Vincent O'Malley Photo: Supplied
Vincent O'Malley has dug deep into the history of Aotearoa for his book, The Great War For New Zealand: Waikato 1800-2000, which he says is the single most brutal and influential conflict this country has seen. He traces the war in the Waikato in 1863-64 - looking at its origins and aftermath, how it set back Maori and Pakeha relations for generations, saw the Treaty of Waitangi ignored for a century, and Maori marginalised in the process.