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History and Current Events November 2019
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The history of philosophy
by A. C Grayling
"The first authoritative and accessible single-volume history of philosophy to cover both Western and Eastern traditions, from one of the world's most eminent thinkers The story of philosophy is the story of who we are and why. An epic tale, spanning civilizations and continents, it explores some of the most creative minds in history. But not since the long-popular classic Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy, published in 1945, has there been a comprehensive and entertaining single-volume history of this great, intellectual, world-shaping journey. With characteristic clarity and elegance, A. C. Grayling takes the reader from the worldviews and moralities before the age of the Buddha, Confucius and Socrates through Christianity's capture ofthe European mind, from the Renaissance and Enlightenment on to Mill, Nietzsche, Sartre and, finally, philosophy today. Bringing together these many threads that all too often run parallel, he surveys in tandem the great philosophical traditions of India, China and the Persian-Arabic world"
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50 years young : a history of the Young Farmer of the Year
by Kate Taylor
"The New Zealand Young Farmer of the Year has tested the knowledge and skills of rural men and women for 50 years. Join our winners, finalists and organisers as they share the history of rural New Zealand's most prestigious competition, dubbed 'the challenge second only to the land'"--Back cover
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Influenza : the hundred year hunt to cure the deadliest disease in history
by Jeremy Brown
"On the 100th anniversary of the devastating pandemic of 1918, Jeremy Brown, a veteran ER doctor, explores the troubling, terrifying, and complex history of the flu virus, from the origins of the Great Flu that killed millions, to vexing questions such as: are we prepared for the next epidemic, should you get a flu shot, and how close are we to finding a cure? While influenza is now often thought of as a common and mild disease, it still kills over 30,000 people in the US each year. Dr. Jeremy Brown, currently Director of Emergency Care Research at the National Institutes of Health, expounds on the flu's deadly past to solve the mysteries that could protect us from the next outbreak. In Influenza, he talks with leading epidemiologists, policy makers, and the researcher who first sequenced the genetic building blocks of the original 1918 virus to offer both a comprehensive history and a roadmap for understanding what's to come. Dr. Brown digs into the discovery and resurrection of the flu virus in the frozen victims of the 1918 epidemic, as well as the bizarre remedies that once treated the disease, such as whiskey and blood-letting. Influenza also breaks down the current dialogue surrounding the disease, explaining the controversy over vaccinations, antiviral drugs like Tamiflu, and the federal government's role in preparing for pandemic outbreaks. Though 100 years of advancement in medical research and technology have passed since the 1918 disaster, Dr. Brown warns that many of the most vital questions about the flu virus continue to confound even the leading experts. Influenza is an enlightening and unnerving look at a shapeshifting deadly virus that has been around long before people--and warns us that it may be many more years before we are able to conquer it for good"
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Brothers in Black
by Jamie Wall
The All Blacks have had a brilliant run of brothers in the last decade, with the Barretts, Whitelocks, Saveas and Franks, but there have also been many more standouts throughout New Zealand rugby history like the Meads, Whettons, Gears, Bachops and Brownlies.
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For King and Other Countries : The New Zealanders Who Fought in Other Services in the First World War by Christine Clement When war was declared in August 1914, many New Zealanders were travelling or living abroad. In the rush to sign up to defend the Empire, it was often easier to enlist locally than travel back to New Zealand to join the NZEF. That's one of the reasons that more than ten thousand New Zealanders fought the First World War under other flags, in the military forces of other nations. If they are added to the total number of New Zealanders currently understood to have served, then New Zealand's contribution to the war effort becomes even more remarkable, but to date they have not been correctly enumerated, let alone included. These New Zealanders served with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), with British Army units, the Indian Army, the Canadian Expeditionary Force and the French Foreign Legion, and they include the considerable number of women who served with other nations' medical organisations. Leading military historian Glyn Harper has scoured archives and museums worldwide to show where and when these New Zealanders served, and to tell their remarkable - and sometimes surprising and tragic - stories for the first time. For King and Other Countries makes a unique contribution to our understanding of our military history.
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Our planet
by Alastair Fothergill
A companion guide to the Netflix series showcases the nature's beauty, the surprising lives of animals and the destruction that humans have wrought on wildlife and habitats with photos of the world's rarest animals and previously unseen parts of Earth.
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The Braided River : Migration and the Personal Essay by Diane ComerThe Braided River explores contemporary migration to New Zealand through an examination of 200 personal essays written by 37 migrants from 20 different countries, spanning all ages and life stages. The first book to examine migration through the lens of the personal essay, The Braided River presents migration as a lifelong experience that affects everything from language, home, work, family and friendship to finances, citizenship and social benefits. Like migrants themselves, The Braided River crosses boundaries, working at the intersections of literature, history, philosophy and sociology to discuss questions of identity and belonging. Throughout, Diane Comer, both migrant and essayist herself, demonstrates the versatility of the personal essay as a means to analyse and understand migration, an issue with increasing relevance worldwide.
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A Communist in the Family : Searching for Rewi Alley by Elspeth Sandys"A ... multi-layered narrative centred on New Zealander Rewi Alley and his part in the momentous political events of mid-twentieth-century China. Part-biography, part-travel journal, part-literary commentary, A Communist in the Family brings together Alley's story and that of his author cousin, Elspeth Sandys. In 2017, Sandys travelled to China with other family members to mark the ninetieth anniversary of Rewi's arrival in Shanghai in 1927. One strand of this book follows that journey and charts Sandys' impressions of modern China. Another tells the story of Rewi's early life, in an insightful meditation on the complex and always elusive relationship between memory and writing. By placing the man, Rewi, and his work in the context of his time, Sandys is able to illuminate the life of this extraordinary New Zealander in a way that is both historically vivid and relevant to the world of today. Her focus on the role poetry played in his life, both his own and that of the Chinese poets he translated so prolifically, provides moving glimpses of the man behind the myth. Threaded through A Communist in the Family are Sandys' evolving insights into a nation that looms ever larger in the day-to-day realities of New Zealand and the world. The strange and strangely intimate link between the two countries Rewi regarded as home is one in which he played, and continues to play, a crucial role"
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Promises Promises : 80 Years of Wooing New Zealand Voters by Claire RobinsonA lively history of political advertising in New Zealand, from the first election of the modern era in 1939 to today. Brimming with political-party campaign advertisements, this colourful, engaging book brings together 80 years of political advertisements that can truly be said to have made New Zealand history. The authors analysis is penetrating and original and visual material is abundant and revealing. Perfect for history, politics, design and nostalgia buffs.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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