Local history gifts

In Dreams of El Dorado, H. W. Brands tells the thrilling, panoramic story of the settling of the American West, from Lewis and Clark's expedition in the early 19th century to the closing of the frontier by the early 20th. He introduces us to explorers, mountain men, cowboys, missionaries and soldiers, taking us from John Jacob Astor's fur trading campaign...

The Rising Down by Alexandra Harris is a mesmerising exploration of memory, place, and connection through the lens of West Sussex. Returning to her childhood home, celebrated critic and cultural historian Alexandra Harris discovers a land rich with untold stories and hidden treasures. With her detective-like curiosity, Harris peels back the layers of history and brings forth the soul of...

Wild Pork and Watercress is a rattling good yarn that has now been adapted into a major movie: Hunt For the Wilderpeople, directed and written by Taika Waititi, and starring Sam Neill and Julian Dennison. When Social Welfare threatens to put Ricky into care, the overweight Māori boy and his cantankerous Uncle Hec flee into the remote and rugged Ureweras....

A fun and fascinating little book that uses the latest data to map everything that is very British. All the latest data is used to map Britain’s preoccupations and quirks – from favourite crisp flavours to most morris dancers, from oldest pubs to most haunted places. A brilliantly dip-inable and sharable little book. Packed with information too good to keep...

Patricia Grace's timeless novel bound in a beautifully crafted, clothbound hardback edition for the Penguin Modern Aotearoa Classics series "...a book that has a simplicity that can break your heart and a complexity that can dazzle your mind and, for me, stands as Patricia Grace's towering achievement." Andy Barnes, Belletrista A stunning foil-stamped hardback cover makes this edition of Patricia Grace's...

Wellington Railway Station is one of New Zealand’s greatest aesthetic, architectural, and structural buildings, yet since 1937 when The Station’s grand opening took place, not one book has been produced dedicated solely to this ‘Temple of Transport’, as it was originally dubbed. Bruce Foster’s photographs, taken over 18 months, along with archive images, plus photographs by Ans Westra, pay tribute...

Matt Logan isn't looking forward to spending the school holidays with his grandmother and her new husband. He has to fly to Rotorua, where he doesn't know anybody, and he's a bit wary of his new step-grandfather. All Matt knows is that he's Māori and a tourist bus driver. Along with his worries, Matt packs his pride and joy —...

Beached as Our New Zealand Beaches Then and Now showcases New Zealand's favourite beaches through magnificent "then and now" photographs. With nostalgic images that invoke memories of days gone by, each spread features a stunning photograph from over 60 years ago, taken by the author's aunt, paired with a present day image shot from the exact same spot. The beaches...

120 quirky and accessible mini-adventures across the four corners of Aotearoa New Zealand. Not everyone fills their bucket list with leaping out of planes or swimming with sharks. When it comes to bucket lists, everyone has different ideas about what should be on them, so The Great Kiwi Bucket List is jam-packed with themed lists of fun, quirky, fascinating, and...

Let your little one explore the Kiwi ABCs! This picture book features classic Kiwi icons to help them learn their ABCs in a fun and interactive way/ Engaging illustrations and a playful tone bring the Kiwi alphabet to life! Perfect for introducing your wee one to the beauty of Aotearoa!

Capture the spirit of discovery in this antique tan A5 notebook featuring a historic map of New Zealand. The soft-touch PU cover has a classic vintage look and a premium feel that adds character to your writing desk. With its detailed chart and sailing ship illustration, it is the ideal companion for storytellers and history enthusiasts. The lined pages provide...

Keep your hands inside the boat at all times! Discover all the terrifying tales about the number one river in London with history's most horrible headlines: Terrible Thames edition. The master of making history fun, Terry Deary, turns his attention to the Thames. From gory stories of death, crime, creepy creatures and more to freezing Frost Fairs which included an...

Oliver travels the British Isles to explore the history of its most haunted places and unpick why these houses, landmarks, and other eerie places are so unsettling. For longer than recorded history, there have been tales of spirits and of places where our hackles rise and our skin turns cold. Bestselling historian Neil Oliver embarks on a deliciously spine-chilling tour...

Central Otago History in Bite-Sized Chunks offers an easy-to-digest history of Central Otago, New Zealand, presented in bite-sized chunks. Through the pages of this book, you'll be guided through many of the key events that have shaped our nation.

Travel across oceans and through time with award-winning historian and storyteller Alice Albinia in her first children's book, Once Upon an Island.Discover 20 wondrous islands - from the rugged landscape of the Orkney islands that people of the Stone Age once called home, to the sunny coasts of the Isles of Scilly. This captivating journey reveals islands as places of...

The islands of Scotland's Outer Hebrides boast some of the most remote and spectacular scenery in the world. They also feature an astonishing range of mysterious structures - stone circles, beehive dwellings, holy wells and 'temples' from the Celtic and prehistoric eras. Over a twelve-day journey, Alastair McIntosh returned to the islands of his childhood to explore the meaning of...

Oxford Botanic Garden has occupied its central Oxford site next to the River Cherwell continuously since its foundation in 1621 and is the UK's oldest botanic garden. The birthplace of botanical science in the UK, it has been a leading centre for research since the 1600s. Today, the garden holds a collection of over 5,000 different types of plants, some...

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A Scotsman’s guide to the extraordinary tapestry of the land, history, folklore, and stories of his homeland. From the majestic beauty of the wild Scottish landscape to the hidden traces of its history waiting to be uncovered in every town and village, Andrew McAlindon is enthralled by the country he is lucky enough to call home....

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1973. Peasants in...

No city shaped the modern world quite like London - a powerhouse of trade, finance and empire, the centre of global influence in the nineteenth century. But beyond the familiar stories of power and politics, its true life played out in the streets, where market traders, music hall crowds and factory workers gave it its vitality, its light and its...

Gossamer Years is a remarkably frank diary written by an unnamed noblewoman in tenth-century Japan, the same period as Murasaki Shikibu's celebrated Tale of Genji. In her diary, the author describes her tempestuous and unhappy marriage and growing indignation at the many rival wives and mistresses taken by her husband, as was commonplace at the time. Too impetuous to play...

A dazzling, soul-stirring journey through the lost and endangered crafts that shaped Britain from multi-award-winning historian and broadcaster James Fox. Britain has always been a craft land. For generations, what we made with our hands defined our identities, built our communities, and shaped our regions. Craftland chronicles the vanishing skills and traditions that once governed every aspect of life on...

Auckland in the 1950s: a time of rock'n'roll, milk bars, bodgies and widgies, and teenage rebellion. The Auckland Harbour Bridge is under construction. Simon likes watching the bridge being built and talking to his uncle and his mates about what's happening on site. Meanwhile, Simon's best friend, Marty, is obsessed with the Space Race, and younger sister Jo can't stop...

Winner of the Nonfiction Award 2020 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature Winner of the 2019 NSW Premier's History Award: Australian History Prize Winner of the 2019 Prime Minister's Australian History Prize Winner of the 2019 CHASS Australia Book Prize Australian Christian Book of the Year in 2018 Koby Abberton emerges like a shark on to the sand at Maroubra Beach....

Orkney lies only 20 miles north of mainland Scotland, yet for many centuries its culture was more Scandinavian than Scottish. Strong westerly winds account for the scarcity of trees on Orkney and also for the tradition of well-constructed stone structures. As a result, the islands boast a large number of exceptionally well-preserved remains, which help us to form a detailed...

'Graham Seal has the knack of the storyteller.' - Warren Fahey AM Graham Seal takes us back to Australia's ignominious beginnings, when a hungry child could be transported to the other side of the globe for the theft of a handkerchief. It was a time when men were flogged till they bled for a minor misdemeanour, or forced to walk...

Her superb research and sympathetic reconstructions of nineteenth-century Scotland and Australia bring to life a long-forgotten but fascinating group of women. - Siân Rees, author of The Floating Brothel In the early nineteenth century, crofters and villagers streamed into the burgeoning cities of Scotland, and families splintered. Orphan girls, single mothers and women on their own all struggled to feed...

Just a girl, but when it came to chasing wild horses nobody questioned Rachel Kennedy's skill in a saddle. What raised eyebrows was the type of saddle she used: a man's. Rachel Kennedy was a colonial folk hero. Born in the wild and remote Warrumbungle mountains of western New South Wales in 1845, she was described by Duke Tritton of...

Despite our agrarian mythology, Aotearoa New Zealand is overwhelmingly a country of urban dwellers. Urban Aotearoa: The Future for Our Cities takes a critical look at the evolution of New Zealand's cities. Moving past the country's rural image, the book addresses the realities of its urban majority, questioning suburban spread and exploring options for smarter living. A range of contributors...

After I'd got him out of harm's way, I dived back in yet again and swam out past the surf-break, out to where the other two lads were floundering. Then, one at a time, I took them back onto the rocks - all done against the raging rip and wild surf. By then an hour or so had passed. Still,...

Siena by Jane Stevenson is an authoritative and richly illustrated history that affectionately celebrates Siena, one of the best-loved and most-visited cities in Italy. Occupying a hilltop site amidst a vast, undulating landscape, Siena attracts contemporary tourists as much as Florence. However, its proud republican past presents an intriguing contrast to its Medici-dominated northern Tuscan rival, with which it vied...

This delightful rhyming picture book follows a family as they explore London, one of the world's most famous capital cities! Come! Board the London Bus and see the London sights with us. At any time, hop off, explore! Then climb back on, and ride some more... As a family of four spend a day exploring London, fun, child-friendly poems introduce...

The Journey of Neil the Great Dixter Cat tells the true story of Neil, the Great Dixter Cat, who escapes being a stray in war-torn Kabul, Afghanistan, to live in one of the greatest curated wild gardens in the world, The Great Dixter Garden in England. Written by Honey Moga, a mother of nine, this historic tale of a delightful...

The Maroons exposes the family factors that helped forge the resolve of every player to represent Queensland in the first 40 years of State of Origin. This is more than a rugby league book. It's a book about the children of fruit pickers, butchers, military personnel; of truckers and railway workers. It's the story of kids who were told they...

The Crazy Kill is a classic thriller from the Harlem Detective series, where love, jealousy, and many-peopled mayhem abound. Big Joe Pullen is dead, and his wake is becoming increasingly boozy. During the wake, the opium-addicted Reverend Short falls out of a window while trying to see a thief fleeing the robbed store opposite. Remarkably, his life is saved when...

A tale of loyalty, loss, betrayal, and rebirth. It is 1911 and London’s docks thrum with underhand deals, none so great as the arrival of a valuable, rare and exotic animal, smuggled from the depths of the Congolese rainforest. The baby gorilla stands to make one man, the shady Goliath Deeds, very, very rich: he and his right-hand man, juvenile...

The final novel in the trailblazing Harlem Detective series, set in a New York City at boiling point. Bawdy and tough-talking, wickedly funny and wantonly sensual, Blind Man with a Pistol is a surreal joyride through Harlem in a heatwave. Detectives Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are side-tracked from investigating a series of organised race riots when a...

“Impeccably researched…captivating!” —Elin Hilderbrand “A well-paced history.” —The New York Times Book Review “Fascinating…with new details and well-sourced reporting.” —Associated Press NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! The intimate, multigenerational story of the Kennedy family as seen through their Hyannis Port compound on Cape Cod—the iconic place where they’ve celebrated, mourned, and bonded—based on more than a hundred in-depth interviews by a...

Discover all the foul facts about the history of the Bard's hometown with history's most horrible headlines: Stratford-upon-Avon edition. The master of making history fun, Terry Deary, turns his attention to the historical town of Shakespeare's birthplace. From why fleabites turned fatal and what bloody battles took place there to why locals lob cheese in the river. It's all in...

Renowned historian John Julius Norwich's classic history of Venice - with a fresh new cover look. Intricate, captivating, beautiful, romantic, unique, unforgettable . . . A History of Venice tells the story of this most remarkable of cities from its founding in the fifth century, through its unrivalled status for over a thousand years as one of the world's busiest...

Ever wondered what Kiwis get up to in their garages? Kiwi Garages celebrates the can-do culture, lifting the doors of over 30 self-styled Kiwi garages from tinkerers and collectors to top-of-the-range techno dreamers. A modern take on Blokes in Sheds, the book profiles more than 30 Kiwi garages from across provincial New Zealand, delving deep into the inner sanctums of...

You can't help but wonder about the stories behind the unusual buildings you see around New Zealand – from cute colonial cottages to abandoned industrial buildings or ghost towns. Nicola McCloy went looking to find out... who lived there? From basic stone cottages in barren-looking countryside to pretty coastal villas, romantic churches, and small-town taverns, New Zealand is full of...

Pieces & Peace puzzles are made in France. They are printed and then laminated on thick blue paper and cardboard certified by FSC, and the cardboard of our boxes is 100% recycled. Discover modern and colourful illustrations by artists we particularly admire: Alain Thomas, Laura Lhuillier, Rhi James, Nolwenn Studio, Sara Boccaccini Meadows, Orane Sigal, Coralie Fau, Maja Tomljanovic, Miranda...

Longlisted for the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards A tender and fierce novel that asks what we do when faced with things we don’t understand. Is our impulse to destroy or connect? Water will come and you think it will be soft. You think it will be smooth and find its way around your things: your houses and cars...

Kiwi Chick Nap features artwork from the bestselling Kuwi the Kiwi book Kuwi's Fluey Huwi. PIECES: 100 PiecesBOX DIMENSIONS: 190mm x 190mm x 115mmPUZZLE DIMENSIONS: 480 mm Diameter Recommended Age: Ages 3+

This rattling good yarn has now been made into a major movie, Hunt For the Wilderpeople, directed and written by Taika Waititi, and starring Sam Neill and Julian Dennison. When Social Welfare threatens to put Ricky into care, the overweight Maori boy and cantankerous Uncle Hec flee into the remote and rugged Ureweras. The impassable bush serves up perilous adventures,...

A fierce wind blows. Thunder rumbles. Will the brave engine and carriages tumble? Written in steady, clicketty-clack rhyme, Joy Cowley’s tale of Hero Of The Hill brings a little-known slice of New Zealand history to life.

Neighbourhood is a joyful cluster of colourful buildings, each one brimming with character and inspired by familiar neighbourhoods. Inspired by artist Stacey’s first glimpse of the city with vivid buildings nestled into the hills. This piece is a love letter to Wellington’s quirky, vibrant, and creative soul. It captures the energy, warmth, and visual personality that makes the city so...

Explore the colourful and vibrant cities around the world, including New York, London, Paris, Athens & more, with the Michael Storrings Cities Around the World 1000 Piece Puzzle. This expertly crafted puzzle features stunning illustrations and 1000 pieces that provide hours of entertainment. Perfect for puzzle lovers of all ages. Box: 8.5 x 10 x 2" (216 x 254 x...

A fascinating, lyrical account of an east-west walk across Britain's westernmost and most mysterious region. A distant and exotic Celtic land, domain of tin-miners, pirates, smugglers, and evocatively named saints, somehow separate from the rest of our island... Few regions of Britain are as holidayed in, as well-loved, or as mythologised as Cornwall. From the woodlands of the Tamar Valley...

Discover all the foul facts about the Smashing Saxons with history's most horrible headlines. All the foul facts about the Smashing Saxons are ready to uncover, including: who got cow pats as Christmas presents why wearing a pig on your head is lucky and how to make a dead Saxon happy. Fully illustrated throughout and packed with horrible stories –...

An Eye on the Hebrides by Mairi Hedderwick chronicles her six-month-long journey across 40 islands, from Arran to Lewis. This captivating narrative recounts her pilgrimage around the archipelago of the Western Isles, a region she has cherished throughout her life. Brimming with wit and wisdom, Hedderwick's spell-binding illustrations complement her storytelling. She portrays the islands in all their diversity, offering...

Nominated for the CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards 'Significantly more engaging and inspiring than the rival Rebel Girls' GUARDIAN 'It's hard to imagine any group of primary-aged children who wouldn't be inspired' BOOKSELLER 'An absolute must-have for every young person’s bookshelf' HUFFINGTON POST Now a stunning hit musical! Kate Pankhurst, descendant of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, has created...

Cook the simple and flavoursome food of the South of France with acclaimed chef Alex Jackson’s Provencal. Provencal is the stunning reissue of Alex Jackson’s widely acclaimed first book Sardine. This unique collection of recipes encapsulates the beauty and simplicity of Provencal French cooking and shows you how to recreate the flavours of the South of France at home. Provence...

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...

A riveting blend of nature writing, indigenous storytelling and great adventure in the NZ alps. This book is about walking as a form of knowing. Armed with Ngai Tahu's ancient oral maps and a modern satellite atlas, I crossed the Southern Alps more than a dozen times, trying to understand how our forebears saw the land. What did it mean...

In 1969, acclaimed journalist and author John McPhee embarked on an extraordinary journey with his family, relocating from New Jersey to the windswept island of Colonsay, located twenty-five miles off the western coast of Scotland. This tiny island, comprising just seventeen square miles, is the ancestral home of McPhee's forefathers. They rented a crofthouse, and, with his children enrolled at...

From the Venerable Bede and the prince-bishops of Durham to Viz and Geordie Shore, this vital new history reveals a part of England with an uncertain future, but whose people remain as remarkable as ever. The Northumbrians have been overlooked by British and global history, but they've made astonishing contributions to both. Dan Jackson sets out to recover this lost...

Expansion for Catan. Part of the Catan Geographies series. 3-6 Players | 90 Mins | Ages 10+ Features: Dice Rolling, Hand Management, Modular Board, Network and Route Building, Trading Theme: Civilization, Negotiation This map offers another game using the Catan mechanics. Rules provide for 3-6 players and require the base game plus the 5-6 player expansion set if playing with...

A stunning collection of essays and memoir from twice Booker Prize winner and international bestseller Hilary Mantel, author of The Mirror and the Light. In 1987, when Hilary Mantel was first published in the London Review of Books, she wrote to the editor, Karl Miller, ‘I have no critical training whatsoever, so I am forced to be more brisk and...

Pieces & Peace puzzles are made in France. They are printed and then laminated on thick blue paper and cardboard certified by FSC, and the cardboard of our boxes is 100% recycled. Discover modern and colourful illustrations by artists we particularly admire: Alain Thomas, Laura Lhuillier, Rhi James, Nolwenn Studio, Sara Boccaccini Meadows, Orane Sigal, Coralie Fau, Maja Tomljanovic, Miranda...

In this gripping and intensely atmospheric debut, disquiet descends on a small town after the suspicious death of a beautiful young doctor, with all clues pointing to the reclusive young man who abandoned the community in chase of big city dreams but returned for the first love he left behind. Perfect for fans of All Good People Here and Where...

A stunning picture book by former US President Barack Obama that's perfect to share and inspire children to achieve their dreams. An inspirational picture book for young readers from former President of the United States, Barack Obama. In this tender, beautiful letter to his daughters, former President Barack Obama has written a moving tribute to the ideals that have shaped...

A compelling portrait of a true New York eccentric and the agony of writer's block. After the publication of this book, Joseph Mitchell never published another word during three decades working as a reporter for the New Yorker. 'It's a masterpiece, of course, but more than that it shows that there is some such thing as being a simple observer'...

From the author of Cider With Rosie, this is a moving, lyrical portrait of the landscape of Laurie Lee's world. 'Living in our valley was like broad beans in a pod, so snug and enclosed and protective.' Laurie Lee walked out of his childhood village one summer morning to travel the world, but he was always drawn back to his...

Do not rush to bid farewell to eastern Europe until reading this book. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, this very personal story of the place that one can’t find on the map pays tribute to the origins of the experiences, cultures and ideas that continue to shape political and ideological battles of the modern world. Serhii Plokhy Eastern Europe is...

The Making of Australia is the story of how a struggling convict settlement grew into six dynamic colonies and then the remarkable nation of Australia. Told through the key figures who helped build it into the thriving nation it is today, David Hill once again offers up Australian history at its most entertaining and accessible. In his latest book, David...

Budapest has always been an important place. Almost at the centre of Europe, it is at the crossroads of geographical regions and civilisations, at the intersection of ancient trade routes. Mountains that gradually slope into gentle hills converge on a great river, the Danube, and the regions of Buda and Pest sprang up on either side. Throughout history, the centre...

A lively and entertaining look at the Auckland Theatre Company - its people, its shows, the backstage crew, the theatre, and the company's ups and downs over the years. Auckland Theatre Company has presented a huge range of plays to enthusiastic audiences since its first show in 1993 - Lovelock's Dream Run. From Shakespeare and Chekhov to Nathan Joe and...

Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award Winner Janesville by Amy Goldstein delves into the heart-wrenching narrative of what happens to a small American town in Wisconsin when its economic lifeline—a General Motors assembly plant—is abruptly shuttered. Set against the backdrop of the Great Recession, this insightful work captures not just the immediate economic shock, but the...

The Instant New York Times Bestseller National Bestseller "[The] authors' finest work to date." --Wall Street Journal The explosive true saga of the legendary figure Daniel Boone and the bloody struggle for America's frontier by two bestselling authors at the height of their writing power--Bob Drury and Tom Clavin. It is the mid-eighteenth century, and in the thirteen colonies founded...

A beautiful dollhouse book featuring illustrated scenes and press-out objects from the famous period rooms at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Immerse yourself in five opulent spaces with this chic, illustrated doll's house book that brings to life the period rooms at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Shelter under the pagoda in a Chinese-inspired garden while admiring exotic plants, explore...

The History of a Riot presents a compelling microhistory of collective revolt. In 1843, the New Zealand Company settlement of Nelson was disrupted by the revolt of its emigrant labourers. Over 70 gang-men and their wives united to resist their poor working conditions through petitions, strikes, and, ultimately, violence. Despite the significance of this struggle, it has often been overshadowed...

Death in Mud Lick by Eric Eyre is an enthralling and incisive work of investigative journalism that unravels the shocking narrative of the opioid epidemic in America. This heart-wrenching account dives deep into the world of corporate deceit and the devastating impact it has had on small Appalachian communities. Through the eyes of determined individuals and rigorous reporting, Eyre brings...

This lively and compelling story of Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery begins before Henry Sarjeant had even dreamed of a 'fine art gallery' for the burgeoning small town of Whanganui. It reveals the Sarjeant Gallery's early years and its development as a collecting and exhibiting institution that is now recognised as one of New Zealand's finest. Generously illustrated with...

Embark on an epic exploration of historical and adventurous odysseys In Wild Journeys, Bruce Ansley takes readers on an exhilarating expedition through some of New Zealand's most rugged and compelling landscapes. With a narrative rich in historical intrigue and natural wonder, this book is a tapestry of journeys both famous and forgotten, traversing the diverse and often untamed regions that...

Featuring over 100 maps of London from the twentieth century, this fascinating miscellany provides an enthralling exploration of the history of the city. One of the best ways to gain an insight into a city's multilayered past is by deciphering its maps, and this curated collection of over 100 historical maps of London will help you do just that. Many...

These 3D dioramas are a unique work of art framed in Rimu. Available in three designs and three colour ways, these can be free standing or wall mounted and measure 120 x 98 x 35mm. Put some genuine 3D Kiwiana art in your place, now that’s the story!

These 3D dioramas are a unique work of art framed in Rimu. Available in three designs and three colour ways, these can be free standing or wall mounted and measure 120 x 98 x 35mm. Put some genuine 3D Kiwiana art in your place, now that’s the story! Experience the exceptional craftsmanship and artistic design with the Ian Blackwell: Story...

Walking Cities: London (second edition) brings together a new interdisciplinary field of artists, writers, architects, musicians, human geographers and philosophers to consider how a city walk informs and triggers new processes of making, thinking, researching and communicating. In particular, the book examines how the city contains narratives, knowledge and contested materialities that are best accessed through the act of walking....