Object Lessons: Archaeology and Heritage in Australia edited by Jane Lyndon & Tracey Ireland
28 May, 2006
Recent events covered by Australia’s media have highlighted the complexity of social identity in this country. Object Lessons, far from being simply a book about what constitutes heritage in our relatively new nation, is a timely assessment of how ‘places and objects’ contribute to our sense of belonging and community.

Many Lifetimes: A Memoir by Audrey Evans
28 May, 2006
Audrey Evans is a truly inspirational Australian woman who overcame tremendous obstacles and hardships to inspire and change lives. This is Audrey’s life story—a life that involved growing up through abuse, pregnancy at 17, battling through depression and countless visits to mental institutions, rape, prostitution, alcoholism, abusive relationships and poverty. This memoir is far more than just the story of an inspirational aboriginal woman, it is the life of an extraordinary person who triumphed to qualify as a teacher in the same year she qualified for the old-age pension.

The Champions: Conversations with Great Players and Coaches of Australian Football by Ben Collins
28 May, 2006
This new football book from GSP interviews 24 AFL/VFL players about their Australian Rules football experiences. From Ron Barassi and Bob Davis to current footy stars such as James Hird and Robert Harvey, this book gleans information from the players about their football careers and where their lives have led to after football. This book will appeal to readers who are 40 or older—younger readers may find the format a little dry and regimented.

Please just F*** Off: It’s Our Turn Now by Ryan Heath
28 May, 2006
Shame about the title. No doubt it got a good laugh at the publishing meeting where this book was pitched, but it’s combative, negative, and will alienate some readers immediately. Pity, because this isn’t a half-bad book. Its strength is that it conveys in no uncertain terms, often using first-person quotes, the frustration many young people feel about the stagnation that currently afflicts Australia.

The Big Oyster by Mark Kurlansky
15 May, 2006
"Up until the nineteenth century the oyster was thought to be a simple primitive creature". So begins one early chapter of this book by Mark Kurlansky. And, if you enjoy oysters as a culinary delicacy, you would do well to stop reading right there and skip to the next chapter, because what follows is a detailed description of a complex, sensitive creature which we keep alive so that, complete with "a working brain, a stomach, intestines, liver and a still beating heart", we can swallow it whole. And some of them can grow to a foot long, which, as William Makepeace Thackeray once complained was "like eating a baby"

Black Founders: The Unknown Story of Australia's First Black Settlers by Cassandra Pybus
23 April, 2006
Black Founders is well-written historical text, full of details that make most fiction look like lolly water. There is a very powerful thesis in this text, an attempt to reappraise the inherent white/black dichotomy of Australian history.

Drink Me by Skye Rogers
23 April, 2006
The sub-genre of substance-abuse autobiography­think Running with Scissors, A Million Little Pieces et al-has taken up an increasing portion of the shelves in recent years. Rogers, author of nonfiction titles like Thirtysomething, varies the format with Drink Me as she delves into the story of her ex-partner Dan's alcoholism and how it eventually destroyed an intense and very loving relationship.

Australia Locked up by John Nicholson
23 April, 2006
John Nicholson's information-rich, nonfiction picture books have been highly commended for years. Following his award-winning format, Australia Locked Up combines detailed illustrations with Australian nonfiction and is aimed at upper-primary­age children.

Asbestos House: The Unauthorised Story of James Hardie Industries by Gideon Haigh
12 March, 2006
Asbestos House, a monumental history of James Hardie Industries and its 107 -year relationship with a most useful and deadly substance, treads a fine line between exposing problems and attaching blame. Although reports from as early as 1930 suggested a link between asbestos and lung diseases, a succession of Hardie staff persisted in the belief that the problem could be overcome, or ignored until a later time.

Bernard Shaw: A Life by A.M. Gibbs
12 March, 2006
George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin in 1856, the only son of an alcoholic corn merchant and a leading amateur soprano. He died at the age of 94 in 1950, and was, as A M Gibbs states, a 'herald and creator of cultural and social change.' Despite showing promise in his early years as a novelist, Shaw began a successful career as a playwright in his 30s, and became a major influence on the theatre of his time and after.

Tucker Track by Warren Fahey
19 December, 2005
Warren Fahey’s Tucker Track draws together some of the lore, songs and recipes that he has gathered in his many years of roaming this country as one of Australia’s premier folklorists. It’s a ragtag collection of bits and bobs, organised thematically into chapters and then in varying-length sections, listed in alphabetical order. I found myself wondering exactly what its purpose was.

South by Northwest by Granville Allen Mawer
19 December, 2005
G A Mawer is the author of numerous books about exploration and seafaring adventures, his most recent being The Life and Legend of Jack Doolan, the Wild Colonial Boy. Now he turns his attention to the last continent, Antarctica, a continent that became the last Holy Grail for so many.

Spain by the Horns by Tim Elliott
19 December, 2005
An encounter with a bullfighter in Sydney leads Tim Elliott to Spain, hot on the trail of Jesulin, a young, charismatic and talented bullfighter dubbed ‘the Beckham of bullfighting.’ Elliott already has a passion for Spain and the Spanish and, through Jesulin, he hopes to uncover even more about this flamboyant country and perhaps even get to the heart of its colourful people.

A Fair Field and No Favour by Gideon Haigh
19 December, 2005
If the prospect of reading numerous newspaper reports about the Australian cricket team’s recent downfall in the Ashes series fills you with dread, fear not. Gideon Haigh not only has a commanding knowledge of cricket and its intricacies, but also possesses the rare ability to convey hours of cricket coverage and make it sound like something spectacular.

Asbestos House: The Unauthorised Story of James Hardie Industries by Gideon Haigh
11 December, 2005
Asbestos House, a monumental history of James Hardie Industries and its 107-year relationship with a most useful and deadly substance, treads a fine line between exposing problems and attaching blame. Although reports from as early as 1930 suggested a link between asbestos and lung diseases, a succession of Hardie staff persisted in the belief that the problem could be overcome, or ignored until a later time.

The Perfect Glass of Wine by Ben Canaider
11 December, 2005
It sounds like a good life to me—being paid to travel the world, drink wine and write about it in a witty and iconoclastic way. Ben Canaider has carved a nice niche for himself as the groovy, unpretentious, tell-it-like-it-is guy in a field that is all too often pompous and opaque.

Waves: Great Stories from the Surf, edited by Tim Baker
11 December, 2005
I’d love to find this book in my Christmas stocking! Here’s the perfect gift for your favourite Gidget or Moondoggy. From the full-on surf journalism of Nick Carroll, Matt Griggs and Sean Doherty to the lyrical writing of Tim Winton and Fiona Capp, Waves is a terrific collection of surf stories, recollections, profiles and articles that will be sure to please all surfers, from the weekend warrior to the committed ‘I’ll surf in winter hail if the waves are there’ grommet.

The Wreck of the Batavia and Prosper by Simon Leys
11 December, 2005
The story of the wreck of the Batavia has been the inspiration for many works of fiction, nonfiction and film. Leys’ essay on the wreck begins with a curious introduction. He explains a long-held desire to write the tale of the Batavia; nervously reading all the other publications on the topic; and concluding none of them hit the mark.

Girlosophy - Real Girls Eat by Anthea Paul
10 December, 2005
The first and most striking quality of Real Girls Eat is its glossy, high octane cover. Can't judge a book by its cover? In this instance you can. This is a book designed to appeal to that most style oriented and glamour jaded age group - the mature teen or young adult. Anthea Paul's girlosophy theory is as stylistically appealing as it content rich. The young will instantly be drawn to its bright colours of chartreuse, tangerine and hot pink, and will instantly warm to the clever use of layout and typefaces, and that's before getting into its personal and intimate approach which will inspire trust in teen girls.

Your Child's Emotional Needs by Vicky Flory
10 December, 2005
The author has done a great job of making this important subject, dear to all our parenting hearts, useful and practical from page one. Rarely as parents do we get to look at our children’s emotional needs with such pragmatism.

Fair Field and No Favour by Gideon Haigh **
1 December, 2005
If the prospect to of reading numerous newspaper reports about our recent downfall in the Ashes series fills you with dread, fear not.

Tucker Track - The Curious History of Food in Australia by Warren Fahey **
1 December, 2005
Warren Fahey’s Tucker Track draws together some of the lore, songs and recipes that he has gathered in his many years of roaming this country as one of Australia’s premier folklorists.

South by Northwest by Granville Allen Mawer **
1 December, 2005
G A Mawer is the author of numerous books about exploration and seafaring adventures, his most recent being The Life and Legend of Jack Doolan, the Wild Colonial Boy.

Spain by the Horns by Tim Elliott *
1 December, 2005
An encounter with a bullfighter in Sydney leads Tim Elliott to Spain, hot on the trail of Jesulin, a young, charismatic and talented bullfighter dubbed ‘the Beckham of bullfighting’.

Prochownik's Dream by Alex Miller **
1 November, 2005
Alex Miller has twice won the Miles Franklin award (with Journey to the Stone Country and The Ancestor Game), as well as the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.