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Large 9781460758038

With the Falling of the Dusk by Stan Grant

$34.99 AUD

Available Stock:
12

Category: australian stories people & history

A deeply powerful, poetic and compelling book on the challenges facing our world, from one of Australia's most experienced journalists and international commentators, Stan Grant. History is turning. In only a few short decades, we have come a long way from Francis Fukuyama's declaration of the 'end of history' and the triumph of liberal democracy in 1989. Now, with the inexorable rise of China, the ascendancy of authoritarianism and the retreat of democracy, the world stands at a moment of crisis. This is a time of momentous upheaval and enormous geopolitical shifts, compounded by the global pandemic, economic collapse and growing inequality, Islamist and far right terror, and a resurgent white supremacy. The world is in lockdown and the showdown with China is accelerating - and while the West has been at the forefront of history for 200 years, it must now adapt to a world it no longer dominates. At this moment, we stand on a precipice - what will become of us? Stan Grant is one of our foremost observers and chroniclers of the world in crisis. Weaving his personal experiences of reporting from the front lines of the world's flashpoints, together with his deep understanding of politics, history and philosophy, he explores what is driving the world to crisis and how it might be averted. He fears the worst, but begins to chart the way forward. There is bitterness, anger and history here, but there is also the capacity for negotiation, forgiveness and hope. A powerful and incisive analysis of the state of our world, and our place within it. ...Show more

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Large 8yv0j6d2bdpupumwlqhyf6agjrr d70kqs3axtsz5bbxzq

Sex, Lies and Question Time: The successes and struggles of women in Australia’s parliament by Kate Ellis

$32.99 AUD

Available Stock:
8

Category: australian stories people & history

In 2017, a survey showed zero per cent of young Australian women would consider entering politics. Zero. In a time when we critically need women in our parliament, and in a country that was an early leader in women's political participation, there is a perception that women and politics don’t mix. Shoc king incidents have exposed the sexism that women in politics face from opposition, the media, the public, even their own colleagues. And those headlines only tell half the story. In Sex, Lies and Question Time, Kate Ellis tells the sometimes enraging, often funny and incredibly honest full story of women in Australian politics today. As well as sharing the experiences of her own fifteen years in parliament, Kate has spoken to politicians from across Australia’s political spectrum, including former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Julia Bishop, Penny Wong, Linda Burney, Sarah Hanson Young and Pauline Hanson. Kate explores issues like sexism, bullying, motherhood, appearances, social media, racism, the sisterhood and, of course, sex. Most of all this book is a powerful call for Australian women to inspire to political leadership, to shape a fairer Australia – where ‘women’s issues’ are everyone’s issues. Why would a woman want to go into politics? From where most women stand, Parliament looks like a toxic boys’ club. Here, Kate Ellis bursts the Canberra bubble to reveal what life is like for our female MPs, and why it’s the best and worst job in the world.   ...Show more

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Large 9781760642907

Quarterly Essay 81: Getting to Zero Australia's Energy Transition by Alan Finkel

$24.99 AUD

Available Stock:
9

Category: australian stories people & history

The world is overheating, and despite god intentions and significant others, emissions increase nearly every year. The challenge is immense, but there are solutions. In this lucid, persuasive essay, Alan Finkel maps Australia's energy transition. He focuses strongly on clean technologies, including the use of hydrogen, and addresses the challenge of intermittent supply. He shows how we can build a zero-emissions world. Taking into account economics, science and emotions, Getting to Zero is an essential guide to how Australia can tackle the climate crisis with realism and ingenuity.   ...Show more

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Large temp img

Duchess, Countess Elizabeth Chudleigh by Catherine Ostler

$32.99 AUD

Available Stock:
8

Category: history

'Outrageously scandalous, soaked in sex and money, aristocracy, adventure and grandeur... Catherine Ostler, accomplished storyteller, is the perfect writer to restore the Duchess Countess to life.' Simon Sebag Montefiore 'Fascinating. Magnificient. Sensitively told.' Hallie Rubenfold  When the glamorous  Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston, Countess of Bristol, went on trial at Westminster Hall for bigamy in April 1776, the story drew more attention in society than the American War of Independence. A clandestine, candlelit wedding to the young heir to an earldom, a second marriage to a Duke, a lust for diamonds and an electrifying appearance at a masquerade ball in a diaphanous dress: no wonder the trial was a sensation. However, Elizabeth refused to submit to public humiliation and retire quietly. Rather than backing gracefully out of the limelight, she embarked on a Grand Tour of Europe, being welcomed by the Pope and Catherine the Great among others. As maid of honour to Augusta, Princess of Wales, Elizabeth led her life in the inner circle of the Hanoverian court and her exploits delighted and scandalised the press and the people. She made headlines, illustrations and gossip columns. Writers were intrigued by her ­- Thackeray drew on Elizabeth as inspiration for his calculating, alluring Becky Sharp. But her behaviour, often depicted as attention-seeking and manipulative, hid a more complex tale as Elizabeth fought to overcome personal tragedy and loss. Now, in this brilliantly told and evocative biography, Catherine Ostler takes a fresh look at Elizabeth's story and seeks to understand and reappraise a woman who refused to be defined by society's expectations of her. A woman who was by turns, brave, loving and generous but also reckless, greedy and insecure; a woman totally unwilling to accept the female status of underdog or to hand over all the power, the glory and the adventures of life to men.               ...Show more

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Large 9780733340819

Lapsed by Monica Dux

$34.99 AUD

Available Stock:
6

Category: biography & memoir

Losing your religion is harder than it looks ... From devout ten-year-old performing the part of Jesus in a primary school play to blaspheming, undergraduate atheist, Monica Dux and her attitude to the Catholic Church changed profoundly over a decade. Another ten years and she'd calmed right down. Now she was just 'lapsed'. Then, on a family trip to Rome, her young daughter suddenly expressed a desire to be baptised. Monica found herself re-examining her own childhood and how Catholicism had shaped her. Was Catholicism really out of her system or was it in her blood for life? In Lapsed, Monica sets out to find the answer. Her investigations lead her to test a miracle cure in Lourdes and to steal from a church. She visits the grave of a headless Saint who claimed to be married to Christ (and wore a wedding ring made of his foreskin to prove it), and speaks to cannon lawyers, abuse survivors and even a nun who insists that the Virgin Mary starts her car every morning. She ponders the big questions, such as would Jesus really make a great dinner party guest or would he end up calling Einstein a blasphemer? And, far more seriously, given what she now knows about clerical abuse and its extent, is it enough to turn her back on the Church, or did she have a deeper, more enduring obligation? With the wry humour of David Sedaris and the razor-sharp observations of Nora Ephron, Lapsed is the story of one woman's attempt to exorcise her religious upbringing, and to answer the question, is Catholicism like a blood group and, if so, is it possible to get a total transfusion? 'It made me laugh, cry and swear.' Jane Caro   ...Show more

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Large 9781761101205

Remember by Lisa Genova

$32.99 AUD

Available Stock:
5

Category: family health psychology

A fascinating exploration of the intricacies of how we remember, why we forget, and what we can do to protect our memories, from the Harvard-trained neuroscientist and bestselling author of Still Alice. Have you ever felt a crushing wave of panic when you can't for the life of you remember the name of that actor in the movie you saw last week, or you walk into a room only to forget why you went there in the first place? If you're over forty, you're probably not laughing. You might even be worried that these lapses in memory could be an early sign of Alzheimers or dementia. In reality, for the vast majority of us, these examples of forgetting are completely normal. Why? Because while memory is amazing, it is far from perfect. Our brains aren't designed to remember every name we hear, plan we make, or day we experience. Just because your memory sometimes fails doesn't mean it's broken or succumbing to disease. Forgetting is actually part of being human. In Remember, neuroscientist and acclaimed novelist Lisa Genova delves into how memories are made and how we retrieve them. You'll learn whether forgotten memories are temporarily inaccessible or erased forever and why some memories are built to exist for only a few seconds (like a passcode) while others can last a lifetime (your wedding day). You'll come to appreciate the clear distinction between normal forgetting (where you parked your car) and forgetting due to Alzheimers (that you own a car). And you'll see how memory is profoundly impacted by meaning, emotion, sleep, stress, and context. Once you understand the language of memory and how it functions, its incredible strengths and maddening weaknesses, its natural vulnerabilities and potential superpowers, you can both vastly improve your ability to remember and feel less rattled when you inevitably forget. You can set educated expectations for your memory, and in doing so, create a better relationship with it. You don't have to fear it anymore. And that can be life-changing. Using her expertise as a neuroscientist and her gifts as a storyteller, Genova explains the nuances of human memory. As with her previous books, this is an engaging and edifying read.- Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, author of How the Mind Works. 'No one writes more brilliantly about the connections between the brain, the mind, and the heart. Remember is a beautiful, fascinating, and important book about the mysteries of human memory, what it is, how it works, and what happens when it is stolen from us. A scientific and literary treat that you will not soon forget.' - Daniel Gilbert, Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, New York Times bestselling author of Stumbling on Happiness 'In Remember, Lisa Genova provides easy-to-follow, no nonsense advice on how to maximize one of the greatest outputs of your brain, memory. But, more important, she also lets us know that while memory is a tremendous gift, the real you is much more than just what you can remember! -  Rudolph E. Tanzi, PhD, professor of neurology, Harvard Medical School, coauthor of The Healing Self ...Show more

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Large 9781760859206

Turns Out, I'm Fine by JUDITH LUCY

$32.99 AUD

Available Stock:
5

Category: australian stories people & history

When the relationship Judith Lucy thought was The One broke down, her world fell apart. Not only was she single again and about to turn fifty but now that she didn't have a partner to buy gourmet sausages with at Farmers' Markets, she realised how much her relationship had enabled her to avoid dealing w ith: everything from her brother's death to her doubts about doing comedy in an increasingly serious world situation. Why was she so floored? Did all these problems have something in common? Judith went back to the start to try and work that out. In her most candid and insightful book yet, Judith looks at her family and relationships to understand how despite being a feminist, her hopes and expectations have been shaped by men – whether it was thinking that she needed Mr Right to 'complete her' or struggling for male approval in most aspects of her life, including her work. Having diagnosed the disease, Judith sets about healing. She explores other ways to get outside herself and make the most of the time she has left – community, volunteering, climate action and the natural world. And although things will doubtless keep going wrong (like covid!), it turns out she's fine. ...Show more

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Large 9781448217908

Devils, Lusts and Strange Desires - The Life of Patricia Highsmith by Richard Bradford

$39.99 AUD

Available Stock:
5

Category: biography & memoir

'My New Year's Eve Toast- to all the devils, lusts, passions, greeds, envies, loves, hates, strange desires, enemies ghostly and real, the army of memories, with which I do battle may they never give me peace' PATRICIA HIGHSMITH (New Year's Eve, 1947) Made famous by the great success of her psychologica l thrillers, The Talented Mr Ripley and Strangers on a Train, Patricia Highsmith is lauded as one of the most influential and celebrated modern writers. However, there has never been a clear picture of the woman behind the books. The relationship between Highsmith's lesbianism, her fraught personality by parts self-destructive and malicious and her fiction, has been largely avoided by biographers. She was openly homosexual and wrote the seminal lesbian love story, Carol. In modern times, she would be venerated as a radical exponent of the LGBT community. However, her status as an LGBT icon is undermined by the fact that she was excessively cruel and exploitative of her friends and lovers. In this new biography, Richard Bradford brings his sharp, incisive style to one of the great and most controversial writers of the twentieth century. He considers Highsmith's bestsellers in the context of her troubled personal life; her alcoholism, licentious sex life, racism, anti-Semitism, misogyny and abundant self-loathing. ...Show more

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Large 9781760641634

Open Minds: Academic Freedom and Freedom of Speech of Australia by Carolyn Evans; Adrienne Stone

$29.99 AUD

Available Stock:
5

Category: australian stories people & history

Recently the alarm has been raised - basic freedoms are under attack in our universities. A generation of 'snowflake' students are shutting out ideas that challenge their views. Ideologically motivated academics are promoting propaganda at the expense of rigorous research and balanced teaching. Universi ties are caving in and denying platforms to 'problematic' public speakers. Is this true, or is it panic and exaggeration? Carolyn Evans and Adrienne Stone deftly investigate the arguments, analysing recent controversies and delving into the history of the university. They consider the academy's core values and purpose, why it has historically given higher protection to certain freedoms, and how competing legal, ethical and practical claims can restrict free expression. This book asks the necessary questions and responds with thoughtful, reasoned answers. Are universities responsible for helping students to thrive in a free intellectual climate? Are public figures who work outside of academia owed an audience? Does a special duty of care exist for students and faculty targeted by hostile speech? And are high-profile cases diverting attention from more complex, serious threats to freedom in universities - such as those posed by domestic and foreign governments, industry partners and donors? ...Show more

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Large 9781760878450

Dead in the Water: A Very Angry Book about Our Greatest Environmental Catastrophe... the Death of the Murray-Darling Basin by Richard Beasley

$29.99 AUD

Available Stock:
4
On Order:
1

Category: science environment

Full-throated and provocative, this is a very personal battle cry to save our most precious natural resource.   'I LOVE IT.' Peter FitzSimons'With a deft mixture of outrage, humour and in-depth knowledge, only Beasley could make water policy a page turner.' Craig Reucassel'It's great to shed some more l ight on the policy creep and mismanagement that is driving environmental degradation of many of the Murray-Darling Basin rivers.' Professor Richard Kingsford, Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists'We want to reset these bio-diversities and the ecologies in our country. We want to see our fish spawning as they once were, our animals coming back down to drink. Fresh quality water out of the Coorong, not this super saline stuff that we're living in today's environment. It's slowly dying. You can smell the impact of what's happening . . .' Grant Rigney, Ngarrindjeri Nation, from his sworn evidence at the Royal Commission into the Murray-Darling Basin.Richard Beasley is fed up. He's fed up with vested interests killing off Australia's most precious water resource. He's fed up with the cowardice and negligence that have allowed Big Agriculture and irrigators to destroy a river system that can sustain both the environment and the communities that depend on it. He's fed up that a noble plan to save Murray-Darling Basin based on the 'best scientific knowledge' has instead been corroded by lies, the denial of climate change, pseudoscience and political expediency.He pulls no punches. He's provocative, he's outrageous, he points the finger without shame. And he will leave you very, very angry. Dead in the Water would be political satire of the highest order . . . if it weren't so tragically true ...Show more

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Large 9781760990329

Lines to the Horizon: Australian Surf Writing by Jock Serong

$32.99 AUD

Available Stock:
4

Category: sport hobbies humour

Tim Winton says, 'Surfing is not just a subculture, it is culture, and here's proof', while Jock Serong says that the collection demonstrates our horizons are unlimited. From Gold Coast surf culture to the relationships of humans to the sea and from surf travel in Mexico to Taj Burrow's final campaign in Fiji, this collection features six authors writing about surfing, and the ocean, in six very different ways. Their stories are reverential, energetic and mystical, and between them cover thousands of kilometres of coastline, at home and abroad. ...Show more

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Large temp img

Reading the Seasons: Books Holding Life and Friendship Together by Germaine Leece, Sonya Tsakalakis

$32.99 AUD

Available Stock:
4

Category: writing poetry literature

It's an old cliché that books 'transport you'; but as any avid reader will tell you, there's far more to them than that. Alongside comfort and retreat, books offer insight into ourselves and others; they tell us how the world is, was or might be; they are windows into other worlds, whose meanings resona te through the ages. It's this multiplicity that is at the heart of bibliotherapy, the ancient practice of reading for therapeutic effect.Reading the Seasons charts the evolution of a friendship through candid letters between bibliotherapists Germaine Leece and Sonya Tsakalakis. Ignited by a shared love of reading, of finding a book for every occasion, every emotion - both for themselves and for their clients - their conversations soon confront life's ups and downs. The authors they reach for range from Stephen King to Javier Marias, Helen Garner to Maggie O'Farrell, as they reflect upon loss, change, parenting, careers, simple pleasures, travel, successes, fears and uncertainty. Reading the Seasons not only offers an entryway to new titles but affirms the power of books to console, heal and hold us together as friends and as individuals. ...Show more

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