Australian Books
Bebop, swing and all that jazz
I can still remember the first time I heard big band jazz. I was in my twenties (too long ago!)…
The puppet masters
Among the Western democracies there are increasing signs that things are falling apart – our governments no longer know what…
Summer Books
Some very good, and a few astonishingly bad
Rip-roaring satire in Iota
This novel is the ninth book of the satirical series concerning Grafton Everest, a rambunctious, overweight, fictional academic who, as…
By hook or by crook
Anne Henderson has produced a series of important books on the Menzies era. Her latest volume adds to this considerable…
Knight who climbed up a mineshaft
For almost 130 years Australian Liberals have prided themselves on their ability to exercise their civic duty to speak and…
The enduring Orwell
One of the things I most enjoy about George Orwell is his love of tobacco. It was essential to him…
What did the Brits ever do for us?
A decade ago, American sociologist Michael Hechter quipped that ‘good alien government may be better than bad native government,’ a…
Writing about leaders
Historian Chris Wallace, who currently holds a professorship at the Faculty of Business, Government and Law at the University of…
Voicing doubt
When it comes to the Voice, Anthony Albanese is breaking all the rules for successfully changing the constitution. First, he…
Faking it
When a radical feminist publisher suggested I review some of their books, I wasn’t quite sure I would enjoy the…
Dismantling the Aboriginal industry
Integration into a wider society works. That is why Australia is one of the most successful countries on the planet.…
Voice of reason
Governments and the woke elite are falling over themselves with taxpayer and shareholder money to promote the seriously dangerous proposal…
Summer books
2022: good reads for a mixed bag of a year
Not camping out
As is the case with one of my favourite Australian writers and playwrights, Louis Nowra, Sydney is also my adopted…
Skinful
In a recent interview with Piers Morgan, Dr Jordan Peterson remarked, ‘It’s really something to see, constantly, how many people…
A cinematic offer we could not refuse
Francis Ford Coppola’s superb film The Godfather changed American cinema and, by extension, American culture. The film had it all:…
Fool’s gold
With Australia heading toward a referendum next year on a constitutionally enshrined indigenous ‘voice’ to parliament, the need for a…
Preparing for war
This is not a book for anyone complacent about the China challenge, yet it should be compulsory reading for everyone…
Trump’s legal eagle is candid
There may have been irregularities in the processing and counting of ballots that warranted official investigation
Hockey sticks to diplomacy
If you want an inside view on the Trump White House, there could hardly be a better read than Joe…
Atomic reading
So you think you know the story of Britain’s notorious atomic tests in Australia? In that respect, the name of…
Presumption of guilt
The Pell case is a contemporary Australian version of the infamous Dreyfus case in 19th century France and may even…
Blowing in the wind
He’s still smiling but Scott Morrison might not be after reading this revealing book. If he reads it that is.…
French Kiss-Off
For decades the purpose of British settlement in New South Wales seemed too obvious to question. The American War of…
