Encounters: The Creation of New Zealand: A History

by Paul Moon

Encounters is the wide-ranging, audacious and gripping story of New Zealand's changing national identity, how it has emerged and evolved through generations. In this genre-busting book, historian Paul Moon delves into how the many and conflicting ideas about New Zealand came into being. Along the way, he explores forgotten crevices of the nation's character, and exposes some of the mythology of its past and present.

Genres: History

431 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Dr Paul Moon is Professor of History at Auckland University of Technology. Among his twenty-five published books are A Savage Country: The untold story of New Zealand in the 1820s; This Horrid Practice: The myth and reality of traditional Maori cannibalism; A History of New Zealand in the Twentieth Century; biographies of Governors Hobson, FitzRoy and the Ngāpuhi chief Hone Heke; and Encounters: The creation of New Zealand, which was shortlisted for the 2014 Australasian Ernest Scott Prize in History.

Reviews

[Thomas Isern · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reach, big. Grasp, not so much. In this thick work, Moon works his way through "the myths, perceptions, and all the other intricately marbled matter of the country's identity" (11). Structure is an issue with the work. Chapters are short, too short, fragmenting the exposition needlessly; they should have been combined into essays to help the reader assemble the argument. Perhaps the structure is supposed to be a metaphor, because the New Zealand identity, as described by Moon, also is fragmented. There are patches of brilliance in the work, as well as thoughtful arguments. Moon's take on the denigration and interpretation of Maori narratives is striking. Because he casts a wide net, too, there are many small delights in the catch. I particularly enjoyed reading Moon's admiring synopsis of Gordon Parsonson's ruthless critique of Andrew Sharp (95). I suspect this big book is intended to make a landmark. I am not convinced it will. I may be wrong.

[Matthew Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've goen back and skimmed through this book again after talking to the author. Two stars was harsh so have bumped it up to 3. It's got some great ideas to think about, and in the wake of Brevit and Trump the chapters on nostalgia are more relevant than ever. It's a book about some big hefty topics and covers a lot of ground very well. But I still wonder if each chapter hangs together and links to the next properly. Feels a little disjointed still. It's also a big tome, and not unusual in that regard - it seems a lot of NZ history print publishing at the moment is producing heavy tomes, heavy paper, large format. I can't help thinking that tighter, more condensed, paperback editions of books like this might receive the bigger audience they need and deserve. Popular history right is so important right now!