This landmark anthology of writings will excite readers of all ages about extraordinary scientific discoveries made by New Zealand scientists. The pieces range from early naturalists' observations of birds, insects and botany, to geological accounts of the famous pink and white terraces, to Ernest Rutherford splitting the atom, modern breakthroughs in nanotechnology, to the recent discovery of an extra-solar planet. You'll even learn how to cook paua. The 50 pieces are beautifully chosen and make riveting reading. This is the first collection of its kind, compiled by one of New Zealand's most talented science writers. Winner 2009 Royal Society of New Zealand Science Book Prize.
Although New Zealander Lord Rutherford was the first to split the atom, the country has since been known around the world for its nuclear-free stance. In this engaging and accessible book, an alternative history is revealed of "nuclear New Zealand"—when there was much enthusiasm for nuclear science and technology. From the first users of X-rays and radium in medicine to the plans for a nuclear power station on the Kaipara Harbour, this account uncovers the long and rich history of New Zealanders' engagement with the nuclear world and the roots of its nuclear-free identity.
Modern science communication has emerged in the twentieth century as a field of study, a body of practice and a profession—and it is a practice with deep historical roots. We have seen the birth of interactive science centres, the first university actions in teaching and conducting research, and a sharp growth in employment of science communicators. This collection charts the emergence of modern science communication across the world. This is the first volume to map investment around the globe in science centres, university courses and research, publications and conferences as well as tell the national stories of science communication. How did it all begin? How has development varied from one country to another? What motivated governments, institutions and people to see science communication as an answer to questions of the social place of science? Communicating Science describes the pathways followed by 39 different countries. All continents and many cultures are represented. For some countries, this is the first time that their science communication story has been told.
Since British explorer James Cook first circumnavigated Antarctica in the late 18th century, the white continent has exerted a powerful attraction. There is no permanent human habitation, and no mercy from the raw, relentless elements, yet for nearly 200 years explorers and scientists have been drawn to work and sometimes risk their lives here. Rebecca Priestley's landmark anthology reveals the numerous scientific discoveries that have been made, from how sea creatures survive in the freezing waters, to the continent's extraordinary proliferation of meteorites and the startling revelations of its fossils. In the early days, nations vied to establish a presence on the continent to try and claim its resources. Today scientists track the arrival of space particles and examine ice cores, sea-floor sediments and rocks hewn by glaciers to better understand our universe, uncover the story of climate change, and learn how a land once covered in forests became a frozen desert. More than an anthology, this unique book is a thrilling journey through time as explorers and scientists unravel the mysteries of Earth's last great wilderness.
This “fantastic story” of one of physics’ great riddles takes us through centuries of scientific history (Simon Lamb, author of Devil in the Mountain). Why do compass needles point north—but not quite north? What guides the migration of birds, whales, and fish across the world’s oceans? How is Earth able to sustain life under an onslaught of solar wind and cosmic radiation? For centuries, the world’s great scientists have grappled with these questions, all rooted in the same phenomenon: Earth’s magnetism. Over two thousand years after the invention of the compass, Einstein called the source of Earth’s magnetic field one of greatest unsolved mysteries of physics. Here, for the first time, is the complete history of the quest to understand the planet’s attractive pull—from the ancient Greeks’ fascination with lodestone to the geological discovery that the North Pole has not always been in the North—and to the astonishing modern conclusions that finally revealed the true source. Richly illustrated and skillfully told, North Pole, South Pole unfolds the human story behind the science: that of the inquisitive, persevering, and often dissenting thinkers who unlocked the secrets at our planet’s core. “In recent years, many very good books for interested non-scientists have been published: Richard Dawkins’s Climbing Mount Improbable and The Ancestor’s Tale, Stephen Jay Gould’s The Lying Stones of Marrakech, and Dava Sobel’s Longitude and The Planets, to name some of them. North Pole, South Pole . . . is a worthy addition to that list . . . Turner has a great story to tell, and she tells it well.” —The Press (New Zealand)
“I have had nothing bad happen to me except my own doing. I have let this cowardice envelop me, and I can’t shake it off. I will commit the worst thing you can ever do to someone who loves you: killing yourself. The scary thing is, I’m okay with that.” —Victoria McLeod, Singapore, March 30, 2014 Loss Adjustment is a mother’s recount of her 17-year-old daughter’s suicide. In the wake of Victoria McLeod’s passing, she left behind a remarkable journal in her laptop of the final four months of her life. Linda Collins, her mother, has woven these into her memoir, which is at once cohesive, yet fragmented, reflecting a survivor's state of mind after devastating loss. Loss Adjustment involves the endless whys, the journey of Linda Collins and her husband in honouring Victoria, and the impossible question of what drove their daughter to this irretrievable act. A stunningly intimate portrait of loss and grief, Loss Adjustment is a breaking of silence—a book whose face society cannot turn away from.
'We have always owned the water . . . we have never ceded our mana over the river to anyone', King Tuheitia Paki asserted in 2012. Prime Minister John Key disagreed: ‘King Tuheitia's claim that Maori have always owned New Zealand's water is just plain wrong'. So who does own the water in New Zealand – if anyone – and why does it matter? Offering some human context around that fraught question, Tupuna Awa looks at the people and politics of the Waikato River. For iwi and hapu of the lands that border its 425-kilometre length, the Waikato River is an ancestor, a taonga and a source of mauri, lying at the heart of identity and chiefly power. It is also subject to governing oversight by the Crown and intersected by hydro-stations managed by state-owned power companies: a situation rife with complexity and subject to shifting and subtle power dynamics. Marama Muru-Lanning explains how Maori of the region, the Crown and Mighty River Power have talked about the ownership, guardianship and stakeholders of the river. By examining the debates over water in one New Zealand river, over a single recent period, Muru-Lanning provides a powerful lens through which to view modern iwi politics, debates over water ownership, and contests for power between Maori and the state.
The author tells the blow-by-blow story of the song's creation, its huge success and its effect on the artist and his family. The book offers a fascinating, sometimes shocking, insight into how the music industry works.
"From "Goodbye Pork Pie" to "The Lord Of The Rings"--Here, for the first time, is the fascinating inside story of the deal-making, shrewd moves and sheer luck that - in just a few years - took New Zealand films from obscurity to the top of the world"--Publisher.
Natural history museums contain many thousands of zoological specimens and each has a tale to tell an often involving extraordinary people, daring explorations, unquenchable scientific curiosity, and strange coincidences. This perfectly presented book, with its engaging pictures, is rich in stories and unveils many secrets. Read about: the fate of a tortoise given as a gift by Captain Cook - the epic international voyage of the biggest known moa egg - the admiration induced by an ape from the jungles of Borneo - the barn owl of mysterious origins - the unfortunate fate of an angry young elephant - the quest to discover how a New Zealand heron turned up in a Florence museum - the strange arrival of an Australian banjo frog - and many other mind-boggling mysteries.
