Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sky by Gina Wilkinson
19 December, 2007
Foreign correspondents’ memoirs of the (current) Iraq war are a burgeoning genre of their own. So, what’s different about former ABC journalist Gina Wilkinson’s book? For one thing, it’s unlikely to find a place on the shelves of ABC stores around the country.

Future Files: A History of the Next 50 Years by Richard Watson
19 December, 2007
This is the world according to Richard Watson: it’s the year 2050, cyber terrorism is a serious threat, there is no oil and the economy is akin to the 1930s depression era. We will be more connected to the wider world through a mind-blowing increase in technology, but more isolated in our personal lives.

Island of the Lost by Joan Druett
19 December, 2007
I have always loved stories of shipwrecked sailors, and this is one of the best, thrillingly told. On 3 January, 1864, the Grafton was wrecked on Auckland Island, one of the islands that dot the sea between Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica.

A Long Walk in the Himalaya: A Trek from the Ganges to Kashmir by Garry Weare
19 December, 2007
Inspired by his friend Peter Hillary, who has written the introduction, Garry Weare has written a fine account of an amazing trek from the Ganges to Kashmir. Weare is no stranger to the Himalaya and trekking, having run trekking companies and lived in Kashmir for a sizable portion of his life.

Making the Cut: A Surgeon’s Stories of Life on the Edge by Mohamed Khadra
19 December, 2007
Making the Cut is the autobiography of Melbourne surgeon Mohamed Khadra, who takes us through the progressions of his surgical career from intern to resident, and from private to academic practice. He also relates his experience as a patient in his own hospital in what is ultimately a scathing critique of Australia’s underresourced public healthcare system.

Resistance: A Childhood Fighting for East Timor by Naldo Rei
19 December, 2007
Naldo Rei was just six-months-old when Indonesia invaded East Timor in December 1975. One of 10 children, Rei spent the first three years of his life in the jungle, where his family had fled for safety. After his father was murdered for his work in the resistance movement, nine-year-old Rei was recruited by the clandestine Fretilin network and began his extraordinary journey fighting for East Timor’s freedom.

Where the Road Leads by Jean Calder
19 December, 2007
Jean Calder has lived and worked with people with disabilities for over 25 years. Not in Australia, but in the dangerous territories of Lebanon, Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Born near Mackay, Queensland in 1936, Jean was brought up in a strict but loving family.

A Venetian Bestiary by Jan Morris
6 December, 2007
This small, slim book about animals is not as insubstantial as it looks. Jan Morris's writing is as rich and colourful as ever, and her knowledge of the history and the little-known sights of Venice provides her with a rich source of material.

A Light History of Hot Air
28 November, 2007
Peter Doherty’s new book conducts the reader through a fascinating tour of the many ways, literally and metaphorically, that mankind and nature have made use of hot air.

Blubberland: The Dangers of Happiness by Elizabeth Farrelly
28 November, 2007
In this book, Elizabeth Farrelly refers to the many notorious excesses of our society as ‘blubber’. It’s not just accessories like the plasma TV and the SUV that she writes about, but also the aesthetics of our surroundings: buildings, people and art.

Searching for Schindler: A Memoir by Tom Keneally
28 November, 2007
This very readable narrative is Keneally’s tale of how he came to hear of a man named Osckar Schindler, write a book about him and see it turned into a movie.

Three Seasons by Jane Hansen
28 November, 2007
Jane Hansen is best known for her journalism and work as a foreign correspondent around the world for Australia’s major television networks, particularly covering war zones and political situations.

Why is Uranus Upside Down? And Other Questions About the Universe by Fred Watson
28 November, 2007
Have you ever looked to the night sky and asked the questions why do stars twinkle? What’s outside the universe? What are shooting stars?

Australian Classics: 50 Great Books by Jane Gleeson-White
22 November, 2007
hope I’m not alone in saying that a book of this ilk is long overdue. Gleeson-White’s compilation of 50 of Australia’s classic literary works, as the introduction suggests, offers readers a ‘broad overview of Australian writing’—fiction (adult and children’s) and nonfiction.

Australian Story: Off the Record edited by Deborah Fleming
22 November, 2007
Australian Story: Off the Record takes you behind the scenes of one of Australia’s best-loved TV shows. This is the stuff we didn’t get to see—the blood, sweat and tears that go into producing a hit show: the friendships that were forged, the budgets that were broken, the heartache over stories that fell apart and the joy over stories that, hundreds of cups of tea and iced vovos later, came together at the last minute.

Australia’s Pioneers, Heroes and Fools by Peter Macinnis
22 November, 2007
When bushwalking, I often wonder who first discovered that a plant was poisonous? For Australia’s early European explorers, it was usually a case of finding out the hard way.

Good Luck and Good Punting: Memoirs of a Racing Tragic by Ken Callander
22 November, 2007
Interestingly for someone reviewing a book about a ‘racing tragic’, I know almost nothing about racing, and generally choose my horse in the Melbourne Cup by picking the best looking jockey, or the prettiest silks. However, I found Good Luck and Good Punting a reasonably entertaining read.

Green is Good: Smart Ways to Live Well and Help the Planet by Rebecca Blackburn
22 November, 2007
When Indonesian President Yudhoyono walked into Sydney’s Books Kinokunyia during the recent APEC summit, he apparently bought up the entire climate change section.

The World’s Weirdest Sports by Paul Connolly
22 November, 2007
Ever wanted to go Bog Snorkelling? How’s about a match of Dwile Flonking? Care for a vigorous game of Uppies and Doonies? These are the names of just some of the sports listed in this fascinating and informative compendium of the strange things people do in the dark corners of the sporting world (quite often, it must be said, fuelled by copious amounts of alcohol).

The Insider’s Guide to Power in Australia by Jack the Insider by Richard Fidler & Peter Hoysted
22 November, 2007
‘Taking the piss’ is a deeply Australian idea. It roots lie at the core of larrikinism, that somewhat dated concept first recognised by the likes of Lawson and C J Dennis. It consists of finding humor in our darkest moments, and is allied with a deep disrespect for authority.

Observations of a Very Short Man: An Amateur’s Guide to Life by Nigel Marsh
22 November, 2007
My dad and I are fans of Nigel Marsh’s first book, Fat, Forty and Fired, so I was excited to read his second and it didn’t disappoint. Observations of a Very Short Man was a fantastic read, and contained some pearls of wisdom that I have already incorporated into my life.

Searching for Schindler by Tom Keneally
30 October, 2007
This very readable narrative is Keneally’s tale of how he came to hear of a man named Osckar Schindler, write a book about him and see it turned into a movie.

Thames: Sacred River by Peter Ackroyd
29 October, 2007
Peter Ackroyd's Thames: Sacred River runs from source to sea, like the river itself. Like the river, too, it sometimes flows swiftly through landscapes of great interest and beauty, and at other times it meanders, becomes turgid, or has stony passages where the going gets harder.

Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer
13 September, 2007
In this introduction to her 'Introduction', Greer spells out for us the theme and nature of her book. Ann Shakespeare is the maligned or disparaged wife in question and Greer intends to rescue her from this sorry state.

Dead Lucky: Life and death on Mount Everest by Lincoln Hall
13 September, 2007
At 7.30pm on May 26th 2006, at 8600 metres on the face of Mount Everest, Lincoln Hall died. At 9am that morning he had stood on the summit and spoken by radio-phone to Alexander Abromov, the expedition leader at Advance Base Camp.