Non-Fiction

Non-Fiction

Aussie Rock Anthems by Glen Humphries

Reviewed by Richard Tutin I had a couple of questions as I approached this offering from Glen Humphries. The first was when does a good rock song become a rock anthem? The second question was how do the forty top songs that he has chosen from the Australian songbook became acknowledged as rock anthems when

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Non-Fiction

Long Yarn Short by Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts

Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve This impassioned book by Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, now the ACT’s Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People, alerts us to what needs to be done to correct/replace the failed system, the out-of-home care for Aboriginal children, that now results in additional trauma and heartache for those at its

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Non-Fiction

Techno Humans and Technology by Marcus Smith

Reviewed by Richard Tutin Not a day goes by when the topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI) comes up in either the media or conversation. Yet, as Marcus Smith explains in this book it is only one form of what can be called “Techno” – a shortening of the word technology. Technology has become a very

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Non-Fiction

Townsend of the Ranges by Peter Crowley

Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Mt Townsend is Australia’s second highest mainland peak. It is an attractive mountain, with a rocky top that demands some scrambling, before revealing breathtaking views of the Snowy Mountains and Victorian Alps. But the mountain, much like the man it was named for, is little known despite its formidable attributes.  Peter

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Non-Fiction

Jilya by Tracy Westerman

Reviewed by Norrie Sanders The Pilbara is not a place for the faint of heart. Home to Marble Bar’s Warmest welcome from Australia’s hottest town, it is a harsh and stunning land of rocky peaks, gorges and arid plains. To survive, let alone thrive, requires a special toughness and resilience. The first inhabitants of the

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Non-Fiction

The Immortals of Australian Rugby Union by Gordon Bray

Reviewed by Richard Tutin Across Australia many private schools have an elite squad of sporting students called the First XV. This group is made up of the most promising players of Rugby Union and who, it is thought, will go on to achieve greater things in the sport. It is from this nursery that many

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Non-Fiction

The Shortest History of Music by Andrew Ford

Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Archeologists have unearthed ancient bone flutes, their exact age impossible to determine. Drums made with wood and skin, too, would have been played for millennia but their materials could not endure as have the primitive bone flutes. This is evidence that music in its many forms has been a part of

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Non-Fiction

Leadership at 43000 Feet by Chris Smith

  Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Any new book on how to be a leader enters a crowded space. There are reputed to be more than 50,000 books on Amazon alone, with “Leadership” in the title. In recent years, self-publishing has added substantial numbers and diversity to the topic. Former airline pilot, Chris Smith has taken

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Non-Fiction

Wetlands in a Dry Land by Emily O’Gorman

Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Books about wetlands are usually the province of photographers or aquatic scientists and richly illustrated with plants, animals and landscapes that display a natural beauty. But what environmental historian Emily O’Gorman has written in her latest book demonstrates that many wetlands have been profoundly changed by people, and as a society,

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Non-Fiction

Nuked by Andrew Fowler

Reviewed by Norrie Sanders According to  a recent poll, 48% of Australians believe that AUKUS will keep us more secure from China. AUKUS being the trilateral security arrangement with the US and UK. The arrangement was forged in secret and no detail has been made public, so for that 48%, it is an act of

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Non-Fiction

The Afghans by Asne Seierstad

Reviewed by E.B. Heath Asne Seierstad, the bestselling author of The Bookseller of Kabul, returned to Afghanistan in 2022 with the goal of understanding more about the Taliban’s regime.  As an investigative journalist, she wanted to report what had changed now they were in power, what had stayed the same and what did they wish

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Non-Fiction

What Does Israel Fear from Palestine by Raja Shehadeh

Reviewed by Richard Tutin This review has been difficult to write because of the sensitivity of the topic and the emotion that comes with it. Since 7th October 2023, raw emotion has been the catalyst for the many outpourings of grief and anger from different elements of society within the world community. Raja Shehadeh’s slim

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Non-Fiction

Everything is Water by Simon Cleary

Reviewed by Norrie Sanders River journeys are a familiar genre.   Whether it be the mighty Nile, Amazon or Congo, or the less mighty Thames or Murray, historians, geographers, anthropologists and hikers, to name a few, have felt the need to explore and write about it. Closer to home, our more modest Brisbane River has been

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Non-Fiction

Why We Die by Venki Ramakrishnan

Reviewed by E. B. Heath Ageing and death are currently hot topics in the publishing world.  No doubt influenced by a wave of Baby Boomers now facing the inevitable.  But they are not the only group chasing immortality.  There are many in affluent countries who are opting for their bodies to be preserved using the

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Non-Fiction

An Everyone Story by Duncan McKellar

Reviewed by Rod McLary The subtitle to this ultimately hopeful book is Finding our way back to compassion, hope and humanity implying of course that compassion, hope and humanity were lost somewhere along the way.  This is the story of the 2017 review of the Oakden Older Persons’ Mental Health Service in Adelaide.  The book’s

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