Steve Braunias travels off the grid to capture weird and wonderful goings-on in small-town New Zealand. Full of fascinating - and sometimes disturbing - stories about people living in 20 places - from Kawakawa to Mosgiel, and across the seas in Samoa and Antarctica - their lives, loves, aspirations, and sometimes dark secrets. Searing insights and honesty from New Zealand's most awarded journalist - this book will be talked about!

Whether gently but firmly lambasting airhead politicians, unrepentant murderers, apostrophe vigilantes, literary poseurs or the purveyors of awful food, Steve Braunias shows his exceptional mastery of the art of column writing. But this winner of over 20 writing awards is also a passionate New Zealander, famous for his tender evocations of the country's heart-tugging landscapes, chequered history, and resilient population. This glittering selection of new writing includes reflections on his life as a journalist, satirist, TV writer, guest speaker and aspiring novelist; celebrated columns on watching his young daughter grow up; crime writing; travel writing from Antarctica that won him 2010 Cathay Pacific Travel Writer of the Year; literary takes on best-selling supremo Lee Child and others; and revelations on our history of horrible meals.

A collection of New Zealand's most celebrated journalist's works, this lascivious selection of Steve Braunias's columns addresses a variety of topics, including the current state of New Zealand steak, the beauty of mangroves, the lunacy of film festivals, the attractions of small towns, the charms of Cambridge University, and the strange habits of the English. With a satirical voice and keenly astute observations on society, these best of columns shed light on the surprisingly vulnerable life of a writer and the love-struck nature of being a father.