Read & reviewed by Karen (Retired Bookseller); A Gentle Radical is an absorbing and fascinating biography of a hugely influential New Zealander.
Jeanette Fitsimons was elected as a member of Parliament from 1996 to 2010 and co-leader of the Green Party for 14 years. With strong believe in improving environmental outcomes, scientific knowledge, courage and personal sacrifice. Jeanette battled her way foreward in the two major party pariament of the time.
Sadly Jeanette died suddenly in 2020 aged 75 years - This biography provides a window into her extrodinary life and legacy.
Jeanette Fitzsimons was a visionary, a pioneer and a radical. This is the story of someone who battles National and Labour's lock on parliament and had the courage to challenge political sacred cows.
She was the co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 1995 to 2009, and a member of parliament from 1996 to 2010.
Highly regarded by all, she was the first (and, until recently, the only) Green MP to win an electorate seat. She died very suddenly and unexpectedly in 2020.
Fitzsimons is a unique figure in our political history yet someone whose personal story is still unknown.
How did a girl from a conservative rural family get to the front lines of radical political thought and then into the front benches of Parliament?
How did she become the first Green MP in the world to win an electorate seat?
How did she survive the brutal world of politics and get through the death of her co-leader Rod Donald?
How did the world's first national Green Party form in New Zealand, and what was Jeanette's role?
What can we learn from her politics and what did she think of the Green Party that followed her?
Fitzsimons lived a fascinating life, filled with moments of high political drama, and her example of how to navigate politics, adversity and triumph is more important than ever.
Biography
Paperback
Gareth Hughes
384 pages
H: 234mm W: 153mm
Weight: 532 grams