Patrick Lam

Thoughts and travels of Patrick Lam

Review: Into the Light: A History of New Zealand Photography, by David Eggleton

Lots of words in this book on the history of photography in New Zealand.

Posted by Patrick Lam on Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Review: Les Groseilles de Novembre by Andrus Kivirähk

Classics of Estonian literature: Days of our Lives for not-so-great feudal villagers.

Posted by Patrick Lam on Sunday, May 11, 2025

Review: Epic: Adventures across Aotearoa, by Ray Salisbury

A collection of tales about going over, across, and around the motu of Aotearoa.

Posted by Patrick Lam on Saturday, November 16, 2024

Review: How Infrastructure Works: Transforming our shared systems for a changing world, by Deb Chachra

An optimistic look at the role of technology (and specifically infrastructure) in the changes that will be needed in our society in the coming years.

Posted by Patrick Lam on Friday, November 15, 2024

Review: Takahē: Bird of Dreams by Alison Ballance

Stories about takahē: re-discovery, conservation, and their habits.

Posted by Patrick Lam on Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Comparing the Old Ghost Road and Paparoa tracks and their books

The Old Ghost Road and the Paparoa Great Walk cross similar terrain on the West Coast in New Zealand. But the Old Ghost Road was led by a nonprofit, while the Paparoa was the product of the Department of Conservation. Let’s compare them.

Posted by Patrick Lam on Friday, September 20, 2024

Review: Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen

More Vietnamese refugee content, this time a novel.

Posted by Patrick Lam on Thursday, September 19, 2024

Review: Ru by Kim Thúy

Thoughts on differences between the book version and film version of Ru.

Posted by Patrick Lam on Friday, August 30, 2024

Review: On Cold Iron by Dan Levert

About the history of engineering: the Canadian Iron Ring Ceremony and the Quebec Bridge disaster.

Posted by Patrick Lam on Sunday, February 11, 2024

Review: The Last Front Line by Brendan O'Dwyer

How the sausage is made: Brendan O’Dwyer writes about building the Paparoa Great Walk on NZ’s West Coast.

Posted by Patrick Lam on Tuesday, November 14, 2023

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Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo; patrick.lam@uwaterloo.ca

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