Philip Holden: Hard Men: True Stories from the Heartland

By MARGIE THOMSON

Rugged landscape, rugged guys. Holden profiles 15 unsung blokes who embody qualities he sets out in his introduction: they're "strong, tough and unyielding, but not callous or cold".

Meet TJ who loves nothing better than to be out in the bush beyond Ruatoria with his dogs, pig-hunting, often for weeks on end; David Fagin, champion sheep shearer; Turangi policeman Cliff Jones who conducts search and rescue work in the treacherous Tongariro National Park; high country musterers, West Coast homesteaders. Men with dogs, men with helicopters, men with guns, men with stories to tell.

It's an eye-opener and makes you realise that the country is another country. Holden, author of around 40 books to date (with titles such as Backblocks, The Deer Hunters, Holden on Hunting), is a true professional: the profiles are well written, full of history and colour, and his photographs are marvellous.

HarperCollins

$49.95