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New Non-Fiction

Information Services Team —

New and recommended books for your winter reading pleasure.

Cruickshank's London: A Portrait of a City in 13 Walks. Dan Cruickshank
Britain's favourite architectural historian takes the reader on a tour through the streets of London, exploring the city's history through its buildings and landmarks as well as through its inhabitants.

El Norte: The Epic and Forgotten History of Hispanic North America. Carrie Gibson
A dramatic chronicle of the history of Hispanic North America from  the arrival of the Spanish, which predates the Pilgrims by a century, to the present. This history has been marginalised, and cultural issues such as language, belonging and community remain unresolved to this day.  (RNZ review)

Husna's Story: My Wife, the Christchurch Massacre, and My Journey to Forgiveness. Farid Ahmed
This beautifully-written book is a loving husband's tribute to his selfless wife who was murdered on that awful day in Christchurch. 

Miserable Love Stories: 25 Romantic Disasters that are Worse than Yours. Alex Bernstein
We can all take comfort from these hilarious and sometimes appalling stories of awkward first dates, kissing gone wrong, pets?? ... nothing is sacred! 

Nightingales in Berlin: Searching for the Perfect Sound. David Rothenberg
Writer David Rothenberg is a philosopher and a musician. In this warm and intriguing book he seeks out the nightingale in Berlin's urban landscape, and with his clarinet, makes music with this iconic bird.

The Power of Showing Up: How Parental Presence Shapes Who Our Kids Become and How Their Brains Get Wired. Daniel Siegel

Daniel Siegel and Tina Bryson give us compassionate and very accessible advice on parenting based on the latest brain and attachment research. They describe the building blocks of healthy child development - the four S's: Safe, Seen, Soothed, Secure.

The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive. Philippe Sands
A gripping account of the life Otto Wächter, senior Nazi and Governor of Galicia who oversaw the mass murder of millions of Jews in his territory. At the end of the war he becomes a fugitive to escape his pursuers, only to die in mysterious circumstances in Rome in 1949 while waiting to travel the 'ratline' to Argentina. Written by author of bestselling East West Street. (RNZ interview).

Surfacing. Kathleen Jamie
In a collection of essays which combines memoir, natural history and archaeology, award winning Scottish poet and essayist Jamie, from the perspective of late middle age, eloquently reflects on events in her life. 

To The Lake: A Balkan Journey of War and Peace. Kapka Kassabova
A companion piece to the award winning Border: Journey to the Edge of Europe, To The Lake is a deeply personal and descriptive narrative of Kapka's search for her matrilineal past in an area around an ancient lake on the border separating Macedonia and Albania. (RNZ review).

Trailblazing Georgians: The Unsung Men Who Helped Shape the Modern World. Mike Rendell
These are the artists, scientists, engineers and industrialists who you won't find in the history books. The fascinating pen portraits of these 17th and 18th century men help to give us a better picture of the "age of enlightenment". 

Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe. Brian Greene
Popular science writer Brian Greene delves into some deep waters here. He tackles the evolution of thought, tracing it back to physics and cosmology, but in such a human way that the reader is easily drawn in.

Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis. Ada Calhoun
Women who grew up in the 1980's (and others too) will really identify with this book. The author talked with many women from all walks of life to give us a picture of the problems faced by women who are in their forties now. It is personal, realistic, affirming and an intense read.