Banvard's Folly by Paul Collins
20 July, 2004
I can understand why Paul Collins had difficulty in finding a publisher for this book. He tells thirteen stories about people whom once made a mark on society and then for various reasons were forgotten. So who were these folk he writes about, what did they do? Well some were artists, some writers, others showmen, scientists, horticulturists, forgers or tricksters. All in their time were well known, some exceptionally so, and all, for various reasons, have passed out of history's ken.

Bastard of a Place by Peter Brune
19 July, 2004
This is by no means Peter Brune’s first book about Papua in World War II. So A Bastard of a Place proceeds with welcome confidence and competence. Brune (like Les Carlyon with his magnificent Gallipoli) in his own stout boots has covered kilometres of the weary terrain. Both authors know that there is no other way of getting the scene exactly right

The Battle History of the Royal New South Wales Regiment Vol 1: 1885-1918 and Vol 2: 1939-45 by Major General Gordon L. Maitland
19 July, 2004
More than a third of the troops Australia deployed in two World Wars were citizens of New South Wales. Their deeds went a long way towards making the Legend of Anzac from 1915 to 1918 and continued the tradition of courage, sacrifice and determination into the second of those wars from 1939 to 1945. The Royal New South Wales Regiment is a comparatively recent creation, formed as part of a major restructuring of the army in 1960, when the CMF infantry battalions in each Australian state were brought together to form state regiments. The army has experienced many re-organisations in its history and in all probability none was more traumatic than in 1960. However a redeeming feature was the decision to carry on the honours and traditions of the old battalions of the AIF and the Militia in the “new” state regiments.

Bluestocking in Patagonia by Anne Whitehead
19 July, 2004
In 1895, at the age of thirty, Mary Cameron travelled from Australia by mail boat, paddle-steamer, steam-train and on horseback to join the fledgling communal settlement called 'New Australia' in a remote region of Paraguay. It was a brave trip for a lone woman to make but Mary came from good Scottish pioneering stock, she had grown up on country properties in New South Wales, and had been taught by her father to be independent. Nevertheless, her experiences in Paraguay and Patagonia over the next six years would have tested even the strongest of women to the limits.

The Boy Adeodatus: Portrait of a Lucky Young Bastard by Bernard Smith
19 July, 2004
Bernard Smith is a living legend. Now aged 88, the author of Place, Taste and Tradition and European Vision and the South Pacific is still writing about Australian art, as the review of his latest book on the previous page shows. As part of its ongoing commitment to re-releasing classic Australian titles UQP has revived Smith’s 1984 autobiography, which tells of his life until 1940.

Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany and the Winning of the Great War at Sea by Robert K. Massie
19 July, 2004
Robert Massie is a Pulitzer Prize winning author of biographies and naval history. Castles of Steel follows his earlier work Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War, as an equally fascinating account of the naval war at sea between 1914 and 1918. Castles of Steel combines a generally chronological narrative with character sketches of many of the principal actors and personal descriptions of significant events. It is this approach which makes the book stand apart from the very many others that cover some, or all, of the naval aspects of World War I.

The Chappell Years by Mike Coward
19 July, 2004
Australia has just won the 2003 One-Day World Cup and in doing so its 17th one-day match in a row, successfully defending its 1999 title. Most experts of the game believe that the Australian Test team is also the best in the world today. The present state of Australian cricket has not come about by good luck or accident - it is as the result of those that fought so hard for better pay and conditions resulting in our country developing best cricketing infrastructure in the world.

Alias Chin Peng by Chin Peng
19 July, 2004
Imagine, for a moment, that Osama bin Laden were to remain alive, if not especially active, for some decades in remote sanctuaries on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Then (to continue the hypothetical scenario) he admits defeat, negotiates immunity from prosecution and emerges from seclusion, looking more like a mild-mannered and moderately prosperous businessman than a fanatical terrorist. With the aid of a couple of western journalists, he writes his memoirs, consulting the archives of the governments against which he directed his attacks. In the book he candidly admits to mistakes and errors of judgement, but also responds vigorously to many of the assertions made against him, both by political leaders at the time he was active and by historians during the intervening decades.

Churchill by Roy Jenkins
19 July, 2004
This is the story of Sir Winston Churchill as seen by another politician, albeit one who is now Chancellor of Oxford University and who specialises in political biography. So one should expect a detailed history of Churchill the parliamentarian, and rightly this is so. The book also includes a section on Churchill’s early years, his early army service and his early journalistic work.

B is for Bravo by by Kevin Burgemeestre
13 May, 2004
Kevin Burgemeestre has an established career as a cartoonist and an illustrator of children's books but B Is for Bravo is the first published book that he has both written and illustrated. Subtitled An Australian Aviation Alphabet Almanac, this book presents an eclectic assortment of stories and facts about the history and current technology of flight, with a strong but not exclusive focus on the Australian context.

B-Model: An Embellished Memoir by Miranda Darling
13 May, 2004
Wakefield Press is pitching this title as a nonfiction memoir, and it certainly reads autobiographically enough to justify it, but it should appeal at least as much, if not more, to a YA audience—particularly teenage girls who identify with the main character’s overriding sense of alienation.

Anastasia by Colin Falconer
27 March, 2004
In July 1918 seven members of the royal house of Russia and four of their party were massacred by the Bolsheviks. For many years afterwards, rumour had it that the youngest daughter had miraculously survived. Her name was Anastasia Romanov. Ever since the slaying conspiracy theories have been rife and plenty of pretenders have laid claim to the Romanov name. In fact, all but two of the bodies, supposedly those of Marie and heir apparent Alexei, were finally laid to rest in 1998.

The Arcadian Cipher by Peter Blake and Paul Blezard
27 March, 2004
This is Peter Blake's story as told by Paul Blezard. Peter Blake is the son of the fine art restorer Henley Blake and initially followed his father into the same career. As he tells us in the introduction to his book, he grew up in a world of pictures and was, no doubt, well educated in history of art. Hence, he could see clues to deeper meanings put into pictures by the artists for the initiated and, in particular, he mentions becoming aware of a hidden geometry in the 'The Education of Pan' by Luca Signorelli.

1500 by Mike Colman
13 March, 2004
Nations become most attached to those sports and Olympic events in which they are most successful. This is how Mike Colman explains Australia’s fascination with a 30-lap swimming race—the men’s 1500 metres. Rather than writing a biography of one of the current crop of swimming stars, his book opts to tell the story of how Australia came to be the most successful country in this Olympic discipline from 1908 to the present day.

Alamein: The Australian Story by David Johnston and Peter Stanley
13 March, 2004
A great British historian, Tawney, advised that to be any good as a historian, one must master the documents and the archives, but even more importantly a historian must wear a stout pair of boots. History, he argued, lacked surety, unless the writer had walked the ground and had an intimacy with the environment.

Al-Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror by Jason Burke
13 March, 2004
This book is essential reading for those seeking to understand the phenomenon of Al Qa’eda, and more broadly the reality of the threat from Islamist terrorism. Jason Burke has produced a rare analysis of Al Qa’eda and Islamist militancy that allows the reader to consider the ‘adversary’ from the adversary’s perspective.

Awesome! by Laura Murray Cree
9 January, 2002
This is an accessible snapshot of contemporary art in Australia aimed at kids aged 10-16.

The Garden of Empress Cassia by Gabrielle Wang
7 January, 2002
Mimi Lu hates being Chinese, and she hates being teased at school about the way she smells.