In this challenging and provocative study of the nature of settler society in 19th-century New Zealand, Fairburn focuses on the lives of the common people and presents a rigorous and original description of the place and time which is radically different from those of previous historians. An important book that will have a major impact on our understanding of New Zealand's past, it is also a significant contribution to the study of new societies.

New Zealand Society introduces the reader to a sociological understanding of contemporary New Zealand society. Sociology is a discipline which offers new and critical insights on the way in which society works. It provides an exciting area of study, and the best of New Zealand sociology is provided here as specialist contributors discuss their particular areas of interest: family, community, urban, rural, class, racism and ethnicity, gender, the state, social policy, health, education, politics, the media, crime and deviance, work, leisure, arts and population. This book is based on the earlier and very successful New Zealand: Sociological Perspectives (1982). It contains material which is easily understood and it covers all the major areas and issues of contemporary society.

An introductory text for New Zealand tertiary students examining major themes in contemporary sociology such as health, gender, ethnicity and culture.

A group of philosophers from, or connected with, New Zealand, discuss a variety of issues relating to the territory. These include moral issues relating to the Treaty of Waitangi, sovereignty, collective responsibility, and the value of an ecosystem.

‘New Zealand has one of the highest levels of imprisonment in the Western world. Yet the growth of imprisonment in New Zealand has occurred when the crime rate here, as in most other Western societies, has been in significant decline. Why, then, the disjuncture?’ In this penetrating BWB Text, John Pratt describes the dramatic transformation in penal thought that has recently taken place in this country. Rising imprisonment in New Zealand, against the background of a falling crime rate, is connected with changes in how we, as a society, think about the purpose and function of punishment. This growth of ‘penal populism’, Pratt asserts, has caused enormous and lasting damage to New Zealand’s social fabric.

An entirely new look at the shocking impact of the First World War on New Zealand. For New Zealand, World War One was wholly avoidable, wholly unnecessary — and almost wholly disastrous. Stevan Eldred-Grigg believes that the enormous cost of the war to our people was way too high — and that we still feel its effects, both socially and culturally, today. This is excellent narrative non-fiction, analysing our history in a novel way. It's very accessible but is backed up by meticulous research. Stevan goes against the accepted line and gives us a fascinating look at our social history before, during and just after WW1. Why did we go to the war in Europe? Was the country united in its desire for war? What were the economic and social consequences? What has been the impact on the psyches of New Zeland men? These and many other questions are answered in this fascinating book. In 2007 Harvey McQueen wrote in a review of New Zealand's Great War (an anthology of essays) that '[there is] a need for a general, popular history of 'our' Great War... we need a skilled writer in the mould of Sinclair, Oliver or King to give an overview and link the various elements into a coherent whole.' This is that book.