The Maori have a rich and colourful tradition of myth and legend – many of their most important and popular tales are retold in this classic, bestselling book.
Written with the general reader in mind, the stories range from the creation of the world to the coming of life, death and knowledge. They incorporate the great god Tane, Maui who tamed the sun, the woman on the moon, monsters, fairies, wondrous birds and moving mountains.
Born in Auckland in 1908, A.W. Reed (Alexander Wyclif) was educated at Mt Albert Grammar School. In 1932, he helped to found a book-publishing business, A.H. & A.W. Reed, one of New Zealand's leading publishing houses of the time with an enduring list of local books. Reed wrote more than 200 books himself, with a range of reference works and popular accounts of Maori culture. He died in 1979.