Australian Books
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’…
Mining magnate paradox
In many ways, Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest has become the likeable face of the Australian mining boom, a self-made billionaire without…
Two cheers for Bowen
Since I know Speccie readers like a bit of a shock, let me oblige: I think Chris Bowen is a…
The little voice
Of all the sights of Australia’s long phase of cricket dominance, none was quite so characteristic as Ricky Ponting emerging…
Melbourne’s academic ‘Potemkin Village’
While reading this book I was reminded of the great ‘scandal’ among New York’s intelligentsia in 1982 when the then…
Our valued Vatican envoy
In mid-2009, I landed in Italy for an extended break, as it happened, on the day of the L’Aquila earthquake.…
The world according to Bob
Apparently, Ellis believes that the year 2011 was as important as 1848. He never explains why, exactly. He seems to…
Sour mixture
This book purports to be the story of the 2013 election. It is not clear why it makes that claim,…
In praise of Ming
At the end of this affectionate memoir of Sir Robert and Dame Pattie Menzies, Heather Henderson recognises some might see…
The rise of the politicians
This book expresses what is being more and more widely felt in English-speaking and other western countries: government is becoming…
Fairfax under fire
What a spectacle. A Fairfax journalist flanked by a beaming James Packer, making no secret of his loathing for her…
Born to rule
Depending on how you look at it, the Chinese Communist Party is either the last non-ridiculous bastion of Marxism, an…
Born to rule
Depending on how you look at it, the Chinese Communist Party is either the last non-ridiculous bastion of Marxism, an…
In the bunker
The rusted-on supporters of the ALP must wonder how it came to this. Six years ago, the ALP was on…
The useful Colonel Houses
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was determined to get the measure of Britain’s wartime prime minister Winston Churchill, and of Britain’s chances…
Hunting for bogeymen
Here is how you make a conspiracy theory: take a couple of facts, stir in a few assumptions, then add…
A multitude of voices
‘Consider, too, the world’s fisheries.’ This line more or less sums up the tone of Destroying the Joint: Why Women…
Hunting for bogeymen
Here is how you make a conspiracy theory: take a couple of facts, stir in a few assumptions, then add…
The useful Colonel Houses
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was determined to get the measure of Britain’s wartime prime minister Winston Churchill, and of Britain’s chances…
A walking contradiction
Nick Greiner: A Political Biography By Ian Hancock Connor Court, $59.95, pp 480 ISBN 9781922168542 Ian Hancock has, in recent…
The end of separatism
In Black & White: Australians All At The Crossroads Editors: Rhonda Craven, Anthony Dillon, Nigel Parbury Connor Court, $29.95, pp…
One-sided story
Political Animal: The Making of Tony Abbott By David Marr Black Inc, $19.95, pp 208 ISBN 978186355980 If there is…
Terra nullius
For many people these days, exploration means peeking into some of the more unusual corners of the internet. This massive…
The lady means business
Gina Rinehart: The Untold Story of the Richest Woman in the World By Adele Ferguson PanMacmillan, $34.99, pp 490 ISBN…
