I had no life experience, zero common sense and had never eaten rice. I suffered from debilitating anxiety, was battling an eating disorder and had just had my heart broken. I thought by leaving to travel the world I would instantly becomea glamorous and savvy backpacker… But somehow Lauren’s travels were full of bad luck and near-death experiences. Over the space of two years, instead of finding herself, she lost a laptop, a camera, £1,000 and some teeth. She was caught up in a tsunami,sat beside a dead woman for six hours and experienced a very unhappy ending during a massage in Thailand.But repeatedly being forced out of her pea-sized comfort zone helped Lauren realise that she was stronger than she once thought and, learning how NOT to travel the world was the most enlightening experience she could have hoped for.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 320

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 10-08-2015

John Robert Godley, Edward Gibbon Wakefield, James Edward FitzGerald - these are the names that usually come to mind as the founders of Canterbury. But there was a fourth vitally important individual, arguably equal in importance to FitzGerald, whose story remains largely unknown. William Guise Brittan led the first Canterbury Pilgrims, chaired the Society of Canterbury Colonists and controlled the Land Office in early Christchurch. The 'bell-wether man' of the Canterbury project, he was the first to pay for land land in the settlement, inspiring others to follow his example. William Guise Brittan was also known as 'the Father of Cricket' in Canterbury and established three churches in Christchurch. The city's cathedral was built with stone from his Halswell quarry. His elder brother Joseph, who joined him in 1852, had a significant influence on local politics, as a provincial secretary, and was expected to follow FitzGerald as superintendent, though he lost the 1857 election. A former newspaper owner, he also founded the "Canterbury Standard" in 1854 as a rival to the "Lyttelton Times". He too, was a cricket enthusiast. The Brittan brothers were leading figures in the Canterbury settlement, and made substantial contributions to the province, yet they were unpopular, both their careers ended in failure and disappointment and they have been mostly forgotten. This timely and fascinating account seeks to explain why, exploring their work and family lives (and their bank accounts), and along the way providing a richly detailed panorama of life and politics in early Chistchurch.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 350

Dimensions: 155 x 228 mm

Publication Date: 20-08-2015

A modern day Downton Abbey
Over a twelve month period the author and his wife bought to an extremely proper and aristocratic household a down to earth mentality which confused and intrigued their employers. Age old ways tied this Kiwi pair in knots and caused sleepless nights but at best provided some of the funniest experiences of their lives.
Their exceedingly wealthy employers couldn't boil water or sweep leaves. The Laredos could, so a punt was taken to hire them by Mr and Mrs Worlingham who required everything to be picked up and put down for them.
Shoes had to be polished, clothes laid out and drinks poured. The Laredos acted as marriage counsellors, relationship consultants for their teenage daughters, truce negotiators for family feuds and issues concerning staff rivalry. Acting as go betweens and smoke screens became skills they never knew they had.
Aside from life at Chantborough Court there were also local village people who curried favour with this new domestic couple from down under hoping they would open doors to the 'Big House' that most villagers only dreamt of passing through. They became the subject of gossip, personality hang-ups and intrigue - learning to be discreet was everything. Ultimately friendships were forged that have held fast, but getting established and becoming accepted was often testy, frequently funny beyond words and ultimately too good to have missed.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 224

Dimensions: 148 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 20-03-2015

This is not a climbing book, it’s an easy read story book everyone can relate to from a life filled with adventure, visiting the far corners of the globe, and about surviving when things really go wrong! From the Himalaya to the Antarctic and back to New Zealand, it has been Kiwi adventurer Mark Sedon’s mission in life to never waste a day. In this book, Sedon shares thrilling tales of exploration, adventure and misadventure growing up in the outdoors, followed by skiing and mountaineering in New Zealand and later as a climbing and ski guide, travelling all seven continents of the world including climbing Mt Everest. “It’s amazing how fast life can change,” explains Sedon. “From enjoying the time of your life, to almost losing it. A split second, a small mistake, a shift in events can kill you, cause an injury. Or you might just sneak through, unknowingly escaping catastrophe by the smallest of margins . . .” Such has been Sedon’s personal experience. From breaking his back when he was buried in an avalanche, to watching helplessly high up on an erupting volcano, almost dying in a catastrophic helicopter crash, a severe brain haemorrhage, dropping a burning sack of explosives onto a helicopter skid, a 10m fall into a crevasse, starving for five days in a shipping container in remote Papua, and a yacht fire and broken mast in the Southern Ocean. What could possibly go wrong, is a question Sedon no longer voices out loud. Yet, the adventures have not stopped. While there is a very real fear of dying, for Sedon, the fear of not living is greater. While it may sound like a reckless approach to life, as Sedon explains, “Perceived risk is very relative to where you are standing and what your background is.” What Could Possibly Go Wrong delivers an important message to every would-be thrill-seeker about understanding and mitigating risk and for those, like Sedon, happy then to accept the risk, it’s about living life to the fullest. Or to inspire you into trying a smaller safe adventure close to home such as walking a bit further than usual, to an unknown area, to get out there and expand your horizons. Whether you share the author’s love of adventure or prefer to experience it from the pages of a book, these tales of euphoric highs and spectacular near-misses will stay with you for years to come...

Bind: paperback

Pages: 218

Dimensions: 154 x 235 mm

Publication Date: 31-05-2022

"I paint for myself. That's the only way. For when you paint to please it's not the honest thing and inhibits the chances of discovery, because there's no point in writing or painting unless you make your own discoveries." Olivia Spencer Bower wrote those words near the end of an almost six-decade career as one of New Zealand's finest and best-loved artists. Born in England, she initially came to New Zealand reluctantly but learned to call this country home and to cherish its landscape, particularly in the South Island. She was a superb watercolourist, but worked in a wide variety of media and was always keen to experiment and remained open to new ideas. Outwardly sociable, hospitable and colourful, the friend of artists from Rita Angus to Colin McCahon, she remained a private, thoughtful person. Her conviction that artists should have the freedom and opportunity to make their own discoveries led to the establishment of her art award, an ongoing legacy to subsequent generations in New Zealand. In this, the first book to consider Olivia Spencer Bower's life and work, art historian Julie King offers, through a lively and impeccably researched text and a selection of watercolours, paintings, drawings, prints and illustrations, a superb evocation of one of the most engaging and vital artists this country has produced.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 208

Dimensions: 240 x 265 mm

Publication Date: 01-12-2015

Highly qualified veterinary surgeon Julian Earl, entertains the reader with a few of his favourite tales and events during his 45 year career not to mention the most bizarre of all – finding a cow stuck in a tree! Chapters are littered with anecdotes, hilarious memories, and veterinary stories all told in a lighthearted style with plenty of examples and practical advice on what one should try and avoid when working as a veterinary surgeon. James Herriot for the 21st Century.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 160

Dimensions: 138 x 216 mm

Publication Date: 01-07-2016

Bind: paperback

The First New Zealand Himalayan Expedition, in 1951, was initiated by Earle Riddiford, who with Ed Cotter and Pasang Dawa Lama made the first ascent of Mukut Parbat, their target peak in the Garhwal Himalaya. Accompanying them on that expedition, though not to that summit, were two other New Zealand climbers, Edmund Hillary and George Lowe. Hearing of the success on Mukut Parbat, the New Zealand Alpine Club suggested to the Alpine Club in London that acclimatised New Zealanders would be a valuable asset on the forthcoming 1951 British Reconnaissance of Mt Everest, to be led by Eric Shipton. This resulted in an invitation for two New Zealanders to join the party: thrilling news the four climbers received while they were ensconced in the hill-country village of Ranikhet. A day and a half of bitter dispute rent the party asunder. Which two should go to Everest? In this enthralling narrative, journalist Lyn McKinnon tells the stories of Earle Riddiford and Ed Cotter, two extraordinary New Zealanders whose climbing achievements were forever eclipsed by the exploits of others. She draws on private papers as well as published work, and extensively interviews Cotter himself, and the families of both men, as well as many other contemporary climbers, to set the record straight.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 320

Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm

Publication Date: 21-10-2016

Like a human tsunami, World War II brought two million American servicemen to the South Pacific where they left a human legacy of some thousands of children. Mothers’ Darlings of the South Pacific traces the intimate relationships that existed in the wartime Pacific between US servicemen and Indigenous women, and considers the fate of the resulting children. The American military command carefully managed such intimate relationships, applying US immigration law based on race to prevent marriage ‘across the colour line’. For Indigenous women and their American servicemen sweethearts, legal marriage was impossible, giving rise to a generation of children known as ‘GI babies’. Among these Pacific war children, one thing common to almost all is the longing to know more about their American father. Mothers’ Darlings of the South Pacific traces these children’s stories of loss, emotion, longing and identity, and of lives lived in the shadow of global war. It considers the way these relationships developed in the major US bases of the South Pacific Command from Bora Bora in the east across to Solomon Islands in the west, and from the Gilbert Islands in the north to New Zealand. The writers interviewed many of the children of the Americans and some of the few surviving mothers, as well as others who recalled the wartime presence in their islands. Oral histories reveal what the records of colonial governments and the military largely have ignored, providing a perspective on the effects of the US occupation that until now has been disregarded by historians of the Pacific war.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 424

Dimensions: 152 x 228 mm

Publication Date: 13-06-2016

From the co-author of the best-selling beginners’ running book, Running Made Easy, with a foreword by internationally renowned running legend Kathrine Switzer. Lisa Jackson is a surprising cheerleader for the joys of running: truth be told, she’s not just a little bit slow, but often ‘last person across the finish line’ slow. But that hasn’t stopped former fitness-phobe Lisa from becoming a marathon runner at 31 and, more astonishingly, an ultrarunner at 41 – even if she’s come last in 17 of 85 marathons and plodded through two 56-mile ultramarathons. This is Lisa’s story, but it’s also the story of the extraordinary people she has met along the way – tutu-clad fun-runners, world record breakers, 250-mile ultrarunners, octogenarians and blind runners – whose tales of love, loss and laughter are sure to inspire you. Your Pace or Mine? is for all runners, from nervous novices right up to seasoned marathoners. It’s for anyone who longs to feel the wonderful sense of connection and achievement running has to offer. Lisa’s message is that running really isn’t about the time you do, but the time you have!

Bind: paperback

Pages: 320

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 10-03-2016