First published in 1946 as Myths and Legends of Maoriland, these stories help explain the traditional Māori perspective on the origins of many things – not just people – in the world around us. They help to explain the natural world and the relationships between the different elements within that world.

Successful both in New Zealand and internationally, the stories traverse the creation story, the discovery of Aotearoa, people, animals and plants, and the relationships between them.

Alexander Wycliff Reed 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.

Buddy Mikaere has whakapapa links to Ngāti Pākenga, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Pikiao and Tāhoe. He has an environmental consultancy with a national client base specialising in infrastructure projects. He has published widely and with White Cloud Books has edited Taonga Tuku Iho and written Te Maiharoa and the Promised Land and the hugely popular Victory at Gate Pā in association with fellow author Cliff Simons.