LUKE KEMP Goliath’s Curse: The history and future of societal collapse. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck
Human history has seen many civilisations rise and fall. Luke Kemp contemplates the fate of ours in Goliath’s Curse. This is a monumental work of scholarship that raises fundamental questions about who we are, where we are going, and whether or not the next few...
RICHARD DENNISS Dead Centre: How political pragmatism is killing us. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck
Richard Denniss provides a chilling analysis of the ploys our politicians use to govern in the interests of everyone but the public. Public choice theory employs basic economic analysis to posit that public officials, such as politicians, are self-interested. There is...
ROBERT MANNE A Political Memoir. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck
Robert Manne’s memoir charts the life of a public intellectual and independent thinker unafraid of a fight. A Political Memoir is an important work that says a lot about Australia and the sort of country we are. As well as some personal history, Robert Manne provides...
DAVID MARR My Country: Stories, essays and speeches. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck
In this collection, David Marr presents 50 years of his thinking and writing about Australia. David Marr is one of Australia’s leading journalists, and he has been commenting on things Australian for over fifty years. In his preface he says, ‘Curiosity, mischief and...
JOE ASTON The Chairman’s Lounge. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck
There’s more to Joe Aston’s book about Australia’s national carrier Qantas than access to a luxury airport lounge. From 2011 to 2023, Joe Aston wrote the highly entertaining ‘Rear Window’ column for The Australian Financial Review, and delighted in exposing the...
PETER VAN ONSELEN and WAYNE ERRINGTON Victory: The inside story of Labor’s return to power. Reviewed by Bernard Whimpress
This expert analysis of the 2022 federal election examines Labor’s rebuilding process, the six-week campaign, and the challenges ahead. Victory was released for sale just over four months after election day, but it would be foolish to categorise it as a ‘quickie’. It...
CAMERON K. MURRAY and PAUL FRIJTERS Rigged. Reviewed by Susan Francis
Cameron K. Murray and Paul Frijters reveal how Australia is run by the ‘Game of Mates’, the cosy relationships at the centre of power. Given current discussions about a federal ICAC, and a continuing avalanche of corruption allegations against former members of the...
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....
GIDEON HAIGH The Brilliant Boy: Doc Evatt and the Great Australian Dissent. Reviewed by Bernard Whimpress
Gideon Haigh has written a captivating account of the legal career of one of Australia’s most enthralling public figures, Herbert Vere Evatt, and a defining court case. Better known as ‘Doc’ or ‘Bert’, Evatt was Minister for External Affairs and Attorney General...
SAMANTHA MAIDEN Party Animals: The secret history of a Labor fiasco. Reviewed by Bernard Whimpress
Samantha Maiden’s Party Animals is a multi-faceted analysis of the 2019 federal election, the election the Labor party was expected to win – but didn’t. In her introduction, political journalist Maiden offers a depressing thesis: that from recent evidence the...
TERRY IRVING The Fatal Lure of Politics: The life and thought of Vere Gordon Childe. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck
Terry Irving charts the politics of early twentieth century Australia through the life of writer and polymath Vere Gordon Childe. Vere Gordon Childe (1892–1957) was one of Australia’s most distinguished scholars and public intellectuals in the first half of the...
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