Williams: 1396 books

The Christian era is at an end: after two thousand years the religious faith that has shaped western civilisation has been found wanting. So argues Lloyd Geering in a controversial examination of society and religion, in which he looks at the reasons for Christianity’s decline and the likely shape...

The Treaty of Waitangi is a central document in New Zealand history. This lively account tells the story of the Treaty from its signing in 1840 through the debates and struggles of the nineteenth century to the gathering political momentum of recent decades.The second edition of this popular book brings...

Hannah August's intelligent and humane study illuminates, sometimes uncomfortably, the ways in which our demographics are changing and our attitudes are not. This is public intellection that is curious, rigorous, and highly relevant to our time.' Eleanor CattonIn 2013, there were over 66,000 more...

‘Our migration policy impacts on New Zealand citizens, on recent immigrants and on people who are never permitted to set foot on this land. It creates prosperity for some and hardship for others.’ Debates over immigration are heating up with grave political consequences. Fair Borders draws...

For European refugees arriving in the 1930s, New Zealand was in many ways a haven. It wasn't all easy: they came from a continent rich in culture and history to a small isolated country with little social diversity. The immigrants found prejudice and suspicion as well as a place they could one day call...

Did the entire New Zealand land mass sink beneath the waves 23 million years ago? Many biologists reject the idea and insist that our native terrestrial fauna can be explained only by the continuous existence of land. But many geologists are now asserting that there is no longer any convincing...

The idea of social investment has obvious intuitive appeal. But is it robust? Is it built on sound philosophical principles and secure analytical foundations? Will it deliver better outcomes? For almost a decade, the idea of social investment has been a major focus of New Zealand policy-making...

W.H. Oliver, a central figure in New Zealand’s intellectual landscape, reflects on the decades of his own life and the history that has shaped him.The first editor of The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography and the author of The Story of New Zealand, Oliver tells of his Cornish upbringing, the influences...

The celebrated digital magazine e-Tangata is home to some of the most incisive and profound commentary on life in New Zealand. Māori, Pasifika and Pākehā writers grapple with topics that range from politics and social issues to history and popular culture. The best of these are collected together here into this BWB Text by the magazine’s editors, Tapu Misa and Gary Wilson.

In May 2017 the exhibition He Tohu opened at the National Library in Wellington. This celebrates three founding documents in New Zealand’s history He Whakaputanga: The Declaration of Independence (1835), the Treaty of Waitangi: Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840) and the Women’s Suffrage Petition (1893)....

Who said what to whom when the Treaty was negotiated - and what lay behind subsequent misunderstandings about its wording?In this extract from her bestselling book The Treaty of Waitangi, Claudia Orange reports in detail on the dramatic events that led to the signing of the Treaty on 6 February 1940.

A large and peaceful pro-independence march along Beach Road in Apia, Samoa. Amidst panic and confusion, New Zealand police open fire with rifles and a machine-gun, killing nine people and wounding fifty. In this BWB Text, Michael Field describes what happened on Black Saturday, 28 December 1929, a day that is largely forgotten in New Zealand history but is vividly recalled in Samoa.

Migration is at historically high levels and more than a quarter of the New Zealand population was born overseas. Yet immigration remains a deeply contentious issue, with the debate more often shaped by emotion than evidence. Julie Fry and Peter Wilson have developed a new framework that broadens...

Back from the Brink is a history of New Zealand policy on nuclear power and the growth of the anti-nuclear movement, culminating in the 1984 Labour Government's 'No Nukes' policy.Kevin Clements, a sociology lecturer and peace activist, provides a thorough, meticulously researched examination of the implications...