Australian Books
Thought bubbles
It is not really a surprise that political parties produce a certain number of oddballs; the scary thing is that…
Guilt trip
If you had to pick one emotion to characterise Australia’s attitude towards East Timor, it would be guilt. We are…
Muslim integration
Growing up is hard enough at any time; coping with additional cross-currents of race and religion is a whole new…
Battered and beaten down
It’s surely a fancy, the conviction that my first memory of newspapering came as a three-year-old, but I swear the…
Unfair and unbalanced
The thesis of this book is that there is something wrong with politics in Australia. Bryant is right, but not…
Labor partisan’s economic tale
The old saw about economics being a dismal science turns out, on the evidence of this short but interesting piece…
Perils of activist judges
Democracy in ancient Athens was often criticised by the aristocracy for not showing significant respect for them and their superior…
Labor renewal?
Ben Chifley once spoke about a shining light on the hill. By the time that Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard…
Hawkish Hillary
If you were contemplating running for President of the United States, a national book tour would be a handy pointer…
Out of his depth
There are individuals who, when fate hands them the opportunity for greatness, have risen to the challenge. Rob Oakeshott was…
With enemies like these…
Rupert Murdoch’s last five years have been the worst of his career, but a new biography by Sydney University’s Rodney Tiffen is so unfair that even Peter Oborne, one of the newspaper magnate’s severest critics, found himself warming to him
Bold history
This is a bold attempt to write the history of Australia in 1,200 pages of narrative. A huge team of…
Radical nationalist
Many of Australia’s former prime ministers have been content to spend their political afterlife stoking the embers of their own…
A noble cause
I supported Australia’s Vietnam commitment in the decade between 1965 (when the Menzies Coalition government deployed combat forces to South…
‘Qui, moi?’
In 2008, Bob Carr was on an ABC panel show, pontificating about the wisdom of decisions of the US Supreme…
Letting go
We are not, by our nature, a militaristic people, and it is significant that our most well-known military venture was…
A sober critic
Let’s get one thing straight: gullibility is not a virtue. This simple principle appears to be difficult to grasp for…
Hero and villain
There is a story told of Gough Whitlam as Prime Minister speaking with his Treasurer, Bill Hayden. It is late…
The new Garnaut Report
Yes, economics really is a dismal science, if this book is to be believed. Even when things are going right,…
Our founding father
Founding fathers of proud nations are venerated. From an early age, children learn about their achievements and sacrifices. A King…
Sound military history
Scott Fitzgerald once made the famous observation that there are no second acts in American life. Perhaps. But Mike Carlton…
The persecution of Cory
Cory Bernardi’s book is a reminder of the traditional values that made Australia and inspired earlier generations to fight for…
Our colourful stories
That’s girt by sea, as in the national anthem. As a title, it fits the overall tone of the book,…
Books of the Year
We asked friends to tell us what they enjoyed reading in 2013
The way it was
There is a test in Canberra which applies to the quality of political commentary. It is called the ‘Blue Poles’…
