Thursday, August 02, 2007

A Short History of New Zealand by Gordon McLauchlan

A Short History of New Zealand by Gordon McLauchlan is well what the title says. The book deals with New Zealand history from its formation thousands of years ago, its discovery by the Polynesians then the Europeans through to 2003. For the most part this is a political history although there were occasional nods to social history topics. There isn't really enough space to deal with anything in-depth. I don't know much about New Zealand history so this was a welcome summary at least now I know some of the major figures and events. Unfortunately this was written by a reporter there is no endnotes, bibliography or suggested readings although occasionally books are mentioned in the text. Pictures are on basically every page mostly head shots. There's a timeline of important events.

Recommended although I'll be looking for something more extensive.

Is available through Abebooks.

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