It was too light on aspects of Pacific histories that warranted more depth and would have sustained interest. Covers to a decent level the exploration of Europeans. Good for breadth.
This is an updated version of a previous release. It’s more of a reference style book - far too intense and complicated for a class textbook but has excellent resources to pick out for teaching and learning. The personal accounts and depth on NZers especially.
The racial discrimination and segregation in South Auckland/Pukekohe was something brought to my attention only a few years ago. This book had plenty of primary sources useful to examining the treatment of Māori at the time. Will be a useful classroom resource, and it was accessible to read.
An interesting read from a “how the other half live” perspective. Sex worker rights isn’t something I’ve given much consideration to, but the experiences and fatalities mentioned would occur much more than we like to think. I enjoyed the way this novel was brought to a close, and the sense of justice the reader felt by the end.