The concluding volume of distinguished New Zealand historian James Belich's general history of New Zealand is an engaging, tightly bound look at the 20th century. It certainly lives up to the expectations generated by the first academic history of the country by a single author since Keith Sinclair's work of the 1960s.
Belich writes with an engaging style, mixing humour and deft usage of example with the broad brushstroke of well formed arguments. Dividing the period into three large bites (1880s-1920s, 1920s to 1960s and 1960s to today), the first part of each 'bite' provides a chronological mix of primarily political and economic analysis. This useful framework informs the less-chronologically restricted second part of the section, dealing with social history. The format works very well, allowing a logical structure where the histories of government, popular culture, racial issues, economics and social structure sit neatly together without jumping back and forth as in a conventional narrative.
Of particular delight for me are the 'revisionist' re-examinations of a number of events, emphasising and casting them in a new light. Examples include the 1913 labour crisis and a very good look at the 'Protein' industry which places it in its political, economic and social context superbly.
The two core arguments are those of Recolonialism and The Great Tightening, tying our history to our relationship with Britain, and the populist quest for conformity and harmony. The points are both deftly argued, with every theme being tied to them, usually quite convincingly. As with any argument seeking to provide coherence, however, at times there is a danger that other causes and effects can be understated and ignored. One instance of this was in dealing with the dour 'safeness' of the early postwar era. Belich quotes Jame Mander; [New Zealand was] "afflicted with the 'awful disease' of puritanism and conformism - 'barren wastes of Victorian philistinism', 'brain-numbing, stimulus-stifling, soul-searing silence'". Although this is convincingly linked with the concept of 'tightening', another important factor, that of the search for security and safety in the aftermath of World War II is scarcely touched upon.
Belich's broadsweeping approach also uncovers the many holes in New Zealand historiography, however his guesswork in these areas, for instance in sport, is usually convincing and far more informative and thought provoking than ignoring them completely!
Anyone with a passion for history, or studying New Zealand history in particular will be very well served and stimulated by "Paradise Reforged"'s superb arguments and bibliography to explore our history in further depth. It is a sad indictment on New Zealand television that he was never asked to employ the talents he displayed in The New Zealand Wars series to present a general history of New Zealand on television, ala Simon Schama. ( )