Description

Book Synopsis
Ruth Ross is hardly a household name, yet most New Zealanders today owe the way they understand the Treaty of Waitangi — or te Tiriti o Waitangi as Ross called it — to this remarkable woman’s path-breaking historical research. Taking us on a journey from small university classes and a lively government department in the nation’s war-time capital to an economically poor but culturally rich Māori community in the far north, and from tiny schools and cloistered university offices to parliamentary committees and a legal tribunal, Attwood enables us to grasp how and why the place of the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand law, politics, society and culture has been transformed in the last seven decades. A frank and moving meditation on the making of history and its advantages and disadvantages for life in a democratic society, A Bloody Difficult Subject is a surprising story full of unforeseen circumstances, unexpected twists, unlikely turns and unanticipated outcomes.

'A Bloody Difficult Subject': Ruth Ross, te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Making of History

    Product form

    A Hardback by Bain Attwood

    £45.00

    Includes FREE delivery

    RRP £60.00 – you save £15.00 (25%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Thu 17 Sep 2026.

    3 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of 'A Bloody Difficult Subject': Ruth Ross, te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Making of History by Bain Attwood

      Book details

      Publisher Auckland University Press
      Published 11 May 2023
      ISBN-13 9781869409821
      978-1869409821
      Also in:
      Australasian and Pacific history

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Ruth Ross is hardly a household name, yet most New Zealanders today owe the way they understand the Treaty of Waitangi — or te Tiriti o Waitangi as Ross called it — to this remarkable woman’s path-breaking historical research. Taking us on a journey from small university classes and a lively government department in the nation’s war-time capital to an economically poor but culturally rich Māori community in the far north, and from tiny schools and cloistered university offices to parliamentary committees and a legal tribunal, Attwood enables us to grasp how and why the place of the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand law, politics, society and culture has been transformed in the last seven decades. A frank and moving meditation on the making of history and its advantages and disadvantages for life in a democratic society, A Bloody Difficult Subject is a surprising story full of unforeseen circumstances, unexpected twists, unlikely turns and unanticipated outcomes.

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account