"Between 1940 and 1990, the New Zealand Electricity Department and the Ministry of Works undertook a major engineering task - the development of the hydroelectric potential of the Clutha, Rangitaiki, Waikato, and Waitaki rivers. In his book "People, Politics and Power Stations" John Martin has set down an excellent popular record of the electrical engineering - NZED's activities and endeavours - that development involved. In this slim volume (41 pages), four of the engineers (John Robinson, Bill Duncan, Mike Williams and Trevor Jones) who were part of the Ministry of Works Power Division at the time have set down their recollections of the associated civil works. The result is not (and does not claim to be) an in-depth researched history, but rather an anecdotal overview. The result is a readable story setting down that development in a major national field. The history of engineering in New Zealand is not well recorded and NZSOLD is to be commended for providing this readable record of one successful engineering endeavour with a highly valued outcome that, over fifty years, absorbed significant national energy and resources. The Division provided a training ground for many young engineers - generally immediate graduates - and the book will certainly interest those who gained their first practical experience within the Division."--Wheelers website.