Montana New Zealand Book Awards - Biography - 2006 finalists

The Award was won by Dingle Graeme Dingle (Craig Potton Publishing)

Charles Fleming: Environmental Patriot Mary McEwen (Craig Potton Publishing)

'He serves his country best who loves the land itself.' So wrote Charles Fleming in the winter of 1972, when the battle to save Lake Manapouri had not yet been won and conservationists were girding their loins to fight for native forests. But this remarkable New Zealander was much more than a committed conservationist. In a life packed with achievements and honours, Charles Fleming's influence spread far beyond New Zealand.

He became highly regarded in the fields of palaeontology, geology, zoology and biogeography and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1967 and later an Honorary Foreign Member of the American Philosophical Society. In 1977 Fleming was knighted for services to science and conservation. Perhaps his most important scientific contribution was as a bio-geographer, a field in which he combined his understanding of geology and palaeontology with his knowledge of living organisms.

But it was in the conservation movement that Fleming had his largest following. Actively involved in the Save Manapouri Campaign in the early 1970s, he later became a fearless spokesman for the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society and the Native Forests Action Council in campaigns to save New Zealand's native forests. In this fascinating, readable and timely biography, Charles Fleming's daughter, Mary McEwen, tells the extraordinary story of an extraordinary man.
(description from Craig Potton Publishing)

Dingle Graeme Dingle (Craig Potton Publishing) Winner

Dingle is the autobiography of Graeme Dingle. It is the story of how a scared, painfully skinny boy turns himself into one of New Zealand's greatest adventurers, capable of the hardest climbs in the world. But it is also the story of how a man realises that for his life to truly have meaning, it needs to include service to others. The book begins with Graeme Dingle's early forays into the North Island ranges and his subsequent development in the Southern Alps into a gifted and driven mountaineer. It then charts many of his remarkable achievements during a lifetime of adventuring. These include being the first to climb all of the European Alps' North Faces (such as the Eiger and the Matterhorn) in one season; the first traverse of New Zealand's Southern Alps (in winter); a range of Himalayan expeditions and a year-long traverse of the Himalayas; and a two-year odyssey to circumnavigate the Arctic. Running alongside this adventuring life has been Dingle's extraordinary commitment to using the outdoors to help the development of young people. This began with him founding the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre in the Central North Island and has culminated with the hugely successful national youth development programme, Project K. Dingle is the story of a great New Zealander, whose inspirational commitment to the welfare of our young people has been matched by a remarkable record as a mountaineer and adventurer.

Sir Edmund Hillary: An Extraordinary Life Alexa Johnston (Viking)

An illustrated, authorized biography of the legendary explorer traces the life of Sir Edmund Hillary and chronicles his adventures around the world, describing his historic 1953 climb to the summit of Everest; his expeditions in New Zealand, North America, India, and Antarctica; and his dedication to helping the Sherpa people of the Himalayas.