Biography (243)

Pic : Adventures in Sailing Business and Love

ISBN: 9780473548599

Author: Pic Picot    Publisher: Really Good Books

LONG BEFORE ROCKETING TO FAME AS A PEANUT-BUTTER BARON. Pic earned his keep making cool sandals for his schoolmates and expensive handbags for their mothers. le...


LONG BEFORE ROCKETING TO FAME AS A PEANUT-BUTTER BARON. Pic earned his keep making cool sandals for his schoolmates and expensive handbags for their mothers. leatherwork paid for his OE. He went to flower-powered San Francisco, had a hair-raising entanglement with a Colorado drug gang, and lived in a bizarre squat in London, before returning to New Zealand and a fortnight in a psychiatric ward. He built a house on a commune, started an old-time photo business, joined a travelling rock band, and became a father. Next, he took up furniture making and helped establish the legendary Parnell Workshops and Storage, where his bespoke chairs morphed into tawdry giftware. After building a boat and sailing the Pacific, Pic moved to Nelson, where he started a spectacularly unsuccessful restaurant. Business success came with his charter-boat directory and sailing school. Then he retired. It was his disgust with commercial peanut butter that started him making his own. In a dozen years, he went from roasting nuts in a concrete mixer to employing fifty people. In February 2019, Pic's Peanut Butter World opened. Pic's unusual path to business success offers hope for anyone wanting to follow their dreams. His stories are exciting, full of insight, and very, very funny.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 390


Dimensions: 138 x 212 mm


Publication Date: 19-04-2021


$29.99
The Tales of Two Fannies

ISBN: 9781788307475

Author: Fanny and Fanny   

The Tales of Two Fannies is an insight into the world of two best friends, whose characters you will come to know as ‘Fanny One' and ‘Fanny Two'. With a co...


The Tales of Two Fannies is an insight into the world of two best friends, whose characters you will come to know as ‘Fanny One' and ‘Fanny Two'. With a combined nursing career spanning fifty plus years, they have come together to share their truthful tales. No ‘holes' barred, Fanny and Fanny have a sense of humour like no other, and some of the stories they tell are almost unbelievable, as are some of the characters. Jump aboard for the ride of your life as we introduce you to the Two Fannies. This is not just an addictive hilarious book! This is a movement... A very large Fanny one... At a strange period in history where a global pandemic is illuminating the very best and the worst of humanity, the two Fannies have touched me and made me hysterically wobble. From one Fanny to two others. I FRICKING SALUTE YOU AND I WANT MORE! - Fanny Gogh


Bind: paperback


Pages: 170


Dimensions: 140 x 205 mm


Publication Date: 31-12-2020


$20.00
Until The End : Notes From A Small Life

ISBN: 9780473528812

Author: Mike Riddell    Publisher: Holy Bucket Productions

"My life is like so much smoke drifting on the horizon. It shifts in the breeze, dissipates, and is gone. Was it caused by any glowing embers that once burned? ...


"My life is like so much smoke drifting on the horizon. It shifts in the breeze, dissipates, and is gone. Was it caused by any glowing embers that once burned? I might well think so, but I might equally be misled by the terror of insignificance. I don’t pretend that my existence has altered the flow of human history, or even rippled the surface of events. It’s as small as any other life that hasn’t been boosted by fame or notoriety. But our small lives still have some meaning, even if only to those who love us. We owe it to them to whisper our words. Small lives have value. Our small ambitions, regrets, dishonesties, accomplishments, disappointments, friendships, jealousies, commitments – none of them are empty of meaning." Memoir of New Zealand author, filmmaker, playwright, and social activist Mike Riddell. Born in humble surroundings, Riddell recounts his adventures including becoming a minister of religion, a university lecturer, a social activist, and a full-time writer.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 349


Dimensions: 152 x 229 mm


Publication Date: 20-12-2020


Tags: March 2021   Biography   New Zealand
$35.00
Edward Hopper : The Story Of His Life (Graphic Novel)

ISBN: 9783791387352

Author: Sergio Rossi    Publisher: Prestel Publishing

This groundbreaking graphic novel delves into the life of the acclaimed artist Edward Hooper, whose iconic works depict quintessentially American scenes and exp...


This groundbreaking graphic novel delves into the life of the acclaimed artist Edward Hooper, whose iconic works depict quintessentially American scenes and experiences. While many of Hopper's most acclaimed works have been embraced by American culture, the artist himself rejected much of the lyricism and romance that his audience imposed on his paintings. This unique overview of Hopper's life and career offers a fascinating and unflinching portrait of an artist trying to establish himself and define his own style. Using Hopper's own words as a jumping off point, the book traces his roots as an art student and commercial illustrator; his life-changing time in Europe; his rocky relationship with his wife Jo, and his incredible success later in life. It also shows how, as he became increasingly famous, he grew more taciturn and resolute in his disparagement of American society and the labels thrust on him. Using clean lines and a palette that mimics Hopper's own, the book's illustrations reflect the style and substance of the artist's life--and help create a refreshing reconsideration of a creative genius who never wavered from his vision.


Bind: hardback


Pages: 128


Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm


Publication Date: 01-03-2021


$59.99
A Coroner Speaks For The Dead to Protect The Living

ISBN: 9780473549992

Author: Wallace Bain   

Wallace Bain retired in early 2020 after 28 distinguished years as a Coroner, most recently in Rotorua. During these years Mr Bain developed a national reputati...


Wallace Bain retired in early 2020 after 28 distinguished years as a Coroner, most recently in Rotorua. During these years Mr Bain developed a national reputation for his sensitivity and compassion in dealing with difficult cases such as those of Nia Glassie and Moko Rangitoheriri. That a child is killed in New Zealand as a result of abuse every five weeks he finds “unacceptable”. He has also developed a reputation for being “a Coroner on the warpath” for his forthright demands from time to time that New Zealand’s laws and regulations be changed to protect ordinary citizens. His work as a Coroner, says Wallace Bain, has been to speak for the dead to take care of the living. “After climbing the mountain I can finally enjoy the view.”


Bind: paperback


Pages: 269


Dimensions: 153 x 234 mm


Publication Date: 26-02-2021


$39.99
Poured Me A Glass of Life

ISBN: 9780473549565

Author: Denise Cloughley    Publisher: Denise Cloghley: Seeking Solace

Caught in the clutches of addiction, Denise Cloughley knows what it's like to visit the depths of hell and stay for a while. From blackouts to forced instituti...


Caught in the clutches of addiction, Denise Cloughley knows what it's like to visit the depths of hell and stay for a while. From blackouts to forced institutionalization, her life was a maze of twists and turns that cost her nearly everything and sent her on the run from police, family, and the shady rehab facility that hunted her like a dog. With her business, family, and friends gone, there was nothing left but her addiction that threatened to permanently extinguish the light in her eyes. How can anyone survive the grip of its tentacles that pulls its victims back to the very behaviour that destroyed their happiness? Her addiction seized it all: work, families, and health. Then it threatened to take the last of what was left of her shattered life. Hundreds of millions of people are currently battling addiction worldwide. "Poured Me a Glass of Life" is an explosive expose of the ugly side of addiction rehab. In a perfect blend, she shares her life story, offers analysis of the fatal flaws of rehab, and offers inspiration and real-world advice about overcoming adversity. Whether you have suffered from addiction or love someone who has, this raw and authentic look will have you on the edge of your seat. It is painfully honest without ever been depressing, far from it. Although it describes moments of crushing desolation it is extremely engaging and beautifully written read with a direct and personable style that quite often provides laugh out loud moments. Most importantly, you will walk away from this powerful read challenged and changed. The inspiration it offers is priceless and will last long after you read it.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 232


Dimensions: 152 x 229 mm


Publication Date: 16-12-2020


$29.95
The Cruise of the Teddy

ISBN: 9781907206498

Author: Erling Tambs    Publisher: Lodestar Books

In the late 1920s Norwegian Erling Tambs and his wife Julie set out from Oslo with their Colin Archer pilot boat Teddy, little in the way of navigational equipm...


In the late 1920s Norwegian Erling Tambs and his wife Julie set out from Oslo with their Colin Archer pilot boat Teddy, little in the way of navigational equipment, and not much else. The Cruise of the Teddy is Erling's charming and modest account of how, with great fortitude, resourcefulness and good humour they reached New Zealand via the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, with many delightful human encounters along the way, to arrive with one more in the family than they started with.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 176


Dimensions: 156 x 216 mm


Publication Date: 04-12-2020


$45.00
The Dolphin : The Life of David Lewis

ISBN: 9781907206511

Author: Ben Lowings    Publisher: Lodestar Books

In this first biography of David Henry Lewis, Ben Lowings examines his lifetime of adventure forensically yet sympathetically, and unlocks the secrets of his de...


In this first biography of David Henry Lewis, Ben Lowings examines his lifetime of adventure forensically yet sympathetically, and unlocks the secrets of his determination. This British-born New Zealander was the first person to sail a catamaran around the world, the first - in Ice Bird - to reach Antarctica solo under sail, and the first to make known to Westerners how ancient navigators reached - and could reach again - the Pacific islands. His many voyages resulted in thirteen books published and translated worldwide; many were bestsellers - We, the Navigators has not been out of print since first publication in 1972. David Lewis's achievements have been acknowledged with a series of awards, including that of Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. But the price of David Lewis's adventures had ultimately to be paid by others in the succession of families he created, then broke apart; and many of his actions brought him into conflict with the feelings of friends and contemporaries. We may legitimately ask 'was it really all worth it?' For the first time his six marriages are revealed, through more than a year of original research in Britain, Australia and New Zealand - including interviews with all surviving family members, as well as friends and fellow voyagers. Events thinly-sketched or omitted in his own writings, such as his father's own failings, are investigated. His kayaking, mountain-climbing and sailing were struggles all the more difficult because of a fractured backbone, shattered elbow and impaired vision. David Lewis's early years get the comprehensive documentation they deserve - in his own memoir he jumps straight from child to fully-fledged explorer. Inaccuracies are corrected in his tale of kayaking four hundred miles home from school. As playboy medical student, British paratrooper fighting in Normandy, and political activist in Palestine, Jamaica and London, he grappled with academic and colonial prejudice, and fought anti-Semitism and inequality; all is examined. As a general practitioner in the East End's impure 1950s air he worked where the new National Health Service was most needed. Professional frustrations and marital disappointments were not soothed by weekend sailing. He would join a pioneering single-handed yacht race to America in 1960, leaving his first daughter to find him on board in Plymouth to say farewell only at the last minute. In 1964 he would race again, but this time in a catamaran, and then, with Fiona, his new wife, and their daughters, girdle the earth in it. For the first time, their circumnavigation is described in part from Fiona's perspective. Media accounts and passages from his many books build up a picture of a consistently experimental, and utterly untypical, middle aged man. Every word in the Antarctic logbook of Ice Bird - scrawled with freezing hands - is closely compared with literary sources, National Geographic articles and his commercially successful book-length account. A new critical appreciation shows the white heat at the core of his being. He has abandoned his children again, and been drugged by ocean solitude. But in the act of writing he is earning his place among humanity. To hell with the frozen hands.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 288


Dimensions: 156 x 216 mm


Publication Date: 30-10-2020


$50.00
Sheila in the Wind

ISBN: 9781907206528

Author: Adrian Hayter    Publisher: Lodestar Books

When Adrian Hayter set out single-handed from Lymington, England on his thirty-two-foot Albert Strange-designed yawl Sheila II, local betting was seven to one t...


When Adrian Hayter set out single-handed from Lymington, England on his thirty-two-foot Albert Strange-designed yawl Sheila II, local betting was seven to one that he would get no further than the English Channel. His destination was New Zealand, and the odds were definitely against him. In 1949 perhaps only eight people had sailed solo around the world, and single-handed long-distance sailing voyages were rare. Adrian, then thirty-four, was a soldier, not a sailor. In the previous decade he had been a close observer of the Partition of India and fought as a soldier in the Second World War and the Malayan Emergency. The latter, Britain's brutal reaction to the Communist uprising of 1948, had driven his decision to sail halfway around the world, single-handed. More than sixty years later, and in the thirtieth anniversary year of Adrian's death, Lodestar Books is republishing the story of that voyage, Sheila in the Wind, first published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1959. As a sailor, Adrian recounts his foray into celestial navigation, a back-street appendix operation in India, armed escort by Indonesian authorities at sea, and eating barnacles off the hull to avoid starvation. As a writer he is trying to make sense of the humanitarian disasters that brought him to this voyage. Sheila in the Wind is more than a report of a 13,000-mile adventure; it's a story of the human spirit.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 336


Dimensions: 156 x 216 mm


Publication Date: 16-12-2020


Tags: March 2021   Biography   History
$55.00
The Handbook of New Zealand Mammals

ISBN: 9781988592589

Authors: Carolyn King, David Forsyth    Publisher: Otago University Press

The Handbook of New Zealand Mammals is the only definitive reference on all the land-breeding mammals recorded in the New Zealand region (including the New Zeal...


The Handbook of New Zealand Mammals is the only definitive reference on all the land-breeding mammals recorded in the New Zealand region (including the New Zealand sector of Antarctica). It lists 65 species, including native and exotic, wild and feral, living and extinct, residents, vagrants and failed introductions. It describes their history, biology and ecology, and brings together comprehensive and detailed information gathered from widely scattered or previously unpublished sources. The description of each species is arranged under standardised headings for easy reference. Because the only native land-breeding mammals in New Zealand are bats and seals, the great majority of the modern mammal fauna comprises introduced species, whose arrival has had profound effects both for themselves and for the native fauna and flora. The book details changes in numbers and distribution for the native species, and for the arrivals it summarises changes in habitat, diet, numbers and size in comparison with their ancestral stocks, and some of the problems they present to resource managers. For this third edition, the text and references have been completely updated and reorganised into Family chapters. The colour section includes 14 pages of artwork showing all the species described and their main variations, plus two pages of maps.


Bind: hardback


Pages: 576


Dimensions: 270 x 210 mm


Publication Date: 11-01-2021


$160.00
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