SOLD A comprehensive study of the Indian diaspora

 

SOLD to a lawyer in East Sydney, NSW

Mint condition. HB. 416pp. $100 including postage anywhere in Australia.

The Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora Book Description Brij V Lal has contributed to The Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora as an editor.Brij V. Lal is professor of Pacific and Asian history at the Australian National University.

About the author:

Brij V. Lal AM, FAHA is an Indo-Fijian historian. He was born in Labasa, on the northern island of Vanua Levu. He was educated at the University of the South Pacific, the University of British Columbia and the Australian National University. A harsh critic of the Bainimarama government, which originated in the military coup of 2006 and retained power in the 2014 elections, he is currently living in exile in Australia.

"I am currently working on a large scale project about Australia's engagement with the South Pacific from the 1940s to the 1980s, focusing on the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Vanuatu. My research on Fiji continues with a historical dictionary and a general interpretative volume for the University of Hawaii currently in preparation, along with a series of essays on the politics and culture of the Indian indentured diaspora. On the side, I continue to wrestle with the problems of writing about societies with unwritten pasts."

An anthology of top Kiwi travel writing

Mint condition. PB. 200pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

This anthology of travel essays from 12 of New Zealand's best-known writers documents a wide range of personal experiences, from Joy Cowley's stint in Alaskan villages, where hunting is part of the daily business of survival, to Barbara Else's working tour of London and Manchester. 

Travel with Graeme Lay in heady Tahiti, take an African safari in Zimbabwe with Catharina van Bohemen, experience Corsica with Sarah Quigley, and Joy MacKenzie's Paris. 

Follow Lloyd Jones as he explores Brooklyn, a world away from the safe environment back home, Michaeanne Forser searching for passion in Mexico, and visit the silica terraces and hot pools of Tessa Duder's Turkey. 

Peter Wells goes to Sydney, a city 'ripe for the millennium', CK Stead travels to Croatia, and Chris Orsman explores Antarctica, a continent etched with a brittle history.

SOLD A lone Kiwi travels across Mongolia

 

SOLD

Rare book. Good condition. PB. 176pp. $20 including postage across Australia

While Ian Robinson was born and raised in rural New Zealand, he's covered a lot of ground since then. He's done it the hard way too - backpacking through South America, China, Tibet, Nepal and India. 

In 1992 he was living in London, and was seized with the idea of travelling across Mongolia, and despite opposition from friends, family and so-called 'experts' who claimed it was impossible, he went on to became the first westerner to cross Mongolia alone on horseback. 

His battle to find guides, horses and a safe place to sleep in some of the world's wildest and most inhospitable surroundings is an extraordinary testament to his courage, ingenuity and determination. 

Gantsara - alone across Mongolia tells the fascinating, sometimes frightening and often hilarious story of his amazing journey. 

From falling in love with an enchanting girl in Ulan Bator to being chased across the steppes by drunken bandits, his story is never dull and is full of the affection and respect he developed for the warm and vital people he came to know and love along the way

Political biography of Jacinda Ardern

 

Mint condition. PB. 320pp. $25 including postage anywhere in Australia.

She is a progressive and a social democrat. A millennial woman in leadership. Only the second elected leader in the world to give birth while in office. But who is the real Jacinda Ardern? And why does she inspire such global admiration?

New Zealand's prime minister has been hailed as a leader for a new generation, tired of inaction in the face of issues such as climate change and far-right terrorism.

Her grace and compassion following the Christchurch mosque shooting captured the world's attention. Oprah Winfrey invited us to 'channel our inner Jacindas' as praise for Ardern flooded headlines and social media. The ruler of this remote country even made the cover of Time.

In this revealing biography, journalist Madeleine Chapman discovers the woman behind the headlines. Always politically engaged and passionate, Ardern is uncompromising and astute. She has encountered her fair share of sexism, but rather than let that harden her, she advocates 'rising above' disparagers. In her first press conference, she announced an election campaign of 'relentless positivity'. The tactic was a resounding success- donations poured in and Labour rebounded in the polls.

But has Ardern lived up to her promise? What political concessions has she had to make? And beyond the hype, what does her new style of leadership look like in practice?

SOLD A history of interactions between Maori and Westerners

 

SOLD

Mint condition. PB. 288pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Come On Shore and We Will Kill And Eat You All is a sensitive and vibrant portrayal of the cultural collision between Westerners and Maori, from Abel Tasman's discovery of New Zealand in 1642 to the author's unlikely romance with a Maori man.

An intimate account of two centuries of friction and fascination, this intriguing and unpredictable book weaves a path through time and around the world in a rich exploration of the past and the future that it leads to.

Bold, absorbing and utterly original, this book will take its place on the shelf next to Bruce Chatwin (Songlines), Bill Bryson (Down Under) and Doris Pilkington (The Rabbit-Proof Fence). Occupies the same territory as Jane Campion's film The Piano and Rose Tremain's novel The Colour.

Biography of a philanthropist who founded St Vincent de Paul in Australia

 

Mint condition. PB. 288pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

The extraordinary life of 'Captain' Charles Gordon O'Neill - colonial engineer, inventor, parliamentarian, philanthropist, and principle co-founder of the St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia and New Zealand.

The extraordinary saga of the colonial character 'Captain' Charles Gordon O'Neill an, engineer, inventor, parliamentarian and philanthropist.

Born of Irish parents in Scotland in 1828, O'Neill travelled to the colonies in 1863 with driving ambition, matched by entrepreneurial vision. 

A brilliant engineer, he helped create town plans, railway routes and tramways across New Zealand. Elected to the New Zealand parliament as a goldfields MP, he warned of the risk of climate change from destroying forests. 

He moved to Sydney in 1881 to work for the poor of Australia. Beginning in Sydney's wild Rocks district, he pioneered many charitable initiatives and established the St Vincent de Paul Society in New South Wales. 

His foresight was vindicated as the colonial age of gold was followed by the economic depression of the 1890s. In a bitter twist of fate, despite all his technical skill, access to capital and political connections, O'Neill died a pauper amid the slums of The Rocks in 1900.

'a fascinating, meticulously researched and detailed study of the life of Charles O'Neill The themes of personal sacrifice in the cause of social justice and the fight against poverty are universal and still contemporary.'

Professor John Warhurst, The Australian National University

'Utick rescues a singularly intriguing character from undeserved obscurity; and in so doing makes an important and fresh contribution to the written histories of New Zealand and Australia. This is an elegant and informative narrative that should appeal to a wide readership.'

Associate Professor Hugh Laracy, The University of Auckland