​A personal, intimate, memoir spanning 70 years, in three parts, describing my childhood in the UK and New Zealand, my 35 years as a New Zealand diplomat, and the hundreds of amazing individuals I met on the way, from farming folk to Kings, Queens and Presidents. Part One is the story of an English boy growing up on a farm in rural Devon and Somerset in an extended family, and then, aged 9, moving to rural New Zealand. It covers my school years, my year as a volunteer teacher, aged 17, at an all boys school, in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga and my year as a university student in a still divided Germany. Part Two describes my career as a junior, then senior, New Zealand diplomat, and my postings in Fiji, Canada, Geneva, Samoa, Germany and Singapore, the last three as Ambassador. Part Three argues that New Zealand should become a republic in the Commonwealth, with its own Head of State. It describes, too, my liberating journey from Anglicanism to freedom from any religion. I have aimed to tell the memoir with a sense of humour, humility and (for the most part) optimism!

*Just search Peter Hamilton at your library service of choice.

Growing little hearts with JillE books.

JillE books focus on important social and emotional skills such as kindness, consideration, perspective-taking, sharing, empathy, and more. These skills can help children build healthy relationships, cope with stress and difficult emotions, and develop a positive sense of self.

At the end of the first volume of Elspeth Sandys’ absorbing memoir, What Lies Beneath, an adult Elspeth has solved the riddle of her birth parents and begun to piece together the events of her early life and find her place in the world. Casting Off begins on the eve of Elspeth’s first marriage. She and her husband will soon depart New Zealand for England, joining a throng of Kiwis who chose to uproot themselves from their native land. New attachments will be formed: new loves – of people; of places – will take the place of the old. But the home country will continue to exercise a pull. Backgrounding the personal story in this deeply satisfying memoir is the story of the Thatcher years and the creeping virus of neo-liberalism, the sexual revolution of the sixties, the beguiling world of books – reading and writing – and theatre. Elspeth Sandys’ refreshing honesty and her skill as a writer of fiction and drama propel the reader through an absorbing life story that is equally a commentary on the meaning of memoir and the peculiarities of memory.

Do you take life too seriously even though you know it is so temporary…….? Have you found yourself postponing the things that you really want to do……….? Do you ever wish you could enjoy your work a little more or wonder where to find purpose, happiness, or just contentment?
Signing off on an exhilarating 35-year-long career in managing hotels, Rahul drew a line in the sand and repurposed. This mindset to contentment is explored and challenged in this ‘why to’ rather than ‘how to' book. Here in his third publication, he takes a deep dive into perspective in life and the joy of philanthropy as he takes you on a journey to disrupt the norm and be part of something bigger than yourself.
Is it wise to postpone so many of the things that make our heart sing, to sometime later on when there is no guarantee that such a time will come for you and what state of mind or health you will be in? Repurpose, the realignment of life to create a purpose, maybe the answer and that can be done at any time. The key message is not to postpone anything that is important to you!
This book will help readers in their twenties right across to their sixties and beyond to think about the bigger picture, as they ponder the thought-provoking questions at the end of some chapters and the disruptive challenges at the end of others. The emotions and complexities of our lives are balanced against the practicalities of real-life financials The very last chapter reviews the meaning of life with perspectives from the world’s great intellectual traditions, intricately blended in with the author's own references.

In this beautiful and transformative book, 24 Māori academics share their personal journeys, revealing what being Māori has meant for them in their work. Their perspectives provide insight for all New Zealanders into how mātauranga is positively influencing the Western-dominated disciplines of knowledge in the research sector. It is a shameful fact, says co-editor Jacinta Ruru in her introduction to Nga Kete Mātauranga, that in 2020, only about 5 percent of academic staff at universities in Aotearoa New Zealand are Māori. Tertiary institutions have for the most part been hostile places for Indigenous students and staff, and this book is an important call for action. ‘It is well past time that our country seriously commits to decolonising the tertiary workforce, curriculum and research agenda,’ writes Professor Ruru

*Just search NGĀ KETE MĀTAURANGA at your library service of choice.