New books to hit the spot


TOUCHDOWN is a weekly selection of outstanding new titles: books either anticipated or surprising, just out of the carton! Follow the links for more information, to purchase these books or to have them put aside for you.

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11 April 2014

 
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/794281-BeyondtheOhlalaMountains-9781877441479
Beyond the Ohlala Mountains: Poems 1968-2002 by Alan Brunton (edited and with an introduction by Michele Leggot and Martin Edmond)   $45.00
For the first time the full scope and depth of Alan Brunton's poetry is revealed, in what must be one of the major publishing achievements of the year for New Zealand poetry. Brunton was a core member of the countercultural theatre group Red Mole.
Recordings of Brunton performing his poetry are available here.

http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/775500-DecodedANovel-9781846148194
 Decoded  by Mai Jia   $37.00
A 16-year-old mathematical genius is abducted from his home and recruited to the cryptography department of China's secret services, Unit 701, where he is assigned the task of breaking 'Code Purple'. Then begins his descent through the mathematical world of cryptology into madness... 
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/770475-WeAreAllCompletelyBesideOurselves-9781846689956
 We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Ferns   $35.00
"A dark cautionary tale hanging out, incognito-style, in what at first seems a traditional family narrative. It is anything but." - Alice Sebold
"A novel so readably juicy and surreptitiously smart, it deserves all the attention it can get." - Barbara Kingsolver, New York Times  
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/776976-Encyclopaediaanatomica-9783836549318
Encyclopaedia Anatomica by Monica von During   $45.00
This amazing collection of waxworks from the eccentric Museo La Specola in Florence depicts the wonders of human anatomy in all their dazzling complexity.
 
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/770361-FiveDaysatMemorialLifeandDeathinaStorm-RavagedHospital-9781782393740
 Five Days at Memorial: Life and death in a storm-ravaged hospital by Sheri Fink   $39.99
Physician and Pulitzer-winning reporter Sheri Fink reconstructs five days at New Orleans' Memorial Medical Center during Hurricane Katrina and draws the reader into the lives of those who struggled to live and help live amidst the chaos.
"An absorbing read. Unforgettable. Social reporting of the first rank." - New York Times
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/774939-TheBeggarandtheHare-9781780721644
The Beggar and the Hare by Tuomas Kyro   $29.99
An impoverished Romanian construction worker heads to Finland for a better life and ends up a beggar. A series of misadventures sees him fumbling his way into the highest echelons of Finnish politics. An off-beat fable about capitalism, Europe and tenderness, for those who loved The Hundred Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.



http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/692369-Nexus-9780857662927
 Nexus by Ramez Naam   $28.00
The experimental nano-drug Nexus causes humans to link together, mind-to-mind. There are some who want to improve it. There are some who want to eradicate it. And there are others who just want to exploit it. 
"A gripping piece of near-future speculation, riffing on the latest developments in cognition enhancement." - Alistair Reynolds
Currently shortlisted for the 2014 Arthur C. Clarke awards
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/778583-Chineasy-TheNewWaytoReadChinese-9780500650288
 Chineasy: The new way to read Chinese by Shaolan and Noma Bar   $36.00
An amazing visual method showing how commonly occurring building blocks form the basis of the entire language. Even a cursory browse increases your understanding of Chinese.
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/687513-SongforaScarletRunner-9781743313589
 Song for a Scarlet Runner by Julie Hunt   $19.99
"A lyrical fantasy adventure. Set in an imaginary world, but drawing on Gaelic and Anglo-Saxon folk-tale motifs, Song for a Scarlet Runner is a charming introduction to fantasy for young readers." - Australian Book Review
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/558886-HenrisWalktoParis-9780789322630
Henri's Walk to Paris by Saul Bass and Leonore Klein   $35.00
Henri packs his lunch and sets off. He falls asleep under a tree, and, on waking, sets off in quite a different direction. 
A delightful children's book (first published in 1962) from the revered graphic designer Saul Bass.
"An absolute gem like only Bass can deliver, at once boldly minimalist and incredibly rich." - Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/774050-LandWhereIFlee-9781780872971
Land Where I Flee by Prajwal Parajuly   $39.99
Four Nepali-Indian siblings return from their adopted homes in America and England to the Himalayan hill-town of their childhood.
"Illuminating and compelling. Parajuly’s deft portrayal of his characters’ relationships — both with each other and with their old and new homes — is original and convincing." - The Spectator

http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/773047-TheLoveandWarsofLinaProkofievTheStoryofLinaandSergeProkofiev-9780099581789
 The Love and Wars of Lina Prokofiev by Simon Morrison   $29.99
Captivated by the young pianist and rising star, Serge Prokofiev, during a courtship in Brooklyn, then abandoned by him in Moscow, Lina survived one of the darkest periods in Soviet history - enduring eight years in the Gulag.
"Morrison writes excellently... As much a story of personal tragedy and disappointment as it is a compelling study of how art and tyranny interact" - The Scotsman
"Immensely readable and entertaining"  - New Statesman
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/718770-StayWellSoon-9780702249945
 Stay Well Soon by Penny Tangey   $22.00
Stevie has a lot of dreams: more friends at school, better drawing pencils and a pony. When her brother is taken to hospital, those dreams seem further away than ever. Stevie has to figure out the hard things in life by herself.
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/777538-ZebraCrossing-9781780744308
 Zebra Crossing by Meg Vandermerwe   $37.00
On the eve of the World Cup, Chipo and her brother flee to Cape Town, hoping for a better life and to share in the excitement of the greatest sporting event ever to take place in Africa. But the Mother City’s infamous Long Street is a dangerous place for an illegal immigrant and an albino...
"One of the very best works of socially conscious fiction produced in 2013." - Litnet
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/778920-TheFaithfulExecutionerLifeandDeathHonorandShameintheTurbulentSixteenthCentury-9781250043610
 The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honour and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century by Joel F. Harrington    $29.99
The extraordinary story of a Renaissance executioner and his world, based on his journal containing an account of the 394 people he executed and the hundreds more he tortured, flogged, or disfigured over forty-five years in the city of Nuremberg.




http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/739039-AfterAuschwitzAStoryofHeartbreakandSurvivalbytheStepsisterofAnneFrank-9781444760712
 After Auschwitz: A story of heartbreak and survival by the stepsister of Anne Frank by Eva Schloss   $29.99
A combination of luck, determination and love enabled the author to survive Auschwitz, and to withstand the trials that followed her liberation.



http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/770459-ThePoetsWives-9781408846476
 The Poets' Wives by David Park   $35.00
Catherine Blake (wife of William Blake), Nadezhda Mandelstam (wife of Osip Mandelstam) and the wife of a fictional contemporary Irish poet confront the contradictions between art and life and contemplate their sacrifices for another's creativity.
"Park is more than merely a fine writer with a great deal to say ... he is an astute storyteller whose vision is sustained by instinct and intelligent observation." - Eileen Battersby, Irish Times
"He writes prose of gravity and grace ... Line for line, it is hard to think of a more skilful contemporary Irish novelist." - Joseph O'Connor, Guardian


http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/775505-TheLastManinRussiaAndtheStruggletoSaveaDyingNation-9780141399492
The Last Man in Russia, And the struggle to save a dying nation by Oliver Bullough   $35.00
This is the moving, terrifying story is the story of a nation: famine, war, the frozen wastes of the Gulag, the collapse of communism and now, a people seeking oblivion.
"An ambitious and wide-ranging journey into the heart of a great, sad country." - Sunday Telegraph
"Very engaging." - Times Literary Supplement

http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/775135-DeepField-BehindtheFrontlinesofAidRelieffromPakistantoKazanthePunjabtothePacific-9781742703800
 Deep Field: Dispatches from the frontlines of aid relief, from Pakistan to Kazan, the Punjab to the Pacific by Tom Bamforth   $29.99
'Deep Field' is a UN term for humanitarian operations that take place in extremis - amid the destruction caused by war and natural disaster, beyond the boundaries of what is controllable and known. This is a very personal and humanising view of the tragedies behind the headlines. 

http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/773355-TheMartian-9780091956448
 The Martian by Andy Weir   $29.99
"I'm stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Earth. I'm in a Habitat designed to last 31 days. If the Oxygenator breaks down, I'll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I'll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I'll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I'll eventually run out of food and starve to death."
"The best book I've read in ages. Smart, funny, and white-knuckle intense; everything you want from a novel." - Hugh Howey (author of Wool). 
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/759120-RecipesfromanIndianKitchen-9781472326959
Recipes from an Indian Kitchen: Authentic recipes from across India   $36.00
Mouthwatering!


http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/705349-Pine-9781780231013
 Pine by Laura Mason   $39.99
A beautifully illustrated book that reveals the many ways in which pine trees have inspired and been utilized by humanity through history, Pine provides a fascinating survey of these rugged, aromatic trees that are found the world over (and are a mainstay of the New Zealand economy). 
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/778434-TribalGunsandTribalGunnersTheStoryofMaoriArtilleryin19thCenturyNewZealand-9781877427527
 Tribal Guns and Tribal Gunners: The story of Maori artillery in 19th century New Zealand by Trevor Bentley   $45.00
A full and interesting treatment, especially of the Musket Wars (1818-1839) and the Anglo-Maori New Zealand Wars (1845-46 and 1860-1872).
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/773049-OMyAmericaSecondActsinaNewWorld-9780099541349
O My America! Second Acts in a New World by Sara Wheeler   $29.99
A fascinating account of six tough-minded women who fled various sorts of trouble in nineteenth-century England and went to the United States to reinvent themselves.
"A curious and teasing book... Wheeler is a writer of great composure and energy, and out of these American adventures she fashions something unexpected and compelling." - Spectator
 
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/773044-LandofSecondChancesTheImpossibleRiseofRwandasCyclingTeam-9780224091770
 Land of Second Chances: The impossible rise of Rwanda's cycling team by Tim Lewis   $29.99
Cyclists from this hugely traumatised country overcame the odds and became a symbol of hope.
"A remarkable story" - Financial Times
"Fascinating" - Observer
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/773036-TheSon-9781846557408
The Son by Jo Nesbo     $38.00
A charismatic young prisoner escapes from jail to find out the truth about his father's death.
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/770382-FillthetinsEasybakingforhome-9781775536086
Fill the Tins: Easy baking for home by Sophie Gray   $45.00
If you use this book to help you fill the tins you are sure to find plenty of people to help you empty them.
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/793741-TheDeathofMoneyTheComingCollapseoftheInternationalMonetarySystem-9780670923694
The Death of Money: The coming collapse of the international monetary system by James Rickards   $38.00
Soundings from the bow-wave of financial apocalypse by the author of the highly regarded Currency Wars.