Books

The Cold Inside takes an intimate look at what it takes to climb. With a unique focus on New Zealand’s breathtaking, unparalleled landscape, seasoned mountaineer and award-winning author Paul Hersey is profoundly introspective, and his passion for his crafts — storytelling and climbing — is evident from the first pages.

A mix of adventure narrative, prose, and memoir, this book explores the psyche of climbers. It’s as much an unflinching recount of risk and loss as it is a love letter to nature, both facets heightened through the deep connection that climbing provides. Drawing on decades of experience, Hersey artfully examines how such a distinct perspective influences everyday life, particularly in his homeland Aotearoa / New Zealand, where nature is equally giving and exacting.

“Part mountaineering adventure, part meditation on the meaning of mountain climbing, Paul Hersey explores ways in which being among mountains can guide us towards a better understanding of ourselves. Drawing on decades of experience, Paul goes beyond simply asking ‘Why do I climb?’ to address issues of self-belief and doubt, teamwork and individualism, emotional wellbeing and pressure to succeed.” Laurence Fearnley, author.

The Cold Inside is a personal, searching journey towards understanding the inspiration as well as the cost of climbing mountains.

This is a story of love, loss and redemption, the bonds between family and the outdoors, and those rarest of opportunities to right past wrongs.

Running away is Jase’s answer to everything: having to compete against his older brother Duncan: avoiding a growing love for his friend Kate: facing his fear of climbing in the mountains close to home.

One of these days Jase will have to stop running. The people he cares for need his strength, his ability and his judgement. Will he make the right decision before it is too late?

“Hersey’s obvious love of sea, bush and high places is woven into every page of the book, adding a powerful theme of ‘New Zealandness’, which could only come from an author whose knowledge of our flora and fauna is built on years of personal experience and observation.” Lindsay Smith, The Climber Magazine

New Zealand’s Great Walks are truly world class. In a country blessed with hundreds of spectacular tracks to choose from, these are considered the best of the best. They pass through some of our most breathtaking landscapes including golden sand beaches, ancient rainforests and high mountains. New Zealand’s Great Walks: The Complete Guide is the only handbook anyone will need to experience these outdoor adventures.

Authored by expert outdoor enthusiasts Paul and Shelley Hersey and fully illustrated with maps and stunning photography, New Zealand’s Great Walks is the guide no keen adventurer can do without!

A schoolgirl races from the class to join a weekend trip to the hills. A mountaineering guide recalls his first weeks on the job during the 1920s. A young climber is shown the best route over the Main Divide by a bug bull thar. A climbing party is bombarded by falling rock when Ruapehu suddenly erupts. A mountaineer pays tribute to the Māori guides from the south Westland, while a fighter pilot tries to recapture an ascent of the Minarets from his tent in Nigeria during World War II.

From the Darrans of Fiordland New Zealand to Denali in Alaska, New Zealand climbers, both experienced and recreational, have captured their alpine experiences in letters, journals, articles, memoirs, poems and novels. Drawing on 150 years of published and unpublished material, Laurence Fearnley and Paul Hersey, two top contemporary authors, have compiled a wide-ranging, fascinating and moving glimpse into New Zealand’s mountaineering culture and the people who write about it.

“To the Mountains is welcome as a significant and important contribution to New Zealand alpine literature. There is a lot within its pages to lead you on journeys of the mind into the mountains.” Phillip Somerville, Otago Daily Times

” … a fine collection of New Zealand alpine writing and a most rewarding read.” John Nankervis (New Zealand Alpine Club), Backcountry, August 2018

” … an excellent and very readable anthology.” Nicholas Reid, Reid’s Reader, 20 August 2018

From the towering peaks of the Inland Kaikoura Range in the north to the glacial waters of Lake Wakatipu in the south, this is a richly illustrated celebration of New Zealand’s most spectacular high country. It is also the story of our most revered sheep breed, and the families whose livelihoods depend on it thriving in this extreme yet mesmerising landscape.

“Hersey tells of the hard life, with weather and topography dominating each day, and the often tough times making big sheep stations pay. He tells it with a visitor’s voice, but not one of amazement or interruption, rather one of gradual understanding and acceptance.” David Hall, Wilderness magazine

Three-quarters of New Zealand lies more than 200 metres above sea level, making us one of the more mountainous countries in the world, so it’s no surprise that many of us have a great affinity for the rugged backdrop against which we live.

Two men with a particular respect for our high places, writer Paul Hersey and photographer Mark Watson, both experienced climbers, embarked on a year-long journey across the length of the country to visit, climb and tell the stories surrounding 15 of its most significant summits.

The narrative that emerges has an overarching environmental theme, as Hersey questions the value New Zealanders place on our ecological heritage and discusses local issues with the people living on and near the mountains. In addition to accounts of tramping and climbing experiences, there are references to local history, Maoritanga, geology, farming and conservation, alongside entertaining and engaging personal comment.

Stunning photographs captured by Watson show some of our best known peaks in a fresh way, completing a moving evocation of the New Zealand landscape and its mountain-related culture.

“Sharp, evocative and liberally dotted with personal anecdotes throughout, the mini-essays are very well written.” Dione Joseph, NZ Book Lovers

“Hersey’s vast experience is plain to see and he includes touching and interesting personal details from each climb.” Alden Williams, Nelson Mail

“This is a fine production and a tome to savour.” Shaun Barnett, Federated Mountain Clubs bulletin

Simply put, New Zealand is a great place to be a surfer. ‘In Searching For Groundswell’, Paul Hersey takes the ultimate surfing road trip, looking to connect with the best beach breaks, points and reefs along the 15,000km coastline that surrounds New Zealand. Part meditation, part documentary, this books celebrates surfing and explores the special relationship surfers have with the sea.

“Hersey’s writing is smooth and relaxed, unafraid to be open about his own thoughts.” Vicki Price, Taranaki Daily News

“Searching for Groundswell offers perspective on where New Zealand surf culture is heading.” Kester Brown, Dominion Post

“Thank you. Your book has stirred a desire to get back in the water and reconnect with some of that lifestyle lost since moving to Wellington.” Steve Caie, personal communication

Climbing is one of New Zealand’s most rewarding yet most testing outdoor activities: since 1980 alone, there have been more than 200 fatalities on our mountains, and too many serious injuries to count. In ‘High Misadventure’, climber and journalist Paul Hersey gives accounts of 10 incidents, collectively illustrating the key factors that can turn a climb into a disaster.

Meticulously researched, and written with an insider’s eye for factual detail, this is a gritty and harrowing book that reveals how vulnerable we can be in this most extreme of natural environments.

“Like Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, this is climbing writing at its best.” Rosmarie Smith, The Southland Times

“The stories are so compelling – epic, hair-raising, often heartbreaking, occasionally inspirational.” Geoff Collett, Nelson Mail

“I recommend this book as a great read.” Owen Brown, Hawkes Bay Weekend

“It’s a tribute to Hersey that he has succeeded in addressing such a difficult topic with sensitivity and empathy.” Louise Thornley, Federated Mountain Clubs bulletin

Climbing divides public opinion. To non- climbers, influenced by news reports of fatalities and costly mountain rescues, it may seem a selfish and crazy game in which victims have only themselves to blame. To Dunedin writer and alpine climber Paul Hersey it’s nothing less than a reason for living; even if – or perhaps even because – at the most life-affirming moments he may be just one step from ‘a tumble into the abyss’. In this fascinating book, Paul chats with some of New Zealand’s most experienced climbers to find out why they are drawn to the mountains and why, even after losing close friends, they keep returning to a world of Zen-like focus, intensity, discipline, random danger and monumental beauty. And ultimately he comes closer to understanding what drives his own passion for this controversial pursuit.

Gripping, funny, poignant, and above all optimistic, ‘Where The Mountains Throw Their Dice’ is an inspiration to all of us to grab life with both hands and make every sublime moment count.

“So why climb? Hersey has made one of the best attempts in modern mountaineering literature to answer the question.” John Henzell, Christchurch Press

“Hersey is thoughtful and, at times, intense. He writes skillfully and…gives those with an interest in the New Zealand climbing psyche plenty to contemplate.” Phil Somerville, Otago Daily Times

“Hersey’s is a brave, personal, searching book that deserves wide readership.” Shaun Barnett, Federated Mountain Clubs bulletin