Being Pakeha Now: Reflections and Recollections of a White Native - Softcover

First published in 1985, Michael King's Being Pakeha became a gentle Kiwi classic, a strong reply both to Maori who were asserting their own identity and also to Pakeha who mumbled that they didn t have a strong culture and identity of their own. Being Pakeha Now is an updated edition that reflects on these issues and how they have changed and evolved over the last fifteen years. The theme of Being Pakeha is that white New Zealanders do indeed belong to a strong culture, which is called 'Pakeha' and which is different, strong and definable and worth celebrating. In this revised edition King rewrites the Introduction and updates many of the chapters. In addition, he offers two new chapters, one on his experiences with Moriori and the Chathams and the other on his involvement in the NZ literary community.

The late Michael King was one of New Zealand's leading historians. Over three decades he wrote or edited more than 30 books, most of them New Zealand history or biography. He won a wide range of awards for this work, including the New Zealand Book Award for Non-fiction, the Wattie Book of the Year (twice), the Montana Medal for Non-fiction and, in 2003, an inaugural Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement. He was a contributor to the prestigious Oxford History of New Zealand and wrote for all five volumes of The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Dr King taught or held fellowships at seven universities in New Zealand and other countries, including Georgetown University in Washington DC, where he was Visiting Professor of New Zealand Studies. He was tragically killed in a car accident in 2004.