Reviewed by Antonella Townsend Three Wild Dogs – and the Truth – a memoir about the life and times of the dearly departed Reuben and Archer; concluding chapters are dedicated to Frosty who is still living the dream. The dream is having a loving, no-matter-what-happens, loyal carer, some might say owner, but I’m not sure
Reviewed by Richard Tutin Stories tell us much about a nation’s identity. Having been passed down in oral or written forms, they help shape both where a nation has come from and where it is going. The challenge is often to have these stories in a permanent form, so they are not forgotten. There have
Reviewed by Rod McLary Dorothy Porter is one of Australia’s most esteemed poets who received, among many other awards, the Christopher Brennan Award for a lifetime achievement in poetry. Dorothy – or Dod as she was affectionately called by her family – was ‘fuelled by a lusty human humour and a generously sharp-tongued spirit’ [Michael
Reviewed by E B Heath Dr. Richard Scolyer is a world-renowned melanoma pathologist and one of the world’s top melanoma researchers. He is co-director with Georgina Long at the Melanoma Institute Australia. In 2021 he was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia for his outstanding service to medicine in the field of melanoma and
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders The endangered Gouldian finch is one of Australia’s prettiest birds and was named after Elizabeth Gould, by her husband John in 1841. He was already famed as “the Bird Man” (of England), yet in typical fashion, his claim on the finch conveniently overlooked the facts that it had been discovered already
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Nicole Arthur of the Washington Post once wrote that there are two types of people. “Those who have never heard of the Wiggles and those who know all the words to “Fruit Salad”. There’s a word for those in the latter group: parents” [p151]. For those of us who have reared
Reviewed by Rod McLary On 13 August 1987, seventeen-year-old Jasper Haigh died following a car accident in Geelong. Jasper – or Jaz – was the younger brother of Gideon Haigh the well-known author and journalist. As would be expected, the sudden death of his young brother had a significant impact on the life of Gideon
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Next time you find yourself doing some mundane work, imagine what it would be like to be paid to step onto the stage of the Sydney Opera House every night, to perform in front of a cheering audience. A recent French TV series portrayed an opera company as a hotbed of
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke According to the promotional material provided, this book is the first comprehensive biography of the godfather of Australian bushranging – Frank Gardiner – leader of the Lachlan gang and mastermind of the largest gold heist in Australian history. The author, Ian W. Shaw, has published over a dozen books. He believes
Reviewed by Richard Tutin It has been said that the mystique of flying disappeared years ago yet there is still the thought, as we take our seats for a flight to somewhere, that vestiges of it still exist. Captain Jeremy Burfoot, a pilot of more than thirty-five years’ experience, lays bare some of that ongoing
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke As the title of the book suggests, this story is about Giacomo Puccini, the Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Broadly based on actual people and events, it imagines the composer’s life around the time of his creating the opera Madama Butterfly early in the 20th Century. However, the first
Reviewed by Clare Brook Nothing exists, and therefore can be understood, in isolation from its context, for it is context that gives meaning to what we think and do. Alvin Gouldner Tessa Morris-Suzuki’s biography of Monte Punshon reveals not only the unique life of a women born in the late nineteenth century but also deepens
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Rarely does a book cover juxtapose an image of the Kremlin and a map of the Kimberley. If this book was a work of fiction, most readers would consider it far-fetched. But calling this a “remarkable true story” is actually an understatement. The main storyteller is Nick Stride, a likeable Englishman,
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 Richard Tutin I often wonder as I listen to a piece of music or a song on the radio about its backstory. Why was it written? What was the inspiration behind it? I also am interested in those who sing the song and provide the musical backing. What drew them into the music