Biography and Personal History
Discover the stories of some of the world’s most fascinating people, from adventurers and serving military members, to the recounts of everyday people.
Showing all 20 results
A Life of Extremes
USD $35.99 Tax IncludedThe Life and Times of a Polar Filmmaker
Out now in ANZ. Due for release in US/CAD/UK 9th March 2021.
Max Quinn’s filmmaking career has taken him to the ends of the earth, from his native New Zealand to Alaska; Antarctica to the Arctic. A Life of Extremes is a personal account of his work, featuring vibrant text and stunning images that illustrate 20 years of adventures in polar climates. Learn, from behind the camera, about the natural history and wildlife of our world. Leave the tourist trail behind with this unique insight into life in the immensely beautiful, most extreme places on earth.
Specifications: 9781775594321 | Cover & Jacket | 260 x 186mm / 10.25 x 7.25in |
Celebrating Australia’s Magnificent Wildlife (Limited Collector’s Edition)
The Art of Daryl Dickson
One for the collectors, this exquisite leatherette edition is limted to 100 copies only. Each book is numbered and signed by Daryl with its own unique artist mark so no two copies are the same, making this edition as rare as some of the species featured in its pages.
Celebrating Australia’s Magnificent Wildlife is a celebration of Daryl Dickson’s beautiful work and passion for conservation. The stunning animals around Dickson have informed her work for over 40 years. Witness the ancient tropical forests and majestic landscapes of Queensland, Australia — home to some of the world’s rarest and most fascinating species. View a lifetime of artworks, showcased in this beautiful, large-format book that is an essential addition for art and book collectors alike.
Australian Women’s Weekly Christmas Issue
“Art and conservation merge in this stunning tome.”
Specifications: 9781925820614 | Leatherette | 254 x 254mm | 144 Pages | Full Colour | FSC Certified
This is Us
USD $29.99 Tax IncludedNew Zealanders in our own words
This is Us is a collection of over 200 brief interviews with New Zealanders, spanning the length and breadth of the country; from Cape Reinga to Stewart Island. It was written in response to the Christchurch terrorist attack but is not about it; it is instead a representation of the New Zealand people in their own words. A celebration of the diverse, open, and inclusive communities that exist across New Zealand, This is Us inspires hope by showing the kindness and spirit of everyday people.
Each interview provides a snapshot of the subject’s life, accompanied by a photographic portrait. The joy interviewees felt in telling their stories shines from the page. Each of the interviewees has a unique story to tell, and to have them collected in one place creates an engaging and insightful reading experience that will delight anyone interested in finding out more about Kiwi society and culture.
Carter spoke with characters from a variety of professions, age groups and cultural backgrounds. From a New Zealander with a long line of Kiwi ancestors, to a person with a Māori name but Italian and Brazilian parents, this collection reflects the ethnic diversity and cultural riches of New Zealand. This is Us is a tribute to the Kiwi spirit.
Specifications: 9781775594338 | Hardback | 235 x 191 mm | 192 pages
Panzer Commander Hermann Balck
USD $29.99 Tax IncludedGermany’s Master Tactician
A history of one of the world’s greatest armoured warfare commanders, Hermann Balck (1897–1982). During World War II, he commanded panzer troops brilliantly, and we follow his exciting journey through the fields of France, mountains of Greece and steppes of Russia. It is also the story of a cultured and complex man with a great love of antiquity and classical literature, who nevertheless willingly fought for Hitler’s Third Reich while remaining strangely detached from the horrors around him.
SPECIFICATIONS: 9781925820003 | Hardback | 234 x 151 mm / 9.25 x 6 inches | 304Pages
Key Questions in Personal History – Boxed Card Set
USD $19.99 Tax IncludedOur individual memories define us. Our tribal memories unite us. Emotional Inheritance works with psychologists, writers and historians to provide a premium interview and life story production service.
Now, this boxed set of 100 cards provides simple effective questions to help you undertake this process yourself, without an external interviewer. Questions are grouped into categories so that a structured narrative and lasting legacy can be created from the interviewee’s answers.
SPECIFICATIONS: 9781925820140| Hardback | 95 x 95 /3.75 x 3.75 inches| 101 Cards
Finding True Connections
USD $24.99 Tax IncludedHow to Learn and Write About a Family Member’s History
Our individual memories define us. Our tribal memories unite us. Emotional Inheritance works with psychologists, writers and historians to provide a premium interview and life story production service. Now, Finding True Connections clearly and simply sets out how you can undertake this process yourself, without an external interviewer. Designed as a series of double-page spreads, on the left-hand page is a prompt question, while opposite are notes on how to gain the most meaningful answers, to do yourself or to discover more about a family member.
SPECIFICATIONS: 9781925820157| Hardback | 235 x 191 / 9.25 x 7.5 inches | 232 pages
Emotional Inheritance
Emotional Inheritance is a new imprint from Exisle Publishing. Capturing the wisdom of the past to enhance our future. Find out more at EmotionalInheritance.org
Godley
USD $35.00 Tax IncludedThe Man Behind the Myth.
A comprehensive biography of General Sir Alexander Godley, presenting for the first time a fair and balanced look at his time as commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) and II ANZAC Corps during World War I. While Godley is generally remembered as being a poor field commander, Terry Kinloch argues that he was in fact a capable one who had little or no ability to influence the failed battles at Gallipoli and Passchendaele that he is often seen as responsible for. Kinloch also presents, for the first time, a detailed account of Godley’s long pre- and post-World War I career in the British Army. After the war Godley returned to the British Army, eventually reaching the rank of general before retiring in 1933. During his 48-year military career, he also served on operations in Rhodesia and South Africa, as a mounted infantry instructor, in the post-war British occupation force in Germany, and as the Governor of Gibraltar.
SPECIFICATIONS: Hardback | 240 x 160 mm | 9.5 x 6.25 inches| 328 Pages
For the Love of a Cat: A Publisher’s Story
USD $11.99 Tax IncludedFew people can appreciate the joy that being owned by a cat brings better than David St John Thomas — the latest in a long line of publishers and authors to pay homage to the very special cats who have entered their busy lives.
This is a book for everyone who really cares about cats. Vividly written, sometimes serious, sometimes light-hearted, anyone who has fallen for a cat, however much against their better judgement, is bound to find it uplifting. While cat people are nice (Hitler couldn’t stand them!), the real heroes in this book are naturally the cats themselves. A rich portfolio of feline characters — including the author’s own cats — step off the page, of perhaps lie curled in seductive curves on it, so vividly that you can feel their fur and hear their purr!
Rich in entertaining anecdotes and asides, For the Love of a Cat will enhance every cat owner’s understanding of their feline friend and remind them again and again just how lucky they are to share their lives with this most fascinating of creatures.
Specifications: 9781921497360 | Paperback | 190 x 135mm / 7.5 x 5.3in | 248 Pages
Daughter of the Reich
USD $14.99 Tax IncludedThe incredible life of Louise Fox
This is a story of an ordinary girl from Germany who became caught up in the inner workings of the Nazi war machine. Louise Fox had grown up while the Nazis steadily took full control of the country and like so many of her age group Nazism was considered to be just normal. As a teenager she was first involved in the effort to provide anti-aircraft equipment for the Luftwaffe and to kit out Rommel for the North African campaign. She was a hard worker and was promoted to the rank of captain in the Luftwaffe’s supreme command headquarters in Potsdam, near Berlin. She caught Hermann Goering’s eye when he awarded her a medal for bravery in the capture of a downed British airman, and was sent to work in the Air Ministry making appointments and assisting Goering. As the war intensified on two fronts Louise was transferred back to Potsdam to manage the huge task of securing appropriate ammunition supplies for the Luftwaffe, a job she held for the rest of the war.
She married an airman who three weeks later was killed in action. Louise was posted with her colleagues to the Eastern Front and escaped with them all in Hitler’s “strategic retreat” ahead of the Red Army. In the last few months of the war she was captured and imprisoned by the Americans. She escaped and began an event-filled 1,000-kilometre hike to the safety of relatives. Life was difficult after the war and Louise entered the black market and was imprisoned. She eventually found a pen pal in Tasmania and much to the amazement of friends migrated there – selling Volkswagens to make a living.
Specifications: 9780908988655 | Paperback | 234 x 153mm / 9.2 x 6in | 232 Pages
Journey Through Britain: Landscape, People, Books
In his ‘thinking traveller’s tour’, David St John Thomas journeys by rail and ‘Little Car’ around Britain, exploring the fascinating and diverse character of Britain today. He reflects on Britain, Britishness, the British people and how they have changed, not always for the worse, over the fifty-odd years he has known them as an author and a publisher.
Taking in places as various as beaches, mountain moors, industrial and early Christian sites, great hotels, art galleries, canals and cycleways, meeting people- famous ones, friends, gardeners, railwaymen, craftsmen, bus conductors- who enrich his journey with their stories and observations, and drawing on literature and history, he discovers the true heartbeat of the country. The result is a narrative that surprises, amuses and engages, as well as offering a treasure trove of facts, anecdotes and new perspectives on this extraordinary nation.
SPECIFICATIONS: Hardback/Paperback | 240 x 160mm / 198 x 126 mm | 700 Pages |
Wild Beast – The Art of Dean Buchanan
Dean Buchanan has always been an irresistible force in New Zealand art. From an early age he showed immense talent, painting large oils that demonstrated both technical brilliance and a close affinity with the natural world. During the past thirty years he has become probably New Zealand’s most prolific (and also most affordable) painter, as well as one of the most instantly recognisable. His paintings are found in homes throughout New Zealand and in public buildings and galleries both here and overseas. He has also exhibited in Australia, Japan, Chile, Switzerland and the USA.
Coupled with his creative talent is an ability to live life to the full. No shrinking violet, ‘Wild beast’ Buchanan has always expressed himself forthrightly, especially in defence of preserving New Zealand’s natural environment. He has also become a mountaineer of some note, and in January 2007 succeeded in climbing Mt Cook. Bob Harvey interviewed Dean Buchanan extensively for this book, and describes every facet of his life. The book also includes 60 superb reproductions of some of his greatest paintings.
Specifications: 9781877437076 | Hardback | 210 x 280mm | 60 colour plates, plus 20 b/w photographs