Civilisation: Twenty Places on the Edge of the World

Civilisation, winner of the New Zealand Book Award for Non-fiction in 2013, is brilliant New Zealand journalist Steve Braunias at the peak of his powers, the scavenger of social lodestone, rich, fascinating and sometimes disturbing stories of settlements – from Kawakawa in the north, to Mosgiel in the south, and Samoa and Antarctica over the seas – and the people who live there, their lives, loves, aspirations, and sometimes dark secrets.

This is a book that will enthrall all lovers of great travel writing and outrageous social comment. Jonathan Lorie, director of Travellers’ Tales Festival, London, calls Braunias ‘a writer the whole world would like to hear about’. He has won over 20 journalism awards, writes a weekly column for The New Zealand Herald, is books editor of leading culture websiteThe Spinoff, and author of eight critically acclaimed books.

“For three years, whenever I could, I went to places no one went to, drawn to their averageness, their nothingness, their banal and exhilarating New Zealandness – small towns, unremarkable suburbs, frozen bases and equatorial outposts … wherever there was any sign of New Zealand civilisation. I chose them at random. I’d look at a map and say out loud, ‘There.’ People said, ‘Where?’ The next question they asked was, ‘Why?’ They especially asked that in the places I visited. They couldn’t believe anyone would find where they lived of any interest. But the places were probably New Zealand at its best. I wanted to go and live in just about every one.” – Steve Braunias