Book excerpt: This book is one of first comparative studies of the cultural, political and economic interactions between New Zealand and Europe. The chapters that comprise this book are a deliberate exercise in variety inside the theme of New Zealand and Europe: Connections and Comparisons. They derive from the first conference of the New Zealand European Studies Association and give a flavour of the active and far-reaching nature of studies relating to Europe currently taking place in New Zealand. The cultural and historical chapters, while often quite specific in focus, touch on themes of universal cross-cultural relevance: the fate of imported languages and cultures; the tendencies to familiarise or exoticise unknown lands; the problematic representation of women in politics; the ambivalences and tensions between dominant and subordinate cultures; and the responsibility of the intellectual in the face of authority.