Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, former psychoanalyst and projects director of the Sigmund Freud Archives, is the bestselling author of two dozen books, including Raising the Peaceable Kingdom, Slipping into Paradise, The Pig Who Sang to the Moon, The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats, Dogs Never Lie About Love, and When Elephants Weep. A longtime resident of Berkeley, California, he now lives in New Zealand with his wife, his two sons, and several animal friends.
“Jeff Masson is one of the world’s most erudite polymaths. He is
also a brilliant and original thinker. So, naturally, even in
paradise he is restless, but then any paradise devoid of the spice
of intellectual quest and moral debate would be tedious. One does
not so much ‘slip’ into Masson’s paradise as take a razorback ride,
full of wit and insight, through his views on culture, national
identity, public intellectuals, New Zealand history, New Zealand
flora, fauna, and beaches. There is never a dull moment, and I
suspect that this book will cause a further surge in the tourist
boom to the Land of the Long White Cloud.”
–JANETTE TURNER HOSPITAL, author of Due Preparations for the
Plague
“Since arriving in New Zealand four years ago, Jeffrey Masson has
traveled widely and met thousands of New Zealanders as part of his
quest to better understand his adopted homeland. His book reflects
that. Written by someone who clearly loves the country and is
prepared to say so, it’s an effective introduction to anyone who
wants to know more about a society on the cusp of new beginnings.
New Zealand isn’t just a scenic wonderland, or the place that gave
us Sir Edmund Hillary and Peter Jackson, and Masson suggests the
reasons why.”
–PHIL GOFF, New Zealand’s minister of foreign affairs
"Jeff Masson is one of the world's most erudite polymaths. He is
also a brilliant and original thinker. So, naturally, even in
paradise he is restless, but then any paradise devoid of the spice
of intellectual quest and moral debate would be tedious. One does
not so much 'slip' into Masson's paradise as take a razorback ride,
full of wit and insight, through his views on culture, national
identity, public intellectuals, New Zealand history, New Zealand
flora, fauna, and beaches. There is never a dull moment, and I
suspect that this book will cause a further surge in the tourist
boom to the Land of the Long White Cloud."
-JANETTE TURNER HOSPITAL, author of Due Preparations for the
Plague
"Since arriving in New Zealand four years ago, Jeffrey Masson has
traveled widely and met thousands of New Zealanders as part of his
quest to better understand his adopted homeland. His book reflects
that. Written by someone who clearly loves the country and is
prepared to say so, it's an effective introduction to anyone who
wants to know more about a society on the cusp of new beginnings.
New Zealand isn't just a scenic wonderland, or the place that gave
us Sir Edmund Hillary and Peter Jackson, and Masson suggests the
reasons why."
-PHIL GOFF, New Zealand's minister of foreign affairs
Should you move to New Zealand? "The short answer," writes Masson in this breathless paean to his adopted home, "is `Yes.' " Comprising two large islands, New Zealand is "the green gem in the middle of the South Pacific." Its physical beauty will be familiar to anyone who's seen The Lord of the Rings: the country boasts a temperate climate, beautiful beaches, towering mountains, exotic animals and lush vegetation. New Zealand's human inhabitants are just as remarkable, legendary for their modesty and warmth. When Masson, an American psychologist and author (The Pig Who Sang to the Moon, etc.), wants to interview the foreign minister, he finds him in the phone book. When he wants to chat with the country's most famous icon, Sir Edmund Hillary, he simply drops by his home. Though Masson is eager to portray New Zealand as "benign, gentle, friendly, and safe," he also acknowledges that it can seem remote, provincial and dull. Actually, the country's isolation may explain why it has one of the world's highest suicide rates, and why Masson spends three months of each year elsewhere. Blending history, geography, memoir and travelogue, Masson's book is a hodgepodge, but it succeeds in promoting New Zealand as an attractive place for a vacation-if not a permanent stay. Maps. Agent, Elaine Markson. (On sale Aug. 3) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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