Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

When European navigators first sailed into this region, they were astonished at the exotic shared culture and language of the natives, separated in some cases by terrifying stretches of open ocean. The story of the peopling of the South Pacific Islands and New Zealand is one of the world's great sagas.

The book covers the whole scope of New Zealand's past and present history and allows the reader to make sense of what they see in a way that no other guidebook can.

Average Customer Rating:

A Well written introducton

Customer Rating:

This is a well written general introducton to New Zealand, and is a bt more than just a "Traveller's History". Chambers explains how the geology affected the geography of the region, and how this in turn determined the development of flora and fauna. The ethnographical dscusssion is interesting and written with considerable wit. I found the modern history to be intriguing, and beware the MMP! The book has nice maps and line drawngs and a good bibliography. I am at a loss, however as why one would need the historical gazetteer or list of rulers.