DAVID McRANEY How Minds Change. Reviewed by Ann Skea
David McRaney explores how to convince people to change their views. The blurb on the back of this book states: ‘Our most deeply held opinions and beliefs can change – here’s how.’ It turns out that for some of the people whose stories science journalist David McRaney...
MATTHEW RICKETSON and PATRICK MULLINS Who Needs the ABC? Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck
Matthew Ricketson and Patrick Mullins make the case for Australia’s public broadcaster. If the title of Matthew Ricketson and Patrick Mullins’s book is a question, the subtitle – ‘Why taking it for granted is no longer an option’ – implies the answer: everyone....
MARK WORMALD The Catch: Fishing for Ted Hughes. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Mark Wormald follows Ted Hughes through rivers and streams to provide insights into his life, his poetry – and fishing. Mark Wormald is a scholar, a poet and a fisherman. In 2012, he made his way to the British Library to begin some research on the work of the poet...
BARRY NICHOLLS The Establishment Boys: The other side of Kerry Packer’s cricket revolution. Reviewed by Bernard Whimpress
An important book about the Australian Test team during the tumultuous years of World Series Cricket from the author of Second Innings. The major split in Australian cricket occurred 45 years ago when overtures were made to leading players to join media magnate Kerry...
GREGORY DAY Words are Eagles. Reviewed by Paul Anderson
Gregory Day’s writing is inextricably bound with the landscape in this collection. Words are Eagles is a tonic selection of Gregory Day’s various non-fiction published in Australian journals, magazines and newspapers over recent years (roughly the period 2015 to...
DEIRDRE O’CONNELL Harlem Nights: The Secret History of Australia’s Jazz Age. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck
Deidre O’Connell recounts how an American jazz band caused panic in White Australia. In the latter part of the 1920s, the JC Williamson Company was on the lookout for American talent to attract patrons to vaudeville shows at their Tivoli Theatres. One of the...
TRENT DALTON Love Stories. Reviewed by Suzanne Marks
The bestselling novelist brings together real-life love stories in this collection. How this book came together is as intrinsic to its existence as the 150 love stories it contains. It opens with Dalton’s letter to his friend Kathleen Kelly, who has ‘bowed out to...
ROBERT DESSAIX Abracadabra. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Robert Dessaix reveals his love of language and literature in these occasional pieces. Abracadabra – an ancient Aramaic spell avra kadavra (‘it will be created in words’). In his preface to these collected writings, Dessaix describes them as ‘talks of mine from gala...
FELIPE FERNÁNDEZ-ARMESTO Straits: Beyond the Myth of Magellan. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Was the explorer Ferdinand Magellan the hero European history has claimed him to be? Failure is fatal to happiness but can be fruitful for fame. Metaphorically, resurrection often follows crucifixion. Sometimes partial but spectacular success adds glamour to a...
DREW ROOKE A Witness of Fact: The peculiar case of chief forensic pathologist Colin Manock. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck
Drewe Rooke outlines a decades-long litany of errors by South Australia’s forensic pathologist. How can we trust what we think we know? The only way to have any certainty is to test our conclusions to see if they contain weaknesses – elements that do not conform with...
DAVID DUFTY Nabbing Ned Kelly. Reviewed by Lucy Sussex
David Dufty’s new book tells the story of the men who brought Ned Kelly to justice. Ned Kelly is a topic as controversial as the Eureka Stockade, a narrative which divides, and is framed as rebellion vs authority. He was similarly anathema for decades, before a...
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