Speaking Truth to Power : Public Intellectuals Rethink New Zealand

Eggheads...the chattering classes...the ivory tower...This is a book about a contentious subject, intellectual life in today's New Zealand.

It is organised around the interviews with leading intellectuals such as Jane Kelsey, Brian Easton, Marilyn Waring, Lloyd Geering, Nicky Hager and the late Michael King and is introduced by four essays by Roger Horrocks, Andrew Sharp, Stephen Turner and Laurence Simmons.

However much lofty ideas and gritty thinking are the subject of public scorn, these thinkers, writers and teachers have a huge impact on the sort of country we live in, the way we treat each other and how we plan for the future.In their commitment to understanding and improving the social world they have faced hostility, incomprehension and rejection but their lives are rich, complex and dramatic as this book shows.

It may annoy, excite, inspire and anger but will also open up a debate and remind readers how little these thinkers are recognised and how important they are.

It is beautifully illustrated by John Reynolds.