Illustrated History of New Zealanders at War

by Marcia Stenson

Making history come alive for the eight and upwards age group is Marcia Stenson’s gift, amply demonstrated in her new book, Illustrated History of New Zealanders at War.

She asks the straight forward but moving questions… Was it hard to capture a pa? as part of the coverage of old time Maori Wars, tells what Maori wanted in the wars of 1860-72, why Gallipoli is special to NZers, the carnage on the battle fields and the sacrifices made at home during the World Wars and explains what the armed forces do today.

It takes a special kind of historian to tell complex stories in simple form and focus attention on subjects that are difficult to grasp, but this is something Marcia Stenson does with ease. She is aided by an excellent choice of graphics and photos and the design skills of Sharon Grace.

Illustrated History of New Zealanders at War joins its equally well thought out and presented predecessors Illustrated History of Antarctica, Illustrated History of the South Pacific and Illustrated History of New Zealand.

Marcia Stenson was the winner of the NZ Post Book of the Year Award in 2007 for Illustrated History of the South Pacific.

Marcia Stenson’s MA Hons degree in history led to a career as a teacher, also working in developing the history curriculum for secondary school students. Together with Prof. Erik Olsen she co-wrote the main textbook currently in use.