This page lists and summarises non-fiction books about the Humanities including culture, history, society and philosophy. Listed books have been published by Top of the South writers and are available for purchase.

To find out where to buy the book and learn more about the author, click on the author's name. 
Body, Mind and Spirit
Colin Taylor (2005)
Using the rich archives of photographs and memorabilia accumulated over the years, this account is a stirring history of an organisation that grew to become a major force for good in the community, running boys' camps, supporting troops during both world wars, establishing sporting facilities, spearheading the boom in jogging, and providing resources for the demands of the new millennium.
Belonging in the Baton Valley
Kerry Sunderland (2024)
After 20 years in the planning, the newest and most challenging section of the Tasman Great Taste Trail now passes through the Baton Valley, a place that’s long been considered remote. In many ways, the Baton Valley is still a place where life is isolated, physical, self sufficient, and largely dictated by the weather. This lusciously illustrated book provides insight into the history of this remarkable place and its people.
Coal and the Coast
Paul Maunder (2012)
Paul Maunder lives in Blackball, and was one of the first emergency respondents to Pike River after the mine disaster in 2010, within minutes of the first explosion. He kept a diary, and has since been talking to locals and reflected on the big issues at stake.
Daring to Be Different
Karen Stade (2016)
When Nayland College opened in 1966 its foundation principal Bill Kane was determined not to follow tradition and instead allow the school to forge its own path. Written to celebrate the college's 50th anniversary, this book follows the school's fortunes as a succession of innovative principals worked to make it a truly unique and inclusive school.
Dear Lizzie
Chrissie Ward (2000)
​An edited collection of letters from Chrissie's grandfather, when he was a Kiwi soldier writing home from the battlefields of World War One.
DEVA: Our Relationship with the Subtle World
Jacquelyn E Lane (2020)
Offering not only an in-depth introduction to the world of Deva but also a glimpse of their wisdom, humor, and joy, this book reveals how we can begin to hear their complex song, find our own song, and work with the appropriate subtle layers of the Deva kingdom to grow and evolve.​
In This Together
​Katherine Palmer Gordon (2016)
A collection of essays sharing personal epiphanies about the harsh reality of colonisation in Canada, and its harmful legacy. Without flinching, contributors look deeply and honestly at their own experiences and assumptions about race and racial divides in Canada and remind us that once we know the history, we all have the responsibility - and ability - to make things better.
Kia Ora Postie - A Love Affair with Kiwi Letter Boxes
Chrissie Ward (2006)
A pictorial elegy to New Zealand's idiosyncratic letter boxes, with over 50 full-colour images of unusual and amusing examples, accompanied by text relating some of the more amusing or heart-warming anecdotes from the history of the New Zealand postal service. 
Meet You at the Church Steps
Karen Stade (2013)
An account of the unfolding social tapestry that has played out on the historic steps for 170 years. Since they were gifted by philanthropist Thomas Cawthron in 1913, the Church Steps have been where people meet in celebration and adversity; to farewell and welcome back their soldiers; to greet royal visitors and other VIPs; to revel in Navy pageantry; and to voice discontent and protest. 
Rebellious Mirrors
Paul Maunder (2013)
This unique account of community-based theatre challenges the mainstream history of New Zealand theatre: from its early emergence in New Zealand, through the experimental period of the 1970s, when Māori theatre was beginning to develop, to the period from 1990–2010 when theatre was being created within a contradictory framework of neo-liberalism.
This Place Is Who We Are
​Katherine Palmer Gordon (2023)
This Place Is Who We Are profiles Indigenous communities in central and northern coastal British Columbia that are reconnecting to their lands and waters — and growing and thriving through this reconnection. Thoughtful and inspiring, it illustrates what can be accomplished when conservation and stewardship are inextricably intertwined with the prosperity and well-being of communities.
This World of Echoes
Jacquelyn E Lane (2013)
This World of Echoes suggests that the world we experience is not real in itself but the end result of waveforms echoing from the source of all life—a source that we label ‘divine’ because it is beyond our full knowing yet we sense it and yearn to be more aware of its presence in our lives.
Unauthorized Power
Patricia Berwick (2021)
Today, Māori are often associated with the highest imprisonment rates, lowest education and housing figures, and poorest health data. Yet, before the New Zealand Wars, the ancestors of these people were the most educated and most successful farmers and business entrepreneurs in Aotearoa/New Zealand. What happened?
We Are Born With the Songs Inside Us
Katherine Palmer Gordon (2013)
Shattering stereotypes, We Are Born with the Songs Inside Us gathers the thoughts and hopes of young Native people living in twenty-first century Canada. Each has a compelling, meaningful story that deserves to be told, understood and, above all, celebrated.
What Happened to Haystacks and Horses?
Garrick Batten (2012)
​A mix of fiction and social history, this book describes the dramatic changes that affected New Zealand agriculture between the end of WWII and the millennium, as mechanisation, new products, new plants and animals, and changing financial fortunes overturned the old ways of farming and social attitudes to the business.