Reviewed by Antonella Townsend The author who presented the world with the first indestructible cardboard baby book should be awarded a Noble Prize for Literature. Saving parents from the inevitable task of rescuing baby’s first set of books from a torn and soggy death, while simultaneously, placing tiny feet on the path of literacy, is
Reviewed by Rod McLary The sub-title for this meticulously researched book tells it all – The Anglican Paedophile Network of Newcastle, Its Protectors and the Man Who Fought for Justice. The man at the heart of the book who fought for justice is Steve Smith – a survivor of years of childhood sexual abuse at
Reviewed by Ian Lipke What an odd fellow George Kennan must have been! Costigliola’s book, Kennan: a Life Between Worlds is one of the few books to treat him with limited sympathy. At the centre of much discussion about this statesman is what Costigliola calls Keenan’s ‘tragedy’, a reference to Keenan’s treatment by arms of
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke This is the first novel by Tylissa Elisara, a children’s social worker. Her aboriginal and Irish heritage has given her a long legacy of storytelling. This hard covered 20 x 13cm book has been described as an indigenous Blinky Bill meets Winnie the Pooh. In her adventure story Wurrtoo the author
Reviewed by Rod McLary The Winter Palace is a fine example of historical fiction. Based on meticulous research, the book explores the reality of what is commonly called the ‘Polish abduction’ from the beginning of World War Two and personalises the experiences of many thousands of Polish people by telling the story of two in
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Readers of Karl Schlögel’s books could be forgiven for measuring them on an avoirdupois scale. The latest The Soviet Century: Archaeology of a Lost World is over 900 pages in length and deliberately draws the readers’ attention to spatial concepts with its strange title. Its saving grace rests with the author’s
Reviewed by Richard Tutin There is the thought that not much more can be said about the history of the Roman Empire. Mary Beard though breaks through this thought and has dug a little deeper to reveal more about the Emperors between Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) and Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Beard though
Reviewed by Ian Lipke The second volume of Zachary Gorman’s work is called The Menzies Watershed, a singularly appropriate title for the second of a research study which will eventually cover four volumes. Volume No. 1 focussed on Menzies’ career in 1884 – 1942 and covered the journey of a politician in his earliest years.
Reviewed by Richard Tutin History can be interesting when the right book comes along. All too often we are offered books that contain good facts but whose prose can be very dry and droll. We feel the need for a good story or two to liven things up. This is where Jim Haynes’ latest book
Reviewed by Rod McLary The Rewilding is an intriguing and engaging novel – part romance, part thriller and part polemic – with two attractive protagonists who at least initially are at loggerheads with each other. Jagger [named by his mother after the lead singer of the Rolling Stones] Eckerman and Nia [meaning ‘resolve’ or ‘brilliance’
Reviewed by Rod McLary Gus and the Missing Boy successfully blends the features of a detective story with the tropes of a YA novel. Through the course of this novel, the author canvasses the existential issues facing thirteen-year-old Gus as he struggles with caring for his seriously injured mother, the vicissitudes of being gay and
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke This hard covered coffee table book tells the story of the ceramic studio, Ernabella Arts, which has for many years worked happily with the JamFactory in South Australia. The JamFactory is supported by the South Australian Government through the Department for Industry, Innovation and Science. It is a Dealer Member of
Reviewed by Rod McLary The Accident begins with a car crash – and the effects of which reverberate through the subsequent events in the novel. Jamie McMaster – fiancé to Hannah Simmons – is killed while driving on an unsurfaced country road in a red Porsche. When the initial shock of his death fades a
Reviewed by Richard Tutin I need to state from the outset that I am a long-time fan of Wilbur Smith’s Ancient Egyptian Adventures series. It probably stems from my great interest in things historical especially the empires of Egypt and Rome. The key character in the series is Taita who though a slave has managed
Reviewed by Rod McLary This is the fourth book by Sarah Bailey featuring Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock but the first one which I have read – an oversight which I intend to rectify as soon as possible. DS Gemma Woodstock is an engaging, multi-dimensional protagonist who is balancing the demands of a baby daughter, a