It has been a bizarre month in politics. We’ve seen a speaker talk (or text) about dud roots, an MP allege union officials used his hotel phone while he was in the shower and an opposition minister for business declare he had the skin of a rhinoceros, the speed of a gazelle and was watching the opposition like a hawk (yes ladies and gentlemen, a one man menagerie voted in by the people for the people), sometimes politics can get you down.
What better way to exorcise the insanity that is currently going on in Canberra from your mind than with a book. Watching the evening news we can easily forget that Australia has a rich and interesting political history. We are one of the few nations whose sovereignty was established with words and deeds rather than bullets and blades.
Here are five of the best books on Australian politics I’ve read. They are sure to be more relevant and richly rewarding than what we currently have to contend with. I plan to read more Australian history. It’s time I stopped yelling at the TV and did something about fixing the mess. Maybe you’ll join me.
The Party Thieves
by Barrie Cassidy
You need to know where you’ve been to know where you are, and what better place to start than one of the best books of the last twenty years, The Party Thieves. Opening with Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull locking horns (doesn’t that seem like a long time ago) and ending with the incredible events of the 2010 federal election, author and respected political commentator Barry Cassidy lets you behind the curtain to dissect the key moments before the election that brought us the first minority government in almost 70 years.
Blurb: When veteran journalist and former Hawke media adviser Barrie Cassidy first started thinking about this book in December 2009, Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd were leaders of their parties. Within six months, both men had been deposed. Cassidy contends that both men stole their parties away: Turnbull by insisting on a climate change policy that the majority hated; Rudd by his authoritarian rule and disregard for MPs and party members. In the end, both parties came and took back their parties.
Cassidy contends that the removal of Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister, in the lead-up to the 2010 election ranks with the Dismissal, the disappearance of Holt and the day Fraser called an election as one of the four big stories in Australian politics in the last 50 years. The Party Thieves is more than just a campaign diary of the 2010 election; it is an analysis of a tumultuous eight months in politics, and the impact on the party and the population.
Click here to buy your copy from Booktopia, Australia’s No.1 Online Book Shop
Lazarus Rising
by John Howard
Perhaps loathed more than liked by the end of his political career, John Howard will still cast one of the largest shadows on the Australia political landscape for many years to come. Howard entered politics at the age 34 in 1974 and ended it in ignominious circumstances in 2007. Arguably the greatest politician of his age, John Howard was able to boast the support of the working class and high earners alike in a way no other Prime Minister has before him. Lazarus Rising not only stands as the only memoir from the second longest serving Australian Prime Minister in history, but also casts a net across over a quarter of the entire history of Australian politics through the eyes of man who has been a backbencher, minister, treasurer, opposition leader and ultimately Prime Minister.
Blurb: John Howard′s autobiography, Lazarus Rising, is the biggest-selling political memoir Australia has seen. In it he talks about his love for his family, his rollercoaster ride to the Lodge and how – as prime minister – he responded to issues like climate change and the war on terrorism. Drawing on his deep interest in history, he paints a fascinating picture of a changing Australia.
In this new revised edition, he also analyses the cataclysmic lead-up to the 2010 election and the vexed political paradigm that emerged. From the future prospects of the Greens and Independents to the performance of Barnaby Joyce, Howard pulls no punches. No stranger to power struggles himself, he is uniquely qualified to note the remaking of the Nationals, decode Tony Abbott′s strategies and understand the pressures facing Julia Gillard and the comeback prospects of Kevin Rudd.
Essential reading for all followers of politics.
Click here to buy your copy from Booktopia, Australia’s No.1 Online Book Shop
After Words
by PJ Keating
In a world where teenagers release 500 page memoirs, it’s refreshing when a public figure with the gravitas of Paul Keating states repeatedly he will never release one. After Words is the closest we’ll get to one from the former Labour Prime Minister, with Keating’s most important post-political speeches recorded fastidiously in this 2011 release. His vision of an Australia with strong ties with Asia now appears a beacon amongst other economical commentators of his day, and with his famous turn of phrase and lightning wit we are treated to the public reflections of a man who oversaw the downturn and overdrive of the Australian economy like few others.
Blurb: A unique volume of speeches and occasional pieces written entirely by former Prime Minister Paul Keating.
Books of speeches are rarely published as a compendium of work by one person. After Words is unique in Australian publishing by virtue of its scale and range of subjects, and that all the speeches are the work of one eye and one mind: former Prime Minister Paul Keating.
Each speech has been conceptualised, contextualised and crafted by Paul Keating. Subject to subject, idea to idea, the speeches are related in a wider construct, which is the way Paul Keating has viewed and thought about the world.
The speeches reveal the breadth and depth of his interests – be they cultural, historical, or policy-focused – dealing with subjects as broad as international relations, economic policy and politics. Individual chapters range from a discussion of Jorn Utzon’s Opera House through to the redesign of Berlin, the history of native title, the challenge of Asia, the role of the monarchy, to the shape of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, and more.
After Words contains an analytic commentary on Australia’s recent social and economic repositioning, in the minds of many, by its principal architect. The speeches, more often than not, go beyond observations, as Paul Keating sketches out new vistas and points to new directions. For those interested in matters that go to the future of Australia and the world, After Words presents, unmediated, a panoply of issues which the policy mind and writing style of Paul Keating has sculpted into a recognisable landscape.
Click here to buy your copy from Booktopia, Australia’s No.1 Online Book Shop
Malcolm Fraser – The Political Memoirs
The former liberal Prime Minister, a grazier’s son, who attended the elite Melbourne Grammar School before receiving his masters from Oxford and entered the parliament at the then record age of 24. Sounds like a simple story of a conservative done good doesn’t it? Despite this hard right résumé Malcolm Fraser remains one of the most divisive figures in Australian politics, largely for his views since leaving the Liberal Party in 1983. While former Liberal frontbenchers like Peter Costello, John Howard, along with Labour contemporaries Bob Hawke and Kim Beasley continue to applaud any action taken by their former political parties, Fraser has remained neutral throughout his retirement and continued to be an important player in public life, playing a key role in persuading the USA Congress to impose sanctions on South Africa as part of the battle against apartheid. He was also the founding chair of CARE Australia, one of our largest aid agencies. Calling things as he sees them with his a savvy political mind and strong appreciation of the arts, Fraser reflects on the changes in the Australian political landscape, from the end of World War II to the events of today. A wonderful read.
Blurb: Malcolm Fraser is one of the most interesting and possibly most misunderstood of Australia’s Prime Ministers. In this part memoir and part authorised biography, Fraser at the age of 79 years talks about his time in public life. From the Vietnam War to the Dismissal and his years as Prime Minister, through to his concern in recent times for breaches in the Rule of Law and harsh treatment of refugees, Fraser emerges as an enduring liberal, constantly reinterpreting core values to meet the needs of changing times.
Written in collaboration with journalist Margaret Simons, Malcolm Fraser’s political memoirs trace the story of a shy boy who was raised to be seen and not heard, yet grew to become one of the most persistent, insistent and controversial political voices of our times.
The book offers insight into Malcolm Fraser’s substantial achievements. He was the first Australian politician to describe Australia’s future as multicultural, and his federal government was the first to pass Aboriginal Land Rights and Freedom of Information legislation, also establishing the Human Rights Commission.
After his parliamentary career, Fraser continued to be an important player in public life, playing a key role in persuading the USA Congress to impose sanctions on South Africa as part of the battle against apartheid. He was also the founding chair of CARE Australia, one of our largest aid agencies.
Click here to buy your copy from Booktopia, Australia’s No.1 Online Book Shop
John Curtin – A Biography
by Lloyd Ross
Australia has never known wartime on its doorstep since federation like World War II, and from the ashes of that conflict rose John Curtin, named in 2004 by a panel of writers and historians and Australia’s greatest Prime Minister. While only in power for a short time, between 1941-1945, Curtin led Australia in one of its darkest hours before tragically dying in office. A passionate man who held a minority in the senate for most of his term, Curtin was as complex as he was inspirational, constantly battling his own demons of the bottled variety. Author Lloyd Ross’ biography on the former leader sets the benchmark for all political biographies to aspire to. A truly great book about a truly great man.
Blurb: ‘A first-rate fighter, with the mild appearance of a curate’ Bulletin
This is an important classic biography of an Australian Prime Minister whose life still exerts an abiding influence on Australian society and national consciousness—a key figure in Australian history.
‘Curtin was a complex character. Warm and sympathetic, but cold and aloof; a comrade but a loner; a rebel and anti-conscriptionist but Prime Minister. Moody; irritable; uncertain; changeable; vacillating; temperamental; opportunist; sentimental; courageous; all are true of Curtin.’
Lloyd Ross sums up the character of the wartime Labor Prime Minister who fought Churchill to bring back Australian troops from Europe to defend our nation. An intense and passionate orator, Curtin inspired respect in cynical Australians by his unassuming dignity, straightforwardness and refusal of any personal privilege.
‘A natural Australian, impervious to imperial ideology. Labor and Australia were his twin causes.’ Geoffrey Serle
Click here to buy your copy from Booktopia, Australia’s No.1 Online Book Shop
Best Australian Political Cartoons
One positive to emerge from the ever-frustrating politics of modern day Australia is the seemingly bottomless array of events that have given birth to the incredible cartoons we see every day. As clever and witty as they have ever been, political cartoonists have been living in the land of milk and money for over a decade. They point their pencil and brush at some of the most memorable moments in Australian Politics with an eye for detail that is astounding. There is no greater reflection of the world of politics than these wonderful drawings and comments found in these pages. An absolute must.
Blurb: 2010 has been a year of reversals. At the start Kevin Rudd, the conscience of decent folk everywhere, was still enjoying an unprecedented run of popularity in the polls. Meanwhile, the Liberals were fast becoming a reactionary rabble who, after sacrificing most of their leadership talent, were left with only a mad monk to guide them out of the wilderness.
But by midyear Tony Abbott had become the iron man, smuggling in a new set of budgies to get the Liberals’ oppositional juices flowing. Kevin Rudd was looking as rattled as a clapped out third-termer, displaying a level of political expediency that would have made John Howard blush. Opinion polls indicated that without drastic action there was no way out, and Labor turned to Julia Gillard to bring them back to the light.
The election campaign was full of sound and fury, but — to all our costs — signifying very little. The result seemd to suggest an electorate profoundly pissed off with this cynical, content-free world of spin and obfuscation. Enter the three amigos, the resurgent Greens, and a former whistleblower.
See what Australia’s wittiest and most perceptive political cartoonists make of it all in Best Australian Political Cartoons 2010: your essential alternative guide to the year in politics.
With Dean Alston, Peter Broelman, Warren Brown, Matt Davidson, Andrew Dyson, Firstdogonthemoon, Matt Golding, Fiona Katauskas, Mark Knight, Jon Kudelka, Bill Leak, Alan Moir, Peter Nicholson, Vince O’Farrell, Ward O’Neill, Bruce Petty, David Pope, David Rowe, John Spooner, Ron Tandberg, Andrew Weldon, Cathy Wilcox, Paul Zanetti, and many more …
Click here to buy your copy from Booktopia, Australia’s No.1 Online Book Shop
Filed under: Book Recommendations, Politics | Tagged: After Words, Best Australian Political Cartoons, John Curtin - A Biography, Lazarus Rising, Malcolm Fraser: The Political Memoirs, The Party Thieves | Leave a Comment »






















































REVIEW: Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady (Guest Blogger: Booktopia’s Sarah McDuling)
In 1850s England, however, such an idea was enough to stop the press. Although a woman sat on the throne, this was an age in which woman did not yet have the right to vote. As Kate Summerscale’s research shows us, this was also an age in which any woman who was known to desire a man she was not married to was deemed to be suffering from sexual mania, in which PMS was actually considered to be a mental disorder that might land a woman in an asylum. Most of all, it was an age in which a lady’s husband was her lord and master.
The first half of Summerscale’s book outlines the true story of Isabella Robinson, a women in her early thirties who had just entered into her second marriage. Like most marriages of the time, it was a marriage of convenience. Isabella’s husband could provide her with financial security, but very little else. Being an intelligent and passionate woman at her sexual peak, Isabella (trail blazing for generations of “cougars” to follow) soon finds herself lusting after a young man ten years her junior. Her obsession with him begins to rule her life and she pours all her repressed passion and frustrated sexual energy into her diary. When her husband finds her diary, he announces his intention to divorce her.
Mrs Robinson’s Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady might be non-fiction but it reads very much like a novel. For those who see the words “historical non-fiction” and immediately start snoring – don’t be too hasty to judge! This is an exciting story of scandal and intrigue, as well as a riveting courtroom drama. And on top of that, it is truly a revealing snapshot of Victorian times with cameo appearances from notable historical figures such as Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens.
Summerscale’s research is impressive. She has gone to extraordinary lengths compiling letters, newspaper clippings, public records and census information in order to build a really solid social and historical framework through which to view Mrs. Robinson’s story.
Still, throughout everything, Isabella Robinson remains something of a mystery. With her original diary lost, sadly all that remains of her words are the sections that were printed in the newspapers during the divorce trial. From Summerscale’s account, Isabella emerges as a woman full of contradictions. Impulsive and creative, selfish and hysterical, in ways born ahead of her times and in others wholly a product of her times – all that can be said for certain about Isabella Robinson is that she was very unhappy in what she called “the bonds of a dreaded wedlock”.
Summerscale’s previous book, The Suspicions of Mr Wicher, is said to be a study of the real life detective who inspired the character of Sherlock Holmes. In this same vein, Isabella Robinson could easily be said to have inspired characters like Madame Bovary and Lady Chatterley. But the best thing about Mrs Robinson’s Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady is the realisation that Isabella Robinson probably wasn’t all that different from the average Victorian woman. In fact, the only real difference was that the average Victorian woman was a little more clever about hiding her diary.
Guest Reviewer: Booktopia’s Sarah McDuling
Click here to order Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace from Booktopia,
Australia’s No. 1 Online Book Shop
From the bestselling, multi-award-winning author of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher comes a brand new true story of a Victorian scandal.
On a mild winter’s evening in 1850, Isabella Robinson set out for a party. Her carriage bumped across the wide cobbled streets of Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town and drew up at 8 Royal Circus, a grand sandstone house lit by gas lamps. This was the home of the rich widow Lady Drysdale, a vivacious hostess whose soirees were the centre of an energetic intellectual scene.
Lady Drysdale’s guests were gathered in the high, airy drawing rooms on the first floor, the ladies in dresses of glinting silk and satin, bodices pulled tight over boned corsets; the gentlemen in tailcoats, waistcoats, neckties and pleated shirt fronts, dark narrow trousers and shining shoes. When Mrs Robinson joined the throng she was introduced to Lady Drysdale’s daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Edward Lane. She was at once enchanted by the handsome Mr Lane, a medical student ten years her junior. He was ‘fascinating’, she told her diary, before chastising herself for being so susceptible to a man’s charms. But a wish had taken hold of her, which she was to find hard to shake…
A compelling story of romance and fidelity, insanity, fantasy, and the boundaries of privacy in a society clinging to rigid ideas about marriage and female sexuality, Mrs Robinson’s Disgrace brings vividly to life a complex, frustrated Victorian wife, longing for passion and learning, companionship and love.
About the Author
Kate Summerscale is the author of the number one bestselling The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2008, a Richard & Judy Book Club pick and adapted into a major ITV drama. Her first book, The Queen of Whale Cay, won a Somerset Maugham award and was shortlisted for the Whitbread biography award. Kate Summerscale has also judged various literary competitions including the Booker Prize. She lives in London.
Click here to order Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace from Booktopia,
Australia’s No. 1 Online Book Shop
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Filed under: Biography/Memoir, Book Recommendations, Guest Blog, History, Social Commentary | Tagged: Books, Kate Summerscale, Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace, Review, Sarah McDuling | Leave a Comment »