Wheldon Posted December 17, 2008 Posted December 17, 2008 Architecture Uncooked Pip Cheshire and Patrick Reynolds Published by Random House NZ/Imprint: Godwit It was the last night we would spend at the bach at Waihi Beach. My friend Kevin Quote
Wheldon Posted December 22, 2008 Author Posted December 22, 2008 Wind Driven. The Barbara Kendall Story Author: Wendy Kinney-Kendall ISBN13: 9781869790431 Genre: Biography, Sports Publisher: Random House NZ Page count: 288 Price: NZ$36.99 Summary: I thoroughly recommend this intimate portrayal of the challenges and successes of one of windsurfer's greatest stars. Barbara Kendell is an extraordinary woman. She has not only won windsurfing medals at three Olympics, she is a mother, an IOC representative, public speaker and mentor. This biography, written by her sister, tells the inspiring story of an extraordinary woman who overcame her personal challenges and remains at the top of her sport after twenty years of competition. Back in 1986 the weather forecast predicted severe gale force winds to thrash the Auckland coast. Yacht owners battened down their boats, praying theirs wouldn't be one of the unfortunate vessels that broke free from their moorings and smashed against the rocks. The ferries continued to grind against the wind as they battled across to Waiheke, knowing they might not return that afternoon if the sea became too fierce, inducing varying shades of green on the faces of their passengers. The pilots approached the airport as warily as they might land at Wellington on a relatively mild day, and the motorcycles were soon to be banned from crossing the Harbour Bridge. Meanwhile down at Eastern Beach, in the Eastern Suburbs, there was a flurry of activity. Cars raced to the beach, their drivers quickly unlashing their windsurfers from the roofs and attaching hurricane masts. The students at Macleans College raised their weary heads from their textbooks and the sight of the first windsurfers flying across the waves instantly dispelled the numbness of studying algebra. Even the teacher came across the window and expressed his amazement at their speed and skill. Children living around Eastern and Bucklands Beaches grew up either on or in the sea. Backyards and garages were filled with sailing dinghies, Optimists and P-class boats. Then came the windsurfers, and they rapidly became the choice of many, especially as the Kendells lived in the area. They were legends in yachting and windsurfing years before they won Olympic medals. Barbara joined her gold medallist brother, Bruce, by winning the gold in Barcelona in 1992, making her the first New Zealand woman to win a gold medal for 40 years. She won silver at Atlanta in 1996, bronze at Sydney in 2000 and was New Zealand's best in Athens in 2004 with a fifth placing. She won New Zealand Sportswoman of the year in 1996, 1998 and 1999; Yachtsperson of the year in 1992 and 1998; and has been awarded an MBE in 1992 for services to windsurfing. Wind Driven is written by Barbara's sister Wendy. It is an intimate portrayal of this remarkable woman. It portrays not only her remarkable strengths, but also her weaknesses, and how she triumped over them. It shows how important friends and family are in the success of such an individual sport. There are times of depression and isolation, of extraordinary happiness and triumph, of anger and frustration with various administrators. To even be a single woman on the international circuit, lugging 300kg of equipment from one country to another, let alone competing at the very top for over 20 years, is an extraordinary achievement. This is a book to inspire, to challenge and, ultimately, a book that will leave you in admiration of a singularly impressive New Zealand woman. Reviewed by Wheldon Curzon-Hobson Quote
Wheldon Posted December 30, 2008 Author Posted December 30, 2008 Title: Over the Wide and Trackless Sea: Inspiring Lives of Pioneer Women Author: Megan Hutching ISBN13: 9781869507060 Genre: Biography, History, New Zealand Publisher: HarperCollins NZ. Page count: 304 Price: NZ$39.99 Summary: An introduction into the fascinating lives of women who journeyed to New Zealand in the 1800 Quote
Wheldon Posted January 5, 2009 Author Posted January 5, 2009 Author: Ranginui Walker ISBN13: 9780143010067 Genre: Biography, Carving, New Zealand Star rating: 4.5 Publisher: Penguin Group (NZ), http://www.penguin.co.nz Page count: 256 Price: NZ$40.00 Summary: An invaluable insight into the ancestry, life, art and politics of one of New Zealand's greatest master carvers. It was an inspired choice that Ranginui Walker was commissioned to write this book. He successfully places the extraordinary character of master carver Paki Harrison into an historical, cultural, academic and political context, whilst never letting us forget that this almost mythical genius is very much a man with his personal conflicts, successes and devotion. Kaupapa Māori is a term used to describe a plan of action, expressing the aspirations and particular Māori values and principles. Throughout history it has meant the values and plans of action decided by Māori, or the values and action plans which express a set of deeper cultural values and worldview. Today Kaupapa Māori is often used as a strategy, or a plan of action to allow Māori to find a voice, particularly within academic institutions. It is also used in relation to transformation and cultural liberation. For Paki Harrison, a man well versed in tradition, and priviledged in his receiving of the knowedge of history, carving and bushcraft, Kaupapa Māori is central to his work and existence. Whenever approached to create, he would discuss and research the history of the people of the land, their tribal affiliations, and the purpose of the work within the social and political environment. His questions were at their most searching when invited to Te Awamutu College to work on Te Otawhao. Saddened and challenged by the sight of Māori young people on the streets, those who had been failed by their elders and the education system, he recruited fourteen young men and seventeen young women with no educational qualifications for on the job training for the marae project. Harrison so believed in this project that he accepted the work without a salary, just the provision of a basic house, food and petrol. It is a story of resourcefulness, working on a dump site to construct a magnificent structure with extraordinary carving and art that inspired a community and provided skills for alienated school dropouts. This book may be about one brilliant man, but through his life, art and battles, Walker offers an invaluable insight into the treasures of New Zealand and a way of seeing the world that will inspire and challenge readers. Quote
Wheldon Posted January 13, 2009 Author Posted January 13, 2009 Author: Wade Bradshaw ISBN13: 978934068007 Genre: Christianity, Theology Publisher: Authentic Publishing, www.authenticbooks.com Page count: 159 Price: US$14.99 Summary: Wade Bradshaw addresses the challenges to an orthodox interpretation of God by a society that is increasingly redefining the role and morality of God. This book outlines the charge against Christianity in modern Western society: that God, if he exists, is not a good God, and his morality is inferior to that of a human. This challenge is further compounded by the modern ambiguity of the term God. When surveys are conducted in the United States, the majority believe in some Supreme Being, but this may not resemble the traditional God of the Bible. An increasingly common definition is that God is all good, a goodness that is defined by modern society's relativist and inclusive morality. Socrates famously challenged Euthyphro by asking if an act was pious because the gods love it, or do they love it because it was pious? Traditional Biblical Christianity argues that God only loves an act if it is good, and that the good act is to be loved because its goodness is derived from Himself. God only loves what is good, and only does what is good, as defined by himself because he is the origin and definition of good. In modern society, however, many are arguing that this logic is flawed because the Creator as defined by the Bible is not good. It is further claimed that the God of the Bible, the Father of humanity, has a remarkable number of similarities to the classic symptoms of an abusive spouse. This charge is backed up by the various crimes of abuse committed by leaders of the church over the previous decades. The argument concludes that if the Bible represents a God who is not good, then God needs to be redefined. The result is that the God of the Bible is discarded in favour of a more humane, increasingly inclusive, accepting and non-judgemental god. Wade Bradshaw takes these statements in his stride. He argues that the church should not succumb to such arguments. Instead, it needs to make what he terms the Old Story more comprehensible and relevant to the modern world. In doing so, the God of the Bible is not weakened or changed, but presented in such a way that the modern mind can connect and understand Him. Bradshaw repudiates many of the charges laid against God and puts forward a number of solutions. He does tend to talk around a subject rather than clearly outlining the issues and potential solutions. Nonetheless, he puts forth many excellent arguments to support God's goodness, despite the accusations of God's immorality, anger, distance and bullying. Searching For A Better God will leave you with an understanding of the moral challenges facing the contemporary church, and provide you with a comforting sense that God is in fact good, and that there are excellent arguments to support this claim. Quote
Wheldon Posted January 16, 2009 Author Posted January 16, 2009 Authors: Peter R. Holmes and Susan B. Williams Summary: An indepth, thought-provoking description of how abuse occurs in a church environment, followed by easy to implement suggestions on how to resolve and minimise this abuse. Peter Holmes (MA, PhD) and Susan Williams (MPhil, PhD) draw on their research, their experiences as co-founders of Christ Church Deal (UK), and their work in Rwanda, to present a handbook that deals with this difficult subject in a personal and positive way. New Zealander Kevin Biggar decided to push himself to his boundaries by rowing the Trans-Atlantic Rowing Race. In his book, The Oarsome Adventures of a Fatboy Rower, he describes how eighteen months before the race, he had no experience in rowing or navigation, and he didn't have a boat or the second member of his crew. He had to learn, and learn fast, and not only how to get the boat built, raise sponsorship and row well for three months non-stop, but what to do when things went wrong. He had to learn everything there was to know about his boat, the systems on board, the ocean, the weather and a million other things. It was only by preparing for the very worst that he felt confident. It is a testament to his thorough preparation that Kevin and Jamie, his rowing partner, won the race by battling through vast storms and surviving being capsized and losing their navigation equipment. Maintaining a successful Western church in the 21st century is an even greater challenge given the isues of the decline of church attendance and the prevalence of scandals involving finances and abuse by church leaders. It doesn't mean, of course, that it is any way insurmountable. In the same way that even a novice rower can survive the vast waves of the Atlantic, the church will, undoubtedly survive. The awareness of potential problems is central to the book. It outlines how all members of a church, given the fallen nature of humanity, and the scars inflicted by modern society, have the potential to create an abusive environment. Their research reveals many of the most common types of abuse and their causes. Holmes and Williams argue that what is required is an awareness of the potential disasters, and an insistence that all members of a church community are treated as valued individuals whose unique gifts and life-stories are sensitively acknowledged as they contribute within a church community. Out of this framework, they then propose in detail how their Tomorrow's Church would resolve the challenges of abuse and describe the measures that could minimise the likelihood of its occurence. These largely resolve around collective processes and an insistence on prioritising the person ahead of a given church or doctrine. The book's lengthy introduction explains that some of their potential solutions may not be in agreement with those holding different perspectives on the Christian faith and the authority of the Bible. However, they offer such a wide variety of opportunities to strengthen the role of all church members and minimise potential abuse, that their principles can be adapted to a Church regardless of its particular theological persuasion. Quote
Wheldon Posted February 1, 2009 Author Posted February 1, 2009 Author: Matthew S. Stanford, PhD ISBN13: 9781934068441 Genre: Christianity, Mental Health Publisher: Paternoster Publishing Page count: 261 Price: US$19.99 Summary: A brilliantly written Christian analysis of mental health issues which provides essential insights into the use of contemporary psychiatric and psychological treatments. This will be the shortest review I have ever written. I could just write, read this book, and leave it at that. If you have ever been involved in Christian counselling or prayer ministry, or if you have acquaintances, friends or family who have a mental illness, then this book is, quite simply, an absolutely essential read. Stanford takes the major issues of mental illnesses and describes their symptoms and their known causes according to the latest research and in the context of the agape love of Jesus. He outlines intricate brain disorders in the simplest of terms, without compromising essential detail. He then describes what drugs and psychological techniques are used and their positive and negative outcomes. Stanford is an uncompromising, Biblical-based Christian who has a PhD, and presently serves as the director of the Doctoral Program in Psychology at Baylor University. This book is both fascinating and practical, providing spiritual insight into this most difficult of subjects. It is an absolutely fabulous reference tool for those with any interest in the area of mental health. Quote
Wheldon Posted March 5, 2009 Author Posted March 5, 2009 Summary: A theological book that successfully wrestles with the Biblical issues that many place in the too-hard basket. This book is one for those who enjoy wrestling with theology. Whereas many books use such a title as a teaser to merely put forward the easy answers to life Quote
Wheldon Posted March 5, 2009 Author Posted March 5, 2009 Author: Mark Gungor ISBN13: 9781416536055 Publisher: Atria Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 Page count: 283 Price: US24.00 Summary: A funny, personal and very helpful book that helps you to understand how to incorporate both conflict and happiness into a successful, satisfying marriage. This book is based upon Mark Gungor Quote
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