Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Shauna Bostock, a former Primary School teacher, through curiosity about her family, researched and completed a PhD in Aboriginal history. This book is the story of her personal research. Unlike other previous works with a similar purpose, Reaching Through Time is written from the perspective of an Aboriginal historian who has
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Because the cover of this book, A Farming Life, told me that it contained tales of resilience from inspiring rural women, I initially thought that each of the six chapters would highlight just one specific woman and her achievements. What I found in each chapter was not just the accomplishments of
Reviewed by E.B. Heath. Hearing … is a specialised form of touch. Although classified as Memoir, The House with all the Lights On, is so much more, a literary Tardis. In two-hundred-and forty-pages Jessica Kirkness’ writes: a personal memoir, a brief biography of her deaf grandparents, social and political experiences of the Deaf Community, well-researched
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Gawler is a small town on the Adelaide plain, on the main road to the vineyards of the Barossa Valley. As the oldest country town in Australia, it was still very much a frontier settlement when Harry Coombe was born in 1859, his parents having met and married in the district
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve A book such as this is a welcome antidote to the horrors of the daily news cycle. It is an inspirational account of how a group of dedicated young people, recognising the value of education, devoted their skills and energies to establishing and supporting the school of St Jude’s in Tanzania.
Reviewed by Richard Tutin This book by Shlomo Sand was first published in 2013 and translated into English in 2014. It has now been republished in 2023. Unfortunately, there has been no real explanation as to why this has happened. Even so, Sand touches on a very important topic that affects not only him but
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke It would be very hard to write a book about someone whose whole life has been lived in the media. Yet this is what Robert Jobson has done. With the death of the long reigning Queen, Charles has now become the main focus of the media. Jobson is no doubt well
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Inner Song is the life in print of a woman most Australians will never have heard of. This does not make her less worthy of the plaudits that are finally beginning to be attached to her name, but simply describes what happens to those whose head stretches above the pack, if
Reviewed by Rod McLary The final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was handed down in December 2017. For many people, it was perhaps the first time that the extent of child sexual abuse in trusted and respected organisations was exposed. The Royal Commission conducted 57 case studies and
Reviewed by Clare Brook Whatever Next? Lessons from an Unexpected Life is a memoir of a privileged life by Anne Glenconner. Born Lady Anne Coke, the eldest daughter of the 5th Earl of Leicester in 1932, she grew up at Holkham Hall in Norfolk, England. This is her second memoir, the first published in 2019,
Reviewed by Ian Lipke To write a biography of any person is a major undertaking; to write a biography of such an important figure as George Kennan who led much of the thinking about the Cold War and played a major role in containing the influence of the Soviet Union and its allies after World
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Great Australian Places contains funny, curious and downright astonishing stories from across a big country, so the cover of this book tells me. The cover also depicts travelling in the outback from a time mid last century and has the original Australian lifesaver superimposed on the scene. Inside the book can
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Told in the first person, this book covers the life of a young Korean girl who came to Australia for her education and ended up a singing sensation. Eight pages of photographs divide the book into two sections. The first part highlights her life before she reached the grand final of
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke The Wonder of Little Things is the life story of Ngadjuri Elder, Vince Copley, who in his 85 years helped make life a little better for First Nations people. At the urging of his wife, Brenda, he embarked on this writing with the help of Irish-Australian Lea McInerney who also grew
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Tim Faulkner is one of those blokes in the green gear who mesmerises kids with his stories about Australian wildlife, while demonstrating how to milk a venomous snake or grab an enraged croc. He channels decades of similar characters – from Harry Butler to Steve Irwin and Ranger Stacey – who