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Rotary Club of
Invercargill
Weekly Bulletin
February 1, 2002
Book Review
by Mike Prouting
Lauren
Quaintance described Lynley Hood's book as her “230,000 magnus opus". Not
surprisingly, Lynley Hood took about 8 years to research this text. I have
committed myself to her literal documentary over the summer break. The title:
"A City Possessed" The Christchurch
Civic Creche Case. North and South magazine described it as the ". . .
lonely journey of Lynley Hood". My first reading filled me with some
nostalgia as Ms Hood transverses the professional literature, the prominent
thinking of the time (during the 1970's and 1980's). I remembered many of the
references and how they influenced my professional training.
Disturbingly, many of the writers are carefully and cogently critiqued by
Hood. I have been discovering how easily it can be to judge, and much harder
to discern the truth. For those of you with an interest in justice and child
protection, this is an absorbing and challenging read. Professor Mark
Henaghan, Dean of Law, University
of Otago comments:
"This is a work of scholarship of the highest academic standard . . .
the interpretation is a very important one, and is clearly supported by the
evidence"
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