Reviewed by Richard Tutin Cricket is much more than just a game that we watch. To some it’s a way of life. In the ABC of Australian Cricket Ken Piesse tells some of the stories, real and apocryphal, that demonstrate the love and passion that cricket lovers have for their favourite game. These stories have
Reviewed by Margaret Elizabeth Today, right now, you could be living or working next to a woman suffering from domestic violence. A woman who needs your help. Daughters of Durga: Dowries, Gender Violence and Family in Australia (2022) exposes the causation of dowry-based violence perpetrated against women from Southeast Asia. Women living in Australia. Professor
Reviewed by Antonella Townsend Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times. Humour is a non-contact sport in Britain, I think they are pushing for it to be included in the Olympics, in which case Marina Hyde will certainly win gold. I haven’t relished reading political and cultural commentary so much since the late, very
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders The withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in August 2021 left a vacuum that was instantly filled by the Taliban – intimidating militia who had been forcibly ousted from government two decades before. In the preceding days and weeks, many of the 5 million residents of Kabul lived with unremitting chaos
Reviewed by E. B. Heath Whatever is done for love always occurs beyond good and evil. Nietzsche, F. W. (1894) As far as this reader is concerned Justin Gregg is preaching to the choir in his conviction that cognition and the subjective experience of animals are much the same as humans, albeit not as complex.
Reviewed by Richard Tutin I don’t think that too many people watching the Tour de France on their electronic devices or are lucky enough to stand roadside on the route of one of the stages give much thought, if any, to the behind-the-scenes makeup of the race itself. They see the riders giving their all
Reviewed by Clare Brook An author that provides readers with scientific research concerning health and wellbeing and can be simultaneously amusing is clearly a gifted communicator. Dr. Norman Swan has achieved this in his latest book. So you want to Live Younger Longer? is packed with a wide range of material. First off it’s all
Reviewed by Richard Tutin Journalism and journalists are constantly in the spotlight. Whether it is watching the nightly television news or reading the various newspapers in their paper or digital forms, we are constantly hearing or reading the results of the journalistic craft. Journalists have come under attack in recent times as societies grapple with
Reviewed by Ian Lipke This is the nonfictional account of the precarious lives led by Australian prisoners of war at the infamous Sandakan POW camp in Borneo in WW2. It purports to tell the story through the eyes of Warrant Officer Bill Sticpewich’s, whom some see as a hero, others as a collaborator. The story
Reviewed by E. B. Heath Apparently, human brains are drowning in an ocean of distraction; our focus is being commandeered by modern technology. For this reason, Johann Hari completely unhitched himself from the rigging of his digital life and sailed off to Provincetown, Cape Cod, to live as a pre-cyber-age man. His goal was to
Reviewed by Richard Tutin It is said that there are two certainties in life – death and taxes. While we are able to navigate to a certain extent the mysteries of the Tax Office, we are less knowledgeable about death. As a society we fear death even though it is part of how life is
Reviewed by E.B. Heath The linguistic agility of some writers has the effect of organising the mind – much like a librarian applying the Dewey Decimal system to a pile of dusty books – Professor Grayling is one such writer. He makes light work for the reader despite the dense subject matter concerning significant threats
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke An attempt to understand a concept such as science releases passion and inspiration and too often frustration, as the subject’s vastness and its predisposition to cognitive challenge leave its practitioners overwhelmed. Iraqi-British theoretical physicist and chair of public engagement in science at the University of Surrey, Jim Al-Khalili, spends half his
Reviewed by Gail McDonald Professor Lucy Easthope is the United Kingdom’s leading authority on recovering from disaster, whether that is as a result of earthquakes, tsunami, fire bombings or war. Lucy has been at the forefront of the development of policy and practice guidelines in partnership with governments for most tragedies that impact on populations
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Neuroscience is universally engaged in the study of the fascinating organ that is our brain. An eminent expert in this field, Moshe Bar, has produced a book that is claimed to be the first to deal with a particular area of brain function – Mindwandering. He has attempted to make this