Monthly Archives: September 2010

Putumayo presents a tribute to the early history of rock & roll with Rock & Roll Playground. Kids of all ages can shake, rattle and roll to music by a stellar group of established and up-and-coming artists.  A charmingly illustrated read-aloud booklet also accompanies the CD, with notes about the history of rock & roll and the story of each song.

The songs on Rock & Roll Playground were recorded in recent years but were inspired by the evolution of the genre. Grammy® Award winners Dan Zanes and Friends invite you to “bug” and “twist” on the song “Let’s Shake,” while rockabilly royalty Rosie Flores churns out feverish licks on “This Little Girl’s Gone Rockin’.” Grammy Award winner Taj Mahal and Linda Tillery lend an infectious Bo Diddley beat to “Willie and The Hand Jive,” and noted singer-songwriter Peter Himmelman delivers a classic rock performance on “Little Bitty Baby.”

Grammy Award winner Bill Harley sings about a slumbering teenage brother in “Sleep the Whole Day Through” and Uncle Rock performs a blues-infused cover of the Steppenwolf classic “Magic Carpet Ride.” Rock & Roll Playground also features 2009 Grammy nominee Brady Rymer as well as Charity and the JAMband; New Jersey’s StarFish; Parents’ Choice® Gold award winner Roger Day; Melissa Green and John Lennon Songwriting Contest winners Rhythm Child.

$35.99

Linen finish playing cards. $9.99

Cribbage, 29, 3 track wooden. $29.99

By Judith Binney

***Winner of New Zealand Post Book Awards: General Non-Fiction 2010 and New Zealand Post Book Awards: Book of the Year 2010***

For Europeans during the nineteenth century, the Urewera was a remote and savagely enticing wilderness; for those who lived there, it was a sheltering heartland. This history documents the first hundred years of the ‘Rohe Potae’ (the ‘encircled lands’ of the Urewera) following European contact. The text describes how the idea of internal self-government for Tuhoe was born – and for a period partly realised. It provides the historical context for an idea that has come again to the ‘negotiating table’: Tuhoe’s quest for a constitutional agreement that restores their ‘nationhood’.

By Simon Winchester

The epic life story of the Atlantic Ocean from the bestselling author of narrative non-fiction, Simon Winchester. 

In a narrative tour de force, Simon Winchester dramatises the life of the Atlantic Ocean, from its birth in the farther recesses of geological time to its eventual extinction millions of years in the future. At the core of the book is the story of mankind’s complex relationship with this immense sea, which stretches for 9,000 miles from pole to pole.

The Atlantic has profoundly influenced the lives of those who have lived along its shores, from hardscrabble pioneers in windswept locations such as the Aran Islands and Newfoundland, to the inhabitants of the great port cities of Lisbon, Rio, London and New York. ‘Atlantic’ brings to life key episodes in this compelling human drama – the age of exploration and the subsequent colonisation of the Americas; the flourishing of transatlantic commerce and the rise and fall of the slave trade; extraordinary tales of sea-borne emigration during the nineteenth century; and the great naval battles that have left an indelible imprint on Atlantic history.

Travelling by small sailing craft, container ship and general cargo vessel, Simon Winchester will journey around the edges and across the vast expanse of the ocean to report from the places that encapsulate its most fascinating stories. It is an enthralling mixture of history, science and reportage from a master of narrative non-fiction, and the definitive account of this magnificent body of water.

By Lauraine Jacobs, Ginny Grant and Kathy Paterson

A meal isn’t complete without vegetables, and sometimes vegetables can be a complete meal. This beautiful book celebrates the range and versatility of New Zealand’s seasonal produce, offering a wide range of recipes from entrees and main dishes such as pies and flans, risottos and pastas, as well as delicious side dishes and accompaniments.

The book is divided into four seasonal sections, each one dedicated to produce available at that time of year, and with a feature vegetable for each season (eg ‘Spring means asparagus’).

Mouth-watering photography by Aaron McLean brings the dishes to life and celebrates the beauty of our beautiful fresh produce. This is not a vegetarian cookbook, but rather a celebration of how vegetables can be the star in a range of delicious dishes. All the encouragement you’ll ever need to eat your greens!

By John Matheson

Football has Pele, golf has Tiger Woods, basketball has Michael Jordan and, of course, boxing has Muhammad Ali. Rugby’s race for the tag is a little more complicated but the chances are the debate will be over if and when Dan Carter wins the Rugby World Cup for the All Blacks in 2011.

Ever since he burst onto the test rugby scene in New Zealand in 2003, Dan Carter has been earmarked for greatness. His exploits for Canterbury, the Crusaders and the All Blacks are the stuff of legends. He did the ‘impossible’ early on in his international career when he made the rugby nation forget about Andrew Mehrtens – a first-five whom many thought couldn’t be replaced for at least a generation. But, as the latest offering from HarperCollins’ highly successful Tribute series explains, Carter not only replaced Mehrtens but he took the art of first-five-eighth play to a new level, as shown by his performance against the Lions in 2005 when he came head to head with England’s ‘best ever’, Jonny Wilkinson. And with countless Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations match-winning performances behind him, Carter – a year out of his third World Cup – is on the verge of the most important and quite possibly his most successful year as a part of the Men in Black.

This book – with many original interviews with teammates and coaches as well as conversations between author John Matheson and Carter himself – traces the career of rugby’s ultimate pin-up from his roots in the backblocks of Canterbury through to the biggest and grandest rugby stages in the world. Carter’s early battles with Mehrtens and his subsequent transition to the number one test first-five is traced in great detail, as are his World Cup heartaches in 2003 and 2007 and his extraordinary battle with injury in 2009 when many experts suggested he would never return to the levels of play he displayed pre-injury. History, of course, proved those critics wrong as Carter returned better than ever with heroic performances against Australia and France, ensuring the rugby nation once again believes that World Cup glory is within the country’s grasp.

This book – the eighth in the series – celebrates Dan Carter like never before, making it a must-read for All Blacks fans around the world.

By Al Brown

***Winner of New Zealand Post Book Awards: Illustrated Non-Fiction 2010 and New Zealand Post Book Awards: People’s Choice 2010***

Al Brown is the acclaimed Wellington chef and owner of Logan Brown – one of Wellington’s top restaurants. He’s also one of the stars of ‘Hunger for the Wild’ and author of the successful cookbook of the same name, which has sold over 14,000 copies.

 Brownie is a passionate man – he has loved fishing since he was a little nipper growing up and going fishing with his dad in the holidays, and he still loves nothing better than getting out there and going fishing with mates or his kids – nearly as much as he loves cooking. In this book he brings both of these great passions together, giving us 90 exceptional fish recipes.

Some of these recipes are very simple, and they are all approchable and cookable. They underscore Al’s philosophy that good food is about freshness of produce – and then cooking it and seasoning it correctly. It’s crucial that the flavours work well together, that the components are all in harmony and that it’s all served generously.

Stunningly photographed by Kieran Scott, Go Fish is the must-have cookbook for every New Zealand household. It takes us back to the simple days when a great meal could be had simply by casting your line from the dinghy. It’s about getting back to the fundamentals of life – of enjoying the environment around us and making the most of what we have.