of all sorts, smoking, spits, outdoor ovens (tandoor, pizza) etc, including how-tos.
Attached - Amir Levine Introduces the theory of adult attachment as an advanced relationship science that can enable individuals to find and sustain love, offering insight into the roles of genetics and early family life in how people approach relationships.
That woman - Anne Sebba Always fascinating, often discussed -the first serious yet sympathetic biography by a woman of the Duchess of Windsor, Mrs Simpson.
The magic of reality - Richard Dawkins The master science writer has teamed up with David McKean, a master of the graphic novel, to create a new genre: the graphic science book. Science is our most precise and powerful tool for making sense of the world. Before we developed the scientific method, we created rich mythologies to explain the unknown. The pressing questions that primitive men and women asked are the same ones we ask as children. Who was the first person? What is the sun? The myths that address these questions are beautiful, but in every case their beauty is exceeded by the scientific truth. With characteristic clarity and verve, Dawkins uses each chapter to answer one of these big questions.
War of the worldviews - Deepak Chopra Neither science nor spiriutuality is going to go away. Science has slowly but surely challenged traditional religion; yet even as our scientific understanding has expanded some of the greatest questions remain unanswered.
Freddie Mercury - Lesley-Ann Jones Meticulously researched, sympathetic, unsensational, the book - like the forthcoming film - will focus on the period in the 1980s when Queen began to fragment, before their Live Aid performance put them back in the frame. In her journey to understand the man behind the legend, Lesley-Ann Jones has travelled from London to Zanzibar to India. Packed with exclusive interviews and told with the invaluable perspective that the twenty years since Mercury's death presents, Freddie Mercury is the most up to date portrait of a legendary man.
Christchurch 22.2: beyond the cordon The bravery and dedication of the police and USAR teams working within the cordon is beyond our imagination. These images from the talented DVI photographers truly capture the full extent of the devastation previously unseen of our shattered city.
Italia - Jo Seagar Taking her inspiration from her cook school in beautiful Umbria, Jo Seagar shows us how to make classic Italian recipes the easy way. In her inimitable way Jo teaches us that authentic doesn't have to mean difficult. She demystifies gnocchi, risotto, making your own pasta and pizza bases, and many other classics of Italian cooking through simple step-by-step instructions.
Angel in the rubble - Genelle Guzman-McMillan The story of the last survivor pulled from the 9/11 Ground Zero debris after 27 hours and her journey from desperation to a miraculous salvation.
The book of forgotten crafts -Paul Felix This title reveals the fascinating history of British craftsmanship in a series of interviews with leading crafters at work in Britain today. Many crafts survive in the hands of just a few individuals whose rare skills date back as far as 1,000 years. They are part of our history, part of a past of craftsmanship, skill and attention to detail that most of us probably thought had vanished forever. It features such people as the trug maker, cricket bat maker, thatcher, hurdle maker and a rope maker. It also includes the mentors from the Mastercrafts series.
Lighten up - Peter Walsh It seems as though not a day goes by that we don't think about money. We cut back on spending. We chase a bargain. We try to save more. We strive to use less credit. We worry about funding our retirement and our children's education. Yet we continue to spend money on things that don't matter. Peter Walsh knows that money and debt can overwhelm your life even faster than clutter, and he has a plan to help you deal with that emotional and financial chaos.
Sleeping with the enemy - Hal Vaughan She created the look of the modern woman; she was the high priestess of couture; she inspired women to take off their bone corsets and to cut their hair. She believed in simplicity and elegance and freed women from the tyranny of fashion. Was she also a Nazi agent?
Women's stuff - Kaz Cooke With more than 700 pages of the best info, independent advice and great fun you'd expect from Kaz Cooke, author of Up The Duff, Kidwrangling and Girl Stuff this is THE book every woman truly needs if they want to know anything about everything from confidence, body image, eating, health, hormones, bosoms, hairy bits, love, heartbreak, to sex, mental health, wrinkle creams, cosmetic surgery, friends, sleep, home, false eyelashes and menopause. Best of all, there's no fibs, faff or fakery…
At the turning point - Margaret Pope Margaret Pope writes an eyewitness account of the "turbulent 1980s and the brilliant, elusive figure at their political centre". She throws new light on the policy and personalitites of the fourth Labour government.
Beat till stiff - Peta Mathias Razor-witted, wise and just a touch scandalous, Beat till Stiff covers topics that Peta considers important, entertaining, naughty or personal. With chapters on why redheads have more fun, how egg whites provide a metaphor for living and how Peta stopped strangling her mother, the eagerly awaited follow-up to Can We Help it if We're Fabulous? and Just in Time to be too Late, is a book about the universal themes that affect all women.
All the devils are here - Bethany McLean In their new book, All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis (Portfolio Hardcover, November 16), V.F. contributor Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera, of The New York Times, go back two decades to expose how the market, the mortgage industry, and the government conspired to change the way Americans bought their homes and invested their nest eggs.
Force of nature - Edward Humes Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Humes (Eco Barons) offers a stirring story of how ecologically responsible practices are increasingly benefiting the bottom line, and how as Wal-Mart goes global (and tries to lure back the more green-conscious consumer decamping for Target), the biggest retailer in the world is, slowly but surely, encouraging a change for the better.
When horse became saw-Anthony Macris Anthony Macris and his wife were late starters as parents, but when their son Alex was born they were, for an all too brief period, the happiest of families. Until autism descended, in a swift and brutal wave, sweeping away the child they knew and leaving them to watch helplessly as his mind disintegrated. Their vibrant, healthy boy, who up to the age of eighteen months had appeared perfectly normal, was struck mute and barely recognised his own mother and father.
Otaki is the river - Rex Kerr This is the history of the Ōtaki river and the people who settled along its banks and shaped its future.
Wolfram - Giles Milton The Allied bombers screamed in from the sea, spilling hundreds of shells onto the troops below. As the air filled with exploding shrapnel, one young German soldier flung himself into a ditch and prayed that his ordeal would soon be over. Wolfram Aichele was nine years old when Hitler came to power: his formative years were spent in the shadow of the Third Reich. He and his parents - free-thinking artists - were to have first-hand experience of living under one of the most brutal regimes in history.
The Washerwoman's Dream: the extraordinary life of Winifred Steger 1882-1981 - Hilarie Lindsay Born in London, Winifred emigrated to Australia in 1891. The land grant that had lured her father to Far North Queensland proved worthless and they battled for many years to keep themselves alive. Later locked into a loveless marriage, Winifred was eventually driven away by her bullying husband and forced to leave her four young children behind. She found work in Outback pubs and fell in love with Ali, an Indian trader whom she married - Winifred was probably the first woman in Australia to convert to Islam.
Mud, Sweat, and Tears - Bear Grylls Known and admired by millions - whether from his prime-time TV adventures, as a bestselling author or as a world-class motivational speaker - Bear has been there and done it all. Now, for the first time and in his own words, this is the story of his action-packed life.
Rogue Male - Geoffrey Gordon-Creed and Roger Field This is the untold story of one of the most lethal and successful soldiers of the Second World War - a highly decorated hero as well as a self-confessed rogue in the tank war in the desert of North Africa.
V8 Supercars: The Whole Story - Gordon Lomas, Dirk Klynsmith, Stephen Sargeant. In 1997, Australia's high-profile touring-car formula became V8 Supercars, and the Australian motor-racing landscape changed forever. In the years since, the V8 category, based on home-grown vehicles and Australia's unique racetracks, has evolved from a local sport to an international spectacle dominated at this point by two manufacturers: Holden and Ford. Today, the series fields eighteen teams at each of the year's fourteen rounds. This book is an exciting and detailed history of the sport so far.
Bees in The City - Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum Beekeeping - once seen as an old-fashioned country pursuit - is increasingly attracting young metropolitan professionals, and new hives are springing up all over our cities. Whether you're attracted to beekeeping because you want to produce your own honey, do your bit to combat the threats that honeybee colonies face today, or simply reconnect with nature, Bees in the City provides a comprehensive guide to the subject.
Sonny Bill Williams - John Matheson Adulation for rugby league sensation Sonny Bill Williams turned to recrimination overnight when he left the Bulldogs to play for rich French club Toulon, earning himself the new name of 'Money Bill' Williams. Then he made no secret of the fact that he would like to change codes to rugby union if that allowed him to front up in the All Blacks' 2011 Rugby World Cup squad. Rumours and counter-rumours swirled, until the guy with the big hand was signed to Canterbury and duly made an appearance in the All Blacks. Throw in sporadic stints boxing, and the tale of this superb athlete follows the highways and byways of professional sport across the codes. Is Sonny Bill King of the Codes or King of Cash? The controversy still rages.
The Sory of Charlotte's Web - Michael Sims As he was composing what was to become his most enduring book, E. B. White was obeying the maxim: "Write what you know." Helpless pigs, silly geese, clever spiders, greedy rats--White knew all of these characters in the barns and stables where he spent his favorite hours. Painfully shy his entire life, "this boy," White once wrote of himself, "felt for animals a kinship he never felt for people." It is all the more impressive, therefore, how many people have felt a kinship with E. B. White.
Maintain Your Brain - Michael Valenzuela Leading Australian expert Dr Michael Valenzuela addresses all the common (and not-so-common) questions people have about dementia, and explains complex cutting-edge medical discoveries in a way that is clear and easy to understand. His practical advice is based on years of first-hand research and experience, and covers everything from blood pressure, diet and cholesterol to mental activity and physical exercise.
The Forgotten General - Jock Vennell Major General Sir Andrew Russell commanded the NZ Mounted Rifles Brigade at Gallipoli then went on to serve as commander of the New Zealand Division on the Western Front. As such he was the New Zealand army' s most senior officer during two key periods in the country's military history. The name of his Australian counterpart, General Sir John Monash, is well known to many in his country while Russell remains all but unknown in New Zealand. This biography sets out to change that.
Farmer Buckley's Exploding Trousers - Stephanie Pain In August 1931, New Zealand farmer Richard Buckley hit the local headlines - or rather his trousers did. One minute they were drying in front of the fire; the next there was a huge blast and a ball of flames. Farmer Buckley's trousers had exploded.
The Kiwi Backyard Handbook - Justin Newcombe The Kiwi backyard handbook is an essential if you're planning a garden makeover. It contains more than 25 easy but impressive projects with step-by-step photographs to stir up your creativity, along with a wealth of good advice to get you started.
Moonwalking with Einstein - Joshua Foer In Moonwalking with Einstein Foer draws on cutting-edge research, The cultural history of memory And The techniques of 'mental atheletes' to transform our understanding of human remembering. He learns the ancient methods used by Cicero and Medieval scholars. He meets amnesiacs, neuroscientists and savants including a man who claims to have memorized more than nine thousand books. In doing so, he reveals the hidden impact of memory on our lives, and shows how we can all dramatically improve our memories.
The Great Disruption - Paul Gilding It's time to stop just worrying about climate change, says Paul Gilding. Instead we need to brace for impact, because global crisis is no longer avoidable. The 'Great Disruption' started in 2008, with spiking food and oil prices and dramatic ecological change like the melting polar icecap. It is not simply about fossil fuels and carbon footprints. We have come to the end of Economic Growth, Version 1.0, a world economy based on consumption and waste, where we lived beyond the means of our planet's ecosystems and resources.
Kiwi Battlefields - Ron Palenski For more than a hundred years, New Zealanders have gone overseas to fight in foreign wars; they've gone to places few had heard of before but whose names now are as familiar as if they were just down the road. Names such as Gallipoli, Messines, Passchendaele, Crete, El Alamein, Cassino entered the New Zealand lexicon through the blood, sweat and tears of its soldiers.
Untamed - Davey Hughes Viewers will know him as the guy with guns, tusks, furs and other weird stuff who pops up on Border Patrol from time to time. He's Davey Hughes, the founder of Swazi Outdoor Clothing, and this is his story. As a kid in Wainuiomata he spent the weekends in the hills going after pigs and possums. Now he's hunted caribou in the Arctic circle, grizzlies in Alaska and buffalo in Tanzania. But there's more to Davey Hughes aka Swazi Man than a remarkable hunting life and a taste for adventure.
The flower shop - Sally Page In engaging prose and hundreds of gorgeous color photographs, Sally Page records a year at a small Dorset flower shop. Each chapter represents a different month and depicts what flowers are in season and what a typical month's activity is like. By sharing the joy of special occasions like weddings, birthdays, and holidays, while also touching on the sadness that is part of life, she shows how flowers represent the full range of human emotions.
Lost in Shangri-La - Mitchell Zuckoff Three months before the end of World War II, a U.S. Army plane flying over New Guinea crashed in uncharted mountains inhabited by a Stone Age tribe. Nineteen passengers and crew were killed and two were mortally wounded. But somehow three survived: a lieutenant whose twin brother died in the crash, a sergeant who suffered terrible head wounds, and a beautiful member of the Women's Army Corps.
Infidelity - Julia Hartley-Moore In this perceptive book Julia tells you what to do and how to survive infidelity without becoming scarred and bitter. Infidelity includes dozens of real life examples from Julia's case files and an important chapter on your legal and financial rights by Senior Barrister Ross Knight who specialises in relationship and property law and trust litigation.
Castles, follies and four -leaf clovers - Rosamund Burton Rosamund Burton walks St Declan’s Way, an age-old pilgrim route and ancient highway which runs 100km from the Rock of Cashel to the seaside village of Ardmore. During the wettest summer for 150 years she battles the undergrowth and get lost innumerable times. Along the Way she goes to a horse fair, stays with a silent order of nuns, is caught up in an All-Ireland hurling final and gets lost in the Bog of Hags. The book weaves history with visits to holy wells and moving statues, eccentric households and stories of fairies, ghosts and goddesses.
Scribbling in the dark - Alistair Te Ariki Campbell From the early days of Mine Eyes Dazzle Campbell's poetic voice has had a charismatic force which has won him an unusually broad range of admirers. Young readers continue to be drawn by his strength of personal feeling, his compelling eroticism and his vivid renderings of the New Zealand and South Pacific environment.
To plant a walnut tree - Trevor Waldock The most unselfish thing you can do is plant a walnut tree. When you plant a walnut tree you will not see the fruits of your labor within your lifetime, but you provide a lasting gift for future generations. In this gem of a book, the author recounts his personal quest for what lies beyond leadership, which Waldock calls eldership. Elders can provide independent leadership, wisdom and perspective and they hold leadership to account. Their wisdom may be needed to solve a problem, understand a dilemma, resolve a conflict or map a pathway through complex and unfamiliar territory.
Moby-duck - Donovan Hohn Like Bill Bryson on hard science, or John McPhee with attitude, journalist Hohn travels from beaches to factories to the northern seas in pursuit of a treasure that mystifies as much as it provokes. His quest is to determine what happened to a load of 28,800 Chinese manufactured plastic animals in a container that fell off a ship en route to Seattle in 1992.
The Churchills - Mary S Lovell If the Churchill family name summons up thoughts of oratory, war-making and politics, be aware that its history is equally replete with sex, real estate and emotional turmoil, all efficiently related in this zippy compilation of Churchill family dish over the centuries. Lovell, whose past biographies have treated the Mitford sisters, among other subjects, is frank about relegating D-Day, Yalta and the like to the background, preferring to concentrate on the family’s unending domestic tangles.
Expert witness - Anna Sandiford Using first-hand experience, Dr Anna Sandiford presents a real-life look at the inner workings of forensic science as she recounts her work, as well as that of others, on well-known (and some lesser known) cases that have created so much media and public fascination.
A simple nullity - David V Williams In 1877, the NZ Supreme Court decided the case of Wi Parata v Bishop of Wellington, centred on the ownership and use of the Whitireia Block near Porirua, which had been granted by Ngati Toa to the Anglican Church for a school that was never built. Refusing jurisdiction over the case, the Court also denied the legal relevance of the Treaty of Waitangi in NZ law. The judges wrote, So far indeed as that instrument purported to cede the sovereignty - a matter with which we are not directly concerned - it must be regarded as a simple nullity.

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