Graeme Hunt: The Rich List - Wealth and Enterprise in New Zealand 1820-2000

(Reed $34.95)

Review: Gilbert Wong

If Johnny Jones had had his way, New Zealand's history would have run down a different path.

The Sydney entrepreneur owned, among much else in the early 19th century, the Waikaoaiti Bay whaling station in Otago and some 40,500ha of land.

By convincing some Maori chiefs to not cede land to the British Crown, Jones hoped to buy a large chunk of the South Island, about 800,000ha.

If he had not run foul of landsharking laws, we might now be calling the South Island Jonesland.

Hunt's engaging book details the stories of the captains of capitalism who have done so much to reshape our society.