Discover new books on Goodreads

See if your friends have read any of Philip Temple's books

0 ratings | 0 reviews | avg rating:0.0

Philip Temple’s Followers (5)

Philip’s Bookshelves

to-read (0)
currently-reading (0)
read (0)
did-not-finish (0)

Philip’s Friends

Philip hasn't connected with their friends on Goodreads, yet.

Philip Temple

Goodreads Author

Born

Yorkshire, The United Kingdom

Website

http://philiptemple.com/

Genre

Nonfiction, Fiction

Member Since

February 2014

edit data

Philip Temple is a multi prize-winning New Zealand author of fiction, non-fiction and children's books. His latest book is the adventure novel 'The Mantis' which explores why people risk all to be the first to reach the summit of an unclimbed mountain. Another new novel is due mid-year. He is also currently researching for a major biography of NZ author Maurice Shadbolt.

Philip was born in Yorkshire and educated in London but emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 18, becoming an explorer, mountaineer and outdoor educator. With Heinrich Harrer, of 'Seven Years in Tibet' fame, he made the first ascent of the Carstensz Pyramide in West Papua, one of the seven summits of the seven continents, and later sailed to sub-Antarctic Heard Island with Philip Temple is a multi prize-winning New Zealand author of fiction, non-fiction and children's books. His latest book is the adventure novel 'The Mantis' which explores why people risk all to be the first to reach the summit of an unclimbed mountain. Another new novel is due mid-year. He is also currently researching for a major biography of NZ author Maurice Shadbolt.

Philip was born in Yorkshire and educated in London but emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 18, becoming an explorer, mountaineer and outdoor educator. With Heinrich Harrer, of 'Seven Years in Tibet' fame, he made the first ascent of the Carstensz Pyramide in West Papua, one of the seven summits of the seven continents, and later sailed to sub-Antarctic Heard Island with the legendary H.W. ‘Bill’ Tilman to make the first ascent of Big Ben.

Philip's first books reflected this adventurous career and 'The World At Their Feet' won a Wattie Award in 1970. After a period as features editor for the New Zealand Listener, he became a full time professional author in 1972. Since that time he has published about 40 books of all kinds and countless articles and reviews.

In the fiction field, his nine novels include the best-selling 'Beak of the Moon', an anthropomorphic exploration of the mountain world seen through the eyes of the mountain parrot, kea. This, and its successor 'Dark of the Moon', are rated as unique in New Zealand literature. In more recent times, his Berlin-based novels 'To Each His Own' and' I Am Always With You' controversially tackle issues around German guilt and historical experience.

Philip’s non-fiction range is wide, from books about exploration and the outdoors to New Zealand history and electoral reform (MMP). His book about the Wakefield family and the early British settlement of New Zealand, 'A Sort of Conscience', was NZ Biography of the Year in 2003, and won the Ernest Scott History Prize from the University of Melbourne. Philip’s award-winning children’s books, in collaboration with wildlife artist Chris Gaskin, are unique to the genre.

Over the years, Philip has been awarded several fellowships, including the Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellowship (1979), the Robert Burns Fellowship (1980), the 1996 NZ National Library Fellowship, a Berliner Künstlerprogramm stipendium in 1987 and the 2003 Creative New Zealand Berlin Writers Residency. In 2005, he was invested as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for Services to Literature and given a Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement. Following examination of his work, Philip was granted the higher degree of Doctor of Literature (LittD) by the University of Otago in 2007.

Philip Temple lives in Dunedin with his wife, poet and novelist, Diane Brown. ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Philip Temple questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
Philip Temple’s books

Average rating: 3.92 · 251 ratings · 58 reviews · 67 distinct works

	Beak of the Moon 4.12 avg rating — 90 ratings — published 1981 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	MiStory 3.67 avg rating — 24 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dark of the Moon 3.39 avg rating — 18 ratings — published 1993	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mantis really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Life as a Novel: A Biography of Maurice Shadbolt - Volume One 1932 to 1973 4.33 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2018 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Last True Explorer: Into Darkest New Guinea 3.56 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2002 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Sort of Conscience: The Wakefields 4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2003 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Legend of the Kea by Philip Temple (Goodreads Author), Chris Gaskin (Illustrator) 3.38 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 1986 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Presenting New Zealand: An Illustrated History 3.71 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2003 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Chance Is a Fine Thing: A Memoir by Writer, Mountaineer, Campaigner, Explorer and Historian 4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2009 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Philip Temple…

12 posts
Philip Temple's Blog

Higher Still

Great news for The Mantis - it is shortlisted for this year's Banff Mountain Book Festival. Fingers crossed!

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 23, 2014 17:07

View all 12 posts »

Series by Philip Temple

Beak of the Moon (2 books)
by

Philip Temple (Goodreads Author)

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 108 ratings

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Novella Club: List ten books you intend to read in the new year.	131	63	Mar 29, 2020 08:05AM
The Reading For P...: Jean's Reading Haven ⭐ 2023	117	66	Jan 01, 2024 02:41PM
Around the World ...: Papua New Guinea	31	978	Jun 14, 2026 08:47AM
The Reading For P...: What Do you Think? Book Reviews Centre	6490	509	40 minutes ago

More…

Philip’s Quotes

“On a huge hill,
Cragged and steep, Truth stands, and hee that will
Reach her, about must, and about must goe;
And what the hills suddenness resists, winne so;
Yet strive so, that before age, deaths twilight,
Thy Soule rest, for none can worke in that night.”
― John Donne, The Complete Poetry and Selected Prose

tags: philosophy-of-religion

9 likes

Philip’s Friend Comments

No comments have been added yet.

Philip Temple’s Followers (5)

Philip Temple

Goodreads Author

Popular Answered Questions

Topics Mentioning This Author