Finalist in the 2018 CLNZ Education Awards (Best Tertiary Resource)
'The publication is beautifully produced by Bridget Williams Books with superb illustrations, maps and photographs. ... It is an important historical work in a research area that has not received much critical appraisal in recent years.' – Seán McMahon, Archifacts Journal
'Overall, it is a beautifully produced, important, thought-provoking and soul-searching book that deserves a wide readership.' – Katie Pickles, Landfall
'O'Malley's Great War for New Zealand is a timely and necessary book that brings into the open what was arguably one of the most important events in New Zealand's history.' – Martin Fisher, New Zealand Journal of History
'The in-depth coverage the book provides is both timely and illuminating, and adds significantly to our knowledge of the Waikato Wars.' 'This book is a must have for anyone interested in New Zealand history.' – Basil Keane, Journal of New Zealand Studies
'Thanks to this latest book, the Waikato War will finally be remembered for its significance to Aotearoa New Zealand...Abundantly illustrated throughout – and with a chiefly huia feather, a symbol of leadership and mana – on the cover, this volume is a landmark in making the story of the Waikato War and its aftermath of injustice accessible and comprehensible to diverse audiences. The outcome of research as part of the Treaty claims process, it succeeds in publishing history that might not otherwise have reached the public eye.' – Philippa Mein-Smith, Australian Historical Studies
'Definitive, meticulously researched, and highly readable.' – Vaughn Yarwood, New Zealand Geographic
'The book contains much original source material and includes extensive endnotes to corroborate the text. The comprehensive bibliography is, in itself, a work of art: a scarily vast repository of sources on the land wars. The many illustrations provide an alternative visual narrative of their own.' – Beth Ringer, Heritage
'Amid the scramble of books on that other "great war", O'Malley delivers the first history of the Waikato War since 1879. A vital part of our story told informatively and lucidly.' – The Listener
'O'Malley urges knowledge and understanding as a way forward. "None of this requires feelings of guilt and shame, but simply a willingness to hear, read, and embrace the difficult aspects of our past." His book is a landmark study of the New Zealand Wars and an important contribution to change.' – Nigel Prickett, The Listener
'O'Malley is a vivid writer of scenes of conflict. Political issues are clearly described. He is an engaged historian; judgements are made and there will be those who disagree with them ... The 600-page book, with its fine huia feather cover, is copiously illustrated with contemporary visual depictions from sketchbooks, magazines, diaries, government proclamations, and paintings, largely in colour. It is a fine object and an essential book of New Zealand history.' David Herkt, Stuff
'If you're into New Zealand history make sure you pick this book up today.' – Rotorua Daily Post
'This is a BIG book.' – Vaughan Rapatahana, Scoop Review of Books
'The most important war in New Zealand's history.' – Kymberlee Fernandes, Manukau Courier
'Michael King’s History of New Zealand and James Belich’s The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict were very important in improving my understanding of what really are the foundations of New Zealand. The Great War for New Zealand extends that understanding greatly.' – Lincoln Gould, Booksellers New Zealand
'The Great War for New Zealand will reward the discerning reader and any “newbie” to our history.' – Buddy Mikaere, The Spinoff
Read '"The Great War for New Zealand broke out less than 50 km from Queens Street": Vincent O'Malley on the Waikato War and the making of Auckland' in The Spinoff
'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.' – Radio New Zealand
'Historian Vincent O'Malley's account of the war is at once comprehensive and insightful and it leads to him wondering in print more than once why it has been such a neglected part of our history, given that its outcomes and consequences have rippled down the years to the present day.' – Alister Browne, Manawatu Standard
Read 'What a nation chooses to remember and forget: the war for New Zealand's history' in The Guardian
'A splendid new book... O'Malley shows the horror and the long shadow left by the Waikato War, arguing plausibly that it had even more influence on our country than World War 1.' – The Dominion Post
'In this book, Vincent presents a compelling case for New Zealanders to recognise the huge consequences of the invasion of the Waikato by Crown forces in 1863. That, he argues, has shaped New Zealand history in ways that too few of us have understood — and too many of us have been ignoring.' – Dale Husband, E-Tangata
'This new book on the Waikato Land Wars has been recognised as a step forward in a movement calling for more education on New Zealand's history.' – Eleanor Wenma, Radio New Zealand
'In 688 pages Vincent O'Malley brings to light the most brutal and influential conflict in New Zealand's history.' – Caitlin Moorby, Stuff
'Historian Vincent O’Malley’s new book The Great War for New Zealand: Waikato 1800-2000 may help to fill the blank in New Zealand’s narrative about itself.' – Aaron Smale, Radio New Zealand
'The launch of the first book on the Waikato Land Wars in over a hundred years is raising questions about how New Zealand history is taught in schools.' – Radio New Zealand
Watch the 'NZ WARS - The Stories of Ruapekapeka' documentary.
