A very comprehensive and readable history of New Zealand. Carefully researched  and written by one of New Zealand’s leading historians,  this book is a must read  for those looking to understand this beautiful country, the Maori culture prior and post to the arrival of Europeans, British colonization, transition to independence and the more contemporary history .

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An unusual story about love, isolation and complex relationship between Maori and European cultures in New Zealand. The protagonist, Kerewin Holmes is a reclusive artist that lives in an isolated tower in remote South Island. She befriends  a mute boy named Simon and his adoptive father Joe.  As time goes on, Kerewin realizes that Joe is physically abusing his son, and  she decides to get more involved in their family.

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Part  memoir, part history in Come On Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All, Christina Thompson tells the story of how she met and eventually married  a Maori man, interweaving it with a  history  of New Zealand and cultural collision between Europeans and the Maori.

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A beautifully written tale about a young Maori girl named Kahu, who is determined to prove her great-grandfather, the current leader of the Maori people of Whangara,  that she is  the right successor to his chieftaincy.

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First published in the 1970’s, Pounamu Pounamu is a collection of short stories set on the East Coast of New Zealand. The stories constitute a whole and focus on the challenges and the pressure many  Maori face when leaving the traditional rural way of life and moving to the cities.

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An enjoyable and heartfelt memoir of an American family who decides to leave their home in  San Diego behind and move to New Zealand.

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A beautiful tale of love and hate, trust and betrayal  Set against the backdrop of colonial nineteenth-century New Zealand, In the Land of the Long White Cloud tells a story two women from England who meet on a ship heading to Christchurch. Gwyneira, a daughter of an impoverished sheep farmer  is engaged to the son of a wealthy baron;  Helen, a governess is  about to marry a farmer.

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A historical novel set in New Zealand during the Gold Rush, in the late 1800’s. The Colour tells a story of a newly wed English couple Joseph and Harriet Blackstone, who along with Joseph’s aging mother move to New Zealand in search for greater opportunity and prosperity.

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A quirky and entertaining travel memoir  by Jon Tindel about the time he spend in New Zealand.  Using  his former home, the lone caravan  as a narrator,  the book gives  a very informative picture of New Zealand’s breathtaking  wildlife, history and culture. 

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