000			03053cam a22002897i 4500
001			15649086
003			OSt
005			20140911154403.0
008			130814s2014 nz ach e b 001 0beng
020			_a9780143569671 (hardback)
020			_a0143569678 (hardback)
035			_a(OCoLC)885019594
035			_a(OCoLC)ocn885019594
040			_aAU@ _beng _erda _cAU@ _dOCLCO _dNz
043			_au-nz---
082	0	4	_a993.03092 _223
100	1		_aBrooking, Tom, _d1949- _eauthor.
245	1	0	_aRichard Seddon : _bking of God's own : the life and times of New Zealand's longest-serving Prime Minister / _cTom Brooking.
246	3	0	_aKing of God's own : _bthe life and times of New Zealand's longest-serving Prime Minister
300			_a584 pages : _billustrations, portraits, facsimilies ; _c24 cm
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
520			_aCasting a long shadow over New Zealand history, Richard John Seddon, Premier from 1893 to his untimely death in 1906, held a clear vision for the country he led. Pushing New Zealand in more egalitarian directions than ever before, he was both the builder and the maintenance man . .if not the architect . .of our country. Challenging popular opinion of New Zealand's longest-serving Prime Minister as a ruthless pragmatist, cunning misogynist and Imperialistic jingoist, this landmark biography of Seddon presents an altogether more sympathetic, erudite appraisal. Reconciling two generations of New Zealand scholarship, Richard Seddon: King of God's Own demonstrates that, while holding fast to common ideals, Seddon was successful by mastering the art of the possible. He knew instinctively what his electorate would tolerate and remained in step with public opinion. Despite contradictions in his attitudes towards other races, he fought to ensure privilege did not become entrenched in what he envisioned as a white man's utopia. In this perceptive new evaluation, political historian Tom Brooking explains Seddon's complex relationship with Maori and shows how he in fact held a progressively bi-cultural vision for the future of 'God's Own Country'. Seddon was no saint. Somewhat autocratic and given to petty nepotism, he nevertheless remains the most dominant political leader in our country's history. Internationally, his high profile within the Empire helped put New Zealand on the map. Domestically, he sought a middle ground between free-market extremism and full-blown socialism. And more privately, Seddon was a devoted family man, his actions shaped much more by his supportive wife and assertive daughters than has previously been realised. Richard Seddon: King of God's Own is a superlative achievement in New Zealand history writing. Absorbing, wide-ranging and beautifully articulated, it reframes and repositions one of the founding fathers of modern New Zealand.
600	1	0	_aSeddon, Richard John, _d1845-1906.
650		0	_aPrime ministers _zNew Zealand _vBiography.
651		0	_aNew Zealand _xPolitics and government _y1840-1907.
942			_2ddc _cNZNONFIC
999			_c32777 _d32777