New Zealand's Prime Ministers - From Dick Seddon to John Key

David Ling, 2017
Michael Bassett has been on first name terms with every PM since Walter Nash, and served in parliament on the watch of 11 of the 24 PMs covered. That sort of proximity gives him the confidence to judge earlier office holders with equal incisiveness. Based on extensive, careful archival research, interviews with recent Prime Ministers, many of their colleagues, and with their opponents, this work is essential reading for anyone interested in New Zealand politics. The book also deals with the changing economic circumstances in the country since the beginning of the 20th century, when the term Prime Minister was officially gazetted, and the efforts that Prime Ministers have made to tackle economic and other challenges thrust at them...