Philippa Mein-Smith – författare

This book provides an arresting interpretation of the history of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific from the earliest settlements to the present. Usually viewed in isolation, these societies are covered here in a single account, in which the authors show how the peoples of the region constructed their own identities and influenced those of their neighbours. By broadening the focus to the regional level, this volume develops analyses - of economic, social and political history - which transcendnational boundaries. The result is a compelling work which both describes the aspirations of European settlers and reveals how the dispossessed and marginalized indigenous peoples negotiated their own lives as best they could. The authors demonstrate that these stories are not separate but rather strands of a single history.The Blackwell History of the World SeriesThe goal of this ambitious series is to provide an accessible source of knowledge about the entire human past, for every curious person in every part of the world. It will comprise some two dozen volumes, of which some provide synoptic views of the history of particular regions while others consider the world as a whole during a particular period of time. The volumes are narrative in form, giving balanced attention to social and cultural history (in the broadest sense) as well as to institutional development and political change. Each provides a systematic account of a very large subject, but they are also both imaginative and interpretative. The Series is intended to be accessible to the widest possible readership, and the accessibility of its volumes is matched by the style of presentation and production.

New Zealand was the last major landmass, other than Antarctica, to be settled by humans. In A Concise History of New Zealand Aotearoa, Philippa Mein Smith beautifully narrates the story of this rugged and dynamic land, from its origins in Gondwana, between 60 and 100 million years ago, its late settlement by Polynesian voyagers, and its colonisation by Europeans (and the exchanges that made these peoples Māori and Pākehā) to the dramatic struggles over land and efforts to manage global forces into the twenty-first century. The third edition continues to unravel key moments in distant and recent history - the signing and continuation of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi), the Gallipoli landings, the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, and earthquakes - showing their roles in nation-building myths and connecting them with the less dramatic forces, economic and social, that have shaped contemporary New Zealand.

New Zealand was the last major landmass, other than Antarctica, to be settled by humans. The story of this rugged and dynamic land is beautifully narrated, from its origins in Gondwana some 80 million years ago to the twenty-first century. Philippa Mein Smith highlights the effects of the country's smallness and isolation, from its late settlement by Polynesian voyagers and colonisation by Europeans - and the exchanges that made these people Maori and Pakeha - to the dramatic struggles over land and recent efforts to manage global forces. A Concise History of New Zealand places New Zealand in its global and regional context. It unravels key moments - the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the Anzac landing at Gallipoli, the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior - showing their role as nation-building myths and connecting them with the less dramatic forces, economic and social, that have shaped contemporary New Zealand.