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BOOKS THE OCCUPIERS Japan's participation in the second world war ended with the decisive strikes on August 6 and 9 1945, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With surrender on August 15 VJ day, Japan was now in the hands of the enemy. Over the next seven years more that 300,000 Americans occupied this defeated country. For some of that time they were joined by more than 40,000 members of the British Occupation Forces from Britain, India, Australia, and; 12,000 from New Zealand. Written by Alison Parr, senior oral historian at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage in Wellington, this book records the memories of the New Zealanders we know as J Force. Based on revealing interviews with soldiers, airmen, nurses, and members of the New Zealand Womens Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs), The Occupiers explores Kiwi life in the former enemy territory between 1946 and 1948, with veterans recalling the horror of witnessing the devastated city of Hiroshima. The occupying forces took over a country broken by a war in which 2.7 million civilians and servicemen had died, with millions more injured or maimed, and over 9 million made homeless as a result of allied bombing. The Kiwis who served in J Force went as young men and women. More than six decades later they consider the lasting impacts the experience had on their lives. Published by Penguin Books (NZ) with a RRP of $44.99 the book is available from all leading book stockists. THE TAKEN LAND This is a work of fiction by Robin O'Reilly, a New Zealander whose work is inspired by the colourful, vibrant and passionate Maori culture. Before the arrival of Pakeha, Maori were a proud race of warriors who defend themselves, their maraes and their tribes, from regular raiding parties and the country is essentially a collection of territorial tribes who like war and use it to fight for control of food resources, land, and to take women. After the arrival of Europeans land is confiscated by the early colonial government, a topic still vigorously debated today, and the one that has fascinated O'Reilly enough to build his story around, in The Taken Land. In a protest against the Government, a small disillusioned group of young Maori are persuaded into claiming sovereignty over a small block of land on the side of a mountain in the Tongariro National Park. They built huts and live off the land. Life is good until it all goes bad, a helicopter crash, death and soldiers, until finally jail, all because of a lost cause. The Taken Land is a good colourful New Zealand bush yarn with an interesting twist and moral to the story. Published by iUniverse with a RRP of $17.95 The book is available from all leading book stockists. BEFORE MAORI – NZ'S FIRST INHABITANTS Author Ross Bodle, a New Zealander of Ngati Porou descent, has done years of research on the subject of New Zealand's early inhabitants and offers answers to many questions about our nation's origins. Some Polynesians believe their origins begin in Hawaiki, an island in the Cook group somewhere near Rarotonga, while others argue it to be in the Marquesas. Ancient scripts offer an alternative suggestion; that Hawaiki is not a collection of islands, but rather a distant home far removed from the South Pacific. This book explores the transition through first people; 'Moriori' of dark skin, perhaps from an African/Indian/Melanesian descent who never tattooed themselves, through Waitaha, the children of Maui, to Polynesia's Maori. Moriori were a highly skilled people, adept at carving, with a strong knowledge of greenstone. They built dwellings in stone and were highly skilled in their practices of gardening, aquaculture and herbal remedies to name a few: knowledge they would later pass to Maori, paying for that privilege with their lives. The book gives a wake up call to New Zealand; a nation under siege and a country where apartheid and segregation are common today. It talks of having joint interests with the hope of fostering mutual trust and understanding amongst cultures. In it, Bodle makes the call to abandon the one-sided, corrupt 'Waitangi Tribunal', and bring back the Treaty of Waitangi in its original form, designed to protect all New Zealanders, not only Maori. Before Maori is available from Poppies, and Paper Plus book stores with a RRP $27. THE LAST CRUSADE A historical account of a young captain who sailed from Portugal in 1498, circumnavigated Africa, crossed the Indian Ocean, discovered the sea route to the Indies, and opened up access to the fabled wealth of the east. At the time it was the longest voyage in recorded maritime history. The ships were pushed to their limits, their crews were racked by storms and devastated by disease. In two voyages spanning six years Vasco da Gama would fight a running sea battle that ultimately changed the fate of three continents. With the world once again tipping back east The Last Crusade offers an insight into the age-old religious and cultural conflicts we find ourselves in today. Historian Nigel Cliff brings to life the epic tales of spies, intrigue, and treachery of the time, as he takes the reader through a pivotal series of events that today are in danger of being buried by the sheer weight of history they preceded. Published By Allen & Unwin. The Last Crusade is available from all leading book stockists with a RRP $39.99. Tef-Gel Tef-Gel is a watertight anti-corrosion lubricant which eliminates: • Corrosion of stainless steel in aluminium and carbon fi bre • Blistering of painted surfaces • Corrosion of electrical contacts • Corrosion of deck hardware and lighting fi xtures • Galling of locknuts, mounts, stainless nuts and bolts Phone 573 1939 • www.kzmarine.co.nz July/August 2012 Professional Skipper 69 VIP.S88