History

James Belich , The New Zealand Wars (Penguin). An extraordinary, well-researched, and in-depth demolition job on the received version of the course and outcome of the colonial wars, which re-examines the Victorian and Maori interpretation of the conflict. A book for committed historians and those fanatically interested in the subject, since it gives more detail than most people will ever need to know.
Alistair Campbell , Maori Legends (Viking Sevenseas, NZ). A brief retelling of selected stories in an accessible way with some evocative illustrations.
R.D. Crosby , The Musket Wars (Reed). An account of the massive upsurge in inter-iwi conflict before the start of European colonization, that was exacerbated by the introduction of the musket and led to the death of 23 percent of the Maori population, a proportion far greater than that of Russian casualties in World War II.
A.K. Grant , Corridors of Pua (Hazard Press, NZ). A light-hearted look at the turbulent and fraught political history of the country from 1984 to the introduction of MMP.
Tom Hewnham , By Batons and Barbed Wire (o/p). A harrowing account of the 1981 Springbok Tour of New Zealand that stirred up more social hatred than any other event and proved conclusively that there is more to New Zealand society than just a bunch of good blokes and "Hail fellow well met".
Hineani Melbourne , Maori Sovereignty: The Maori Perspective (Hodder Headline); and its companion volume Maori Sovereignty: The Pakeha Perspective by Carol Archie (Hodder Headline). Everyone from grass-roots activists to statesmen get a voice in these two volumes, one airing the widely divergent Maori visions of sovereignty, the other covering the equally disparate pakeha view on the subject. They assume a fairly good understanding of Maori structures and recent New Zealand history, but are highly instructive nonetheless.
Claudia Orange , The Story of the Treaty (Bridget Williams Books, NZ). A concise, illustrated exploration of the history and myths behind what many believe to be the most important document in New Zealand history, the Treaty of Waitangi. Well written but probably more than the casual traveller needs to know. Much the same criticism applies to the author's The Treaty of Waitangi (Allen & Unwin, NZ), which covers the lead-up to the signing, and the treaty's first sixty years.
Margaret Orbell , A concise Encyclopaedia of Maori Myth and Legend (Canterbury University Press, NZ). A fairly comprehensive rundown on many tales and their backgrounds that rewards perseverance even though it's a little dry.
Jock Phillips , A Man's Country? The Image of the Pakeha Male (Penguin). Recently updated version of a classic treatise on mateship and the Kiwi bloke. This thorough exploration ranges through the formative pioneering years, rugby, wartime camaraderie, the development of the family-man ideal and now includes Nineties man. It comes to life with the partial dismantling of the stereotype in the light of developments of the last twenty years.
Keith Sinclair , The History of New Zealand (Penguin). A highly readable general history of New Zealand with comprehensive coverage of the social factors that have shaped the country, as well as the prime movers. Maori oral history gets a brief and informative look-in, and there's plenty on uneasy Maori- pakeha relations, but it's not been updated to take into account recent political changes and the Maori renaissance.
D.C. Starzecka (ed), Maori Art and Culture (British Museum Press). A kind of Maori culture primer, with concise and interesting coverage of Maori history, culture, social structure, carving and weaving, spiced up by excellent colour photos of artefacts from the British Museum's collection.
Ross Wiseman , The Spanish Discovery of New Zealand in 1576 (Discovery Press, NZ). Wiseman puts the case for pre-Abel Tasman European discovery based on wreckage from ships, Spanish-sounding Maori names and a clutch of other circumstantial but convincing evidence.