Nonfiction Archives - Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books

Art Biography History Nature

Groundwork: The Art and Writing of Emily Cumming Harris
by Michele Leggott and Catherine Field-Dodgson

A vivid illustrated account of 'one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s first professional women artists'.

Sally BlundellJune 10, 2025

Memoir Nonfiction Politics

A Different Kind of Power
by Jacinda Ardern

'Will this book change the minds of the crazies?'

Philip MatthewsJune 8, 2025

Essays Literature Māori Memoir Nonfiction

This Compulsion In Us
by Tina Makereti

An essay collection exploring Māori culture, literature, personal paradoxes and the 'constant argument about place'.

Kelly Ana MoreyMay 21, 2025

History Memoir Military Nonfiction

The Dark Dad
by Mary Kisler

The post-war world as a 'truly lonely place' for a POW

Guy SomersetMay 14, 2025

Memoir Nonfiction

Hastings: A Boy’s Own Adventure
by Dick Frizzell

The boyhood stories of an artist of 'febrile imagination'

Stephanie JohnsonApril 23, 2025

Art Biography Nonfiction

Tony Fomison: Life of the Artist
by Mark Forman

A portrait of 'one of our greatest painters' who 'wanted to find a new visual language for what it meant to live in the Pacific'.

Hamish ConeyApril 17, 2025

Illustrated Nonfiction

You Are Here
by Whiti Hereaka and Peata Larkin

An imaginative collaboration between writer and artist that pairs 'classical mathematical theory with te ao Māori'.

Kelly Ana MoreyApril 11, 2025

Fiction Literature Nonfiction Short Stories

Table Talk: Opinions, stories and a play
by C.K. Stead

The 'sharp and unforgiving eye' of an acclaimed writer and scholar with a reputation for 'bullish contrariness'.

Sally BlundellApril 4, 2025

Media Memoir Nonfiction Television

Unreel: A Life in Review
by Diana Wichtel

‘History repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as a programme you have to review.’

Stephanie JohnsonNovember 29, 2024

Art History Nonfiction Photography Society

Leslie Adkin: Farmer Photographer
by Athol McCredie

A 'discovery and a revelation': a photographic chronicle from an unsung artist.

Hamish ConeyNovember 6, 2024

Nonfiction