John Britten - Tim Hanna

Since his tragic early death from cancer in 1995, John Britten has deservedly taken his place as an original New Zealand hero. He was the man who, with a small dedicated team in Christchurch, designed and built from scratch the extraordinary Britten V-twin motorcycle. For a time this beautiful revolutionary machine was probably the fastest four-stroke bike in the world, a motorcycle that could wheel stand at 150 miles per hour simply by opening up the throttle.

After five years of research, Tim Hanna has finally been able to give due credit to the man and his achievements. This meticulously written biography details his early life, the development of his vision and the early prototype motorcycles, and then the grueling cycle of unbelievably hard work, setbacks and failures before the Britten V-twin finally was able to beat the world's best.

His bike enthralled legions of fans worldwide, captured by the elegance, originality and power of the machine, but also by the romance of his story - an individual taking on the power and might of some of the world's biggest and best motorcycle manufacturers, and winning. John Britten is a book with appeal far beyond the motorcycling fraternity, for it has a universally inspiring theme - that extraordinary things are possible when a person can turn their dreams into reality.

Hard to Swallow - Jeffrey M. Smith

The dangers of GE food - an international expose.

This book is an explosive expose of the dangers of GE food, revealing how international corporate manipulation and political collusion has allowed dangerous genetically engineered food into people's daily diet. It is writtn by an American about the situation in the United States, but it is hugely relevant to New Zealand. With the moratorium on the commerical release of genetically modified organisms due to be lifted by the Labour Government at the end of October, New Zealand faces identical issues.

In addition, a major feature of this book is an exceptionally clear description of what genetic engineering actually is, how it works, and what the risks are. It concludes with a chapter on how you can avoid GE food in you and your family's diet.

This book has been endorsed by numerous international figures, including scientists, food safety experts, writers and researchers. Its release in New Zealand is timely and important.

Jeffrey Smith is a writer and educator and has been involved with genetically modified foods for nearly a decade. He has worked with a non-profit group to promote labelling of GM foods, proposed legislation to protect farmers from genetic drift and to keep GM food out of schools, and worked for a GMO detection laboratory. Prior to working in this field, Jeffrey Smith worked with health and environment issues in the non-profit sector. He has a master's degree in business administration and lives with his wife in Iowa in the USA. Jeffrey has a very informative site including up-to-date media information and links about the anti-GE and -GM Debate.

Hayley Westenra - Paul Little

Hayley Westenra is unstoppable. Her album Pure has sold one million copies worldwide, is the best-selling debut album in the history of the UK classical album charts and has held the longest number one spot on the New Zealand Top 50 album charts. Hayley has signed a NZ$9 million deal for her next five records.

She's performed at Albert Hall, the Sydney Opera House and Carnegie Hall; she's sung with top classical artists such as Jose Carreras, Bryn Terfel and Russell Watson; she's performed in front of the British Royal Family, George W. Bush and Tony Blair. Posh Spice even wanted her to sing at a party for the World Cup.

Hayley was born into a family of singers - her grandparents on both sides sang in pubs and on the radio. Her perfect pitch was noticed by a schoolteacher when at the age of six she performed in a school Christmas play. A demo tape and busking on the streets of Christchurch led to her signing a record deal with Universal. Thus began Hayley's spectacular rise to fame. This is her story so far. It is also the story of an ordinary Christchurch family whose life has been turned upside down by Hayley's success.

Being Pakeha Now - M King

First published in 1985, Michael King's Being Pakeha became a gentle Kiwi classic, a strong reply both to Maori who were asserting their own identity and also to Pakeha who mumbled that they didn't have a strong culture and identity of their own. Being Pakeha Now is an updated edition that reflects on these issues and how they have changed and evolved over the last fifteen years.

The theme of Being Pakeha is that white New Zealanders do indeed belong to a strong culture, which is called 'Pakeha' and which is different definable and worth celebrating.

In this revised edition King rewrites the Introduction and updates many of the chapters. In addition, he offeres two new chapters, one on his experiences with Moriori and the Chathams and the other on his involvement in the New Zealand literary community.

An Absolutely Outrageous Adventure - John Bougen

Take one unstoppable Kiwi inspired by a quest, add hundreds of hours of planning, an itinerary the size of the average best-seller - and a very large dollop of cash, and you are on your way for the holiday of a lifetime. Make that several lifetimes.

The quest was an attempt to visit 191 countries in 150 days, enter the Guinness Book of Records and help promote Save the Children. Driven by the passion of Auckland businessman John Bougen to explore the unknown, and even scare himself a litte, this is a trip that would terrify most tourists.

With the only certainty about travel being uncertainty, experience this truly outrageous adventure from the comfort of your own armchair, with an atlas at your side.