Reading Before Voting

One Last Question, Prime Minister

The Valley

How to Save Democracy in Aotearoa New Zealand

New Zealand is a democracy: the people should be in charge. In this timely and provocative book, Sir Geoffrey Palmer draws on his experience as former Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, and Attorney-General to get people thinking about the state of New Zealand’s democracy. Palmer offers rare insights into the machinery of power and its vulnerabilities, and rather than surrendering to pessimism, he presents a roadmap for renewal. At a time when authoritarianism rises globally and the rule of law faces unprecedented threats, Palmer’s message is clear: ordinary citizens hold the key to democratic revitalisation through civic engagement and vigilance. This collection of thoughtful essays challenges readers to reclaim their role in governance. Palmer argues that regardless of which parties hold power, without public awareness and participation, democratic...

Empire of AI

The Chief and the Empire

Underworld

From the author of the bestselling books about the escalation of organised crime and gangs in New Zealand. The brutal execution of an innocent man. The undercover DEA agent who fooled the Hells Angels in a 400kg cocaine plot. The brutal execution of a not-so-innocent man. The never-ending quest to bring down New Zealand's most wanted gangsters. These stories read like a crime novel—delving down into a parallel universe that many do not even know exists: The Underworld. Jared Savage's first book Gangland traced the evolution of the methamphetamine drug trade in New Zealand from the late 1990s to 2020. His second book, Gangster's Paradise, focused on stories about the escalation of organised crime: more drugs, more guns, more money. Underworld follows that pattern; but now the situation...

A Different Kind of Power

#1 New Zealand bestseller #1 Amazon bestseller #2 Audible bestseller #3 New York Times bestseller #3 Sunday Times bestseller #4 Australian bestseller From the former prime minister of New Zealand, then the world’s youngest female head of government and just the second to give birth in office, comes a deeply personal memoir chronicling her extraordinary rise and offering inspiration to a new generation of leaders. What if we could redefine leadership? What if kindness came first? Jacinda Ardern grew up the daughter of a police officer in small-town New Zealand, but as the 40th Prime Minister of her country, she commanded global respect for her empathetic leadership that put people first. This is the remarkable story of how a Mormon girl plagued by self-doubt made political history and...

Every Second Counts

Suicidal Empathy

The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique of maladaptively irrational altruism that has gripped our culture. This mind parasite hijacked the empathy module of our progressive elite, leading to a catastrophic miscalibration of moral priorities. The results are everywhere: from coddling violent criminals to protecting rapists to branding self-defence as toxic behaviour. We are witnessing a civilisation in rapid decline. Lunatic policies are instituted because we prioritise the feelings of ostensibly marginalised groups over The...

He Told Us

The explosive, definitive book on how a far-right terrorist managed to escape detection and why we have failed to learn the lessons from Christchurch's shocking mosque murders. In March 2019, an Australian man shot dead 51 New Zealanders in two mosques in  Christchurch. Until now, the true story of this atrocity has not been told. He Told Us is the definitive account of that day — and the years of radicalisation that led to it. Revealing the terrorist's previously undiscovered online trail, this groundbreaking and meticulous investigation shows how he radicalised to violence over five years to become the most influential far-right terrorist in history. As he travelled the world, the terrorist's hatred deepened in anonymous online forums that espoused racist, misogynistic and violent beliefs. But He Told...

A Life on Our Planet

A Life on Our Planet by David Attenborough is a poignant memoir that reflects on the author's 94 years of experience observing the natural world. Attenborough details the immense changes and environmental destruction he's witnessed and presents a vision for the future, stressing the urgent need for global conservation efforts to preserve our planet.

Inside the Wire

Gripping true-life stories from a career spent inside New Zealand prisons. Inside the Wire by Rhonda Hāpi-Smith offers an insider's view into the world of New Zealand's most dangerous criminals. As a female prison officer and member of the Riot Squad, she encountered and worked alongside thieves, addicts, gangsters, murderers, and sex offenders for nearly twenty years in men's prisons across the country. Operating within an unspoken set of codes, Rhonda gained a reputation for being fair but firm. She dealt with everything from mass riots and inter-gang confrontations to attempted escapes, suicides, and segregated 'maxi' detainees. However, amidst the chaos and danger, Rhonda also shares tales of unlikely friendships, clever prison innovations, and hilarious moments with some of the most memorable individuals she has encountered. When you...

Anything Could Happen

In this illuminating and beautifully written book, Grant Robertson reflects on the major events in his life, from growing up in a loving but complex family, to his highly successful career as a Labour politician and becoming Finance Minister in the Ardern government during one of New Zealand history's most tumultuous times. A natural storyteller, Robertson writes memorably about his childhood and teen years in Dunedin. He delves into grappling with his sexuality as a teenager, his passion for music and a fleeting career managing bands, his emerging political beliefs, and confronting the shocking news that his father had been stealing from his employer and was facing imprisonment. Robertson paints a vivid picture of life inside parliament, including his time in opposition where he learnt at the feet...

Lucky You're Tough

Lucky You're Tough chronicles the early life of helicopter pilot and NZSAS soldier Mark Law, from growing up in the rural wilds of Whangamōmona through to surviving a series of life-threatening events that would shape his life and career. After a career as a badged soldier in the NZSAS that led to an intriguing stint with the British SAS and then working as private security in active war zones, Mark returned to New Zealand to start his own helicopter business, Kāhu NZ. It was on a sunny day off on 9 December 2019 when he got the call that White Island was erupting. All those years of service and expertly trained instincts led to a split-second decision: Mark and his Kāhu NZ colleagues would fly to the erupting...

Parliamentary Privilege in Aotearoa New Zealand

Published ahead of the 2026 NZ General Election, this book by Sir Geoffrey Palmer invites public scrutiny of how Parliament wields its powers. Parliamentary privilege is 'the oil of the democratic machine'. It can be defined as the special legal powers that allow Parliament to regulate its affairs - and is a curious mix of history, parliamentary practice, law and politics. 'However, it is also viscous and volatile,' writes Palmer, 'and should not be left to sit too long without change.' This incisive book examines how parliamentary privilege operates in New Zealand, and where change is needed. Palmer traces its evolution and shows how reform has lagged behind that of comparable democracies such as Canada. With his characteristic clarity and frankness, Palmer calls for greater transparency, fairness and...

On Tyranny

On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder offers twenty practical lessons drawn from the history of the 20th century to help individuals recognise and resist the signs of tyranny. Each lesson encourages critical thinking and personal responsibility to defend democracy and promote liberty in contemporary society.

Go Hard or Go Home

From the front bench to rock bottom: Go Hard or Go Home is Kiri Allan's fearless memoir of ambition, disruption and survival in NZ politics and beyond. Kiri Allan's six-year political career spanned some of the most challenging times in recent history. Events a government might encounter once in a generation stacked up: a terrorist attack, a volcanic eruption, destructive and deadly weather events, a global pandemic . . . And as a highly recognisable figure, Kiri's overlapping personal story also played out under scrutiny: divorce, new parenthood, cancer diagnosis and treatment, and mental health struggles culminating in the car crash that led to her resignation. Go Hard or Go Home is the story of the person beyond the headlines, from church-going child to charismatic hitch-hiker to precocious law student to...

Keep Calm – We Are Coming

Keep Calm — We Are Coming briefly backgrounds the New Zealand Special Air Service deployment in Afghanistan — then goes into action. While primarily training Afghan forces, in Kabul the NZSAS had to respond to a series of ‘spectacular attacks’ by heavily armed Taliban fighters wearing suicide vests and determined to inflict major casualties. In the words of those who were there, the fast-paced text recounts how the NZSAS resolved three terrorist attacks in Kabul between 2009 and 2012, and evacuated New Zealanders from Kabul Airport in 2021. This fast-paced, illustrated book reveals how a highly trained group of Kiwis saved hundreds of lives in immensely dangerous conditions.

Gangster's Paradise

The much anticipated follow-up to the bestseller that exposed the escalation of organised crime in New Zealand. Gangster's Paradise is about drugs, guns, gangs and money. Lots of money. A gang which took over a small rural town. A police officer shot and killed in a routine traffic stop. A port-worker who helped a gang whisk a shipping container off a wharf in the middle of the night. A crew of corrupt baggage handlers smuggling meth into the country during Covid lockdowns. A shooting inside a 5-star hotel in broad daylight. Turf wars, retaliation, and retribution: new gangs like the Mongols and Comancheros have brought with them better connections with international syndicates, challenging the established gangs like the Head Hunters—so dominant for many years—who have had to up...

Built for This

Raised among strong women, butcher's benches, and hard ideas about what men are meant to be, Brad Poulter grows up knowing he's different long before he has the words for it. But in late '90s small-town New Zealand, 'different' isn't discussed, it's managed. Joining the Royal New Zealand Navy offers escape, certainty, and belonging. The rules are clear, the uniform fits. Silence feels like part of the job. But passing as straight comes at a cost. As deployments stack up, including service in Afghanistan during the War on Terror, the pressure of pretending collides with trauma, grief, and the struggle for identity, and something gives way. From ship's galleys to combat zones, investigation rooms to leadership tables, Built for This charts a life shaped by discipline, loyalty, and...

Limitarianism

A world-leading expert in inequality makes the case for a hard limit on personal wealth. We all notice when the poor get poorer—when there are more rough sleepers and food bank queues start to grow. But if the rich become richer, there is nothing much to see in public and, for most of us, daily life doesn't change. Or at least, not immediately. In this game-changing intervention, leading philosopher and economist Ingrid Robeyns exposes the true extent of our wealth problem, which has spent the past fifty years silently spiralling out of control. In moral, political, economic, social, environmental, and psychological terms, she shows, extreme wealth is not only unjustifiable but harmful to us all—the rich included. In place of our current system, Robeyns offers a breathtakingly clear...

Open to Work

‘Open To Work helps you stop fearing the future and start shaping it with purpose.’ Jay Shetty‘An instantly useful guide to futureproofing your career.’ Adam Grant‘Open to Work lays out a smart and clear path to the future of work’ Brené Brown In a world where AI is transforming work at a rapid pace, Open to Work is your essential guide to thriving – no matter your role, industry or experience.Written by Ryan Roslansky, CEO of LinkedIn, and Aneesh Raman, LinkedIn’s Chief Economic Opportunity Officer, this book offers an unparalleled perspective from inside the world’s largest professional network. Drawing on LinkedIn data, Microsoft research, and stories from across a billion members, the authors reveal the real-time changes reshaping jobs, careers and companies in the AI era.Open to Work...

Kiwis in Climate

Kiwis in Climate brings together bold and practical visions for Aotearoa to lead on climate solutions. Leading scientists, politicians, CEOs and citizens demonstrate what we are doing now - and what we must do - to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. This inspiring collection from over 30 New Zealanders explains how climate solutions can improve our lives, from cheaper energy to job creation and healthier communities. The perspectives showcased here offer readers agency and hope to shape a cleaner and safer future for a country we love, and the world beyond.

Gaza in Crisis

Gaza in Crisis by Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé examines the conditions in Gaza and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The authors analyse the historical and political factors contributing to the ongoing crisis, shedding light on the humanitarian issues and the impact on the region's people.

Uncomfortable Economics

New Zealand once ranked among the world’s most prosperous nations. Not any longer. Why has our economic performance lagged behind countries we once outpaced? And what will it take to reverse the decline? In Uncomfortable Economics, David Schnauer shows that New Zealand’s underperformance is not inevitable. It is the result of choices — cultural and political — that can be changed. Looking beyond election cycles and short-term fixes, he calls for a renewed national focus on savings, housing, public debt, productivity and long-term policy discipline. He challenges both politicians and citizens to lift their sights and demand more from our economy. Bold, readable and politically independent, Uncomfortable Economics is a call to action for anyone who cares about New Zealand’s future.

Te Tiriti, Equality and the Future of New Zealand Democracy

In this major work, the leading Māori political scientist Dominic O’Sullivan draws on theories of republicanism and the commonwealth to challenge understandings of Te Tiriti as a partnership between races, or between Māori people and the Crown. O’Sullivan also critiques the idea that Te Tiriti created one people, assimilating Māori into colonial ways of governing. Instead, he proposes a new politics where Māori self-determination and liberal democracy, rangatiratanga and kāwanatanga, complement one another to promote meaningful and culturally grounded political equality. O’Sullivan enables us to see a future for Aotearoa in which political authority and responsibility belong to everyone and should therefore work equally well for all; a country where Māori people, as much as anyone else, bring their tikanga to public life; and a society where the...

Blood Will Flow

On March 24, 2021, in the remote north of Mozambique, 500 ISIS militants attacked the small, paradise beach town of Palma—strategically unimportant but for vast offshore gas fields that had attracted $50 billion in foreign investment, including over £1 billion from the British government. As the Islamists surged through town beheading civilians, a group of men, women, and children—including 80 gas plant construction workers—barricaded themselves inside a hotel to await rescue. An oil and gas compound defended by attack helicopters and 1,000 soldiers was just minutes away. But help never came. Five years on, Alex Perry's spell-binding, meticulous reconstruction unearths a hidden and unprecedented fiasco. Woven into his account is a search for the truth about how energy companies really make their vast profits. His investigation takes him...

Mad on Meth

Why cook at home when you can order in? Only 50 years ago, pure methamphetamine was legally prescribed in New Zealand to anyone looking for a boost. But it wasn't long before P was rebranded as the most dangerous and destructive drug in the world - and New Zealanders were cemented as among its biggest users. With dry wit and biting insight, journalist Benedict Collins takes us inside the evolution of meth in New Zealand. From ram raids for pseudoephedrine to our own cooks and gangs 'breaking bad', a visit to the Golden Triangle of meth production in South-East Asia, multimillion-dollar busts, and a moral panic that seeded a meth-testing scandal. All set the stage for unthinkable crimes and drug-fuelled mania, but also serviced a hidden world of...

Serviceman J

A new edition of the bestselling 2024 memoir by a former NZSAS commander, on serving in Afghanistan over four deployments and operating at the edge of his limits. 'Frighteningly, devastatingly real.' - The Post In 2011, following the Taliban siege on Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel, an SAS soldier identified only as Serviceman J was awarded New Zealand's second highest military honour by showing outstanding gallantry in the face of danger. After eighteen years in the New Zealand SAS, ex-commander Jamie Pennell is now ready to tell his story. Having survived the famously tough SAS selection course and excelled during its brutal training, Jamie was sent on four deployments to Afghanistan and played a critical role in New Zealand's operations. From patrols across desert territories run by warlords to hostile...

There's a Cure for This: A Memoir

The striking debut memoir from award-winning doctor and writer, Emma Espiner. "I don't know why medicine felt like coming home but, for some reason, it fits. I keep thinking about how the tohu, once awarded, can never be taken back. There are few things in life that emphatic. Better not fuck it up." From award-winning writer Dr Emma Espiner comes this striking and profound debut memoir. Encompassing whanau, love, death, '90s action movies and scarfie drinking, There's a Cure for This is Espiner's own story, from a childhood spent shuttling between a 'purple lesbian state house and a series of man-alone rentals' to navigating parenthood on her own terms; from the quietly perceived inequities of her early life to hard-won revelations as a Māori medical student and junior...