Into the Exotic - A Cultural Memoir by Christine Velde

$34.99 AUD

Category: Memoirs

INTO THE EXOTIC is a cultural memoir, about an Australian author’s decision to reside in Bali, and to journey to greater Indonesia and Asia. It illustrates what it is like to live in a foreign country as an expatriate and the challenges faced on a daily basis. The author learns that through overcoming t hese challenges, one learns, grows and becomes.It is through living in another country, that a person can move from being “bound” in their own culture and traditions, to becoming “unbound” and more accepting of difference in others, as a global citizen. In these fast-changing transformative times, increasingly characterised by terrorism, nothing else seems more urgent and important. ...Show more

Adani, Following Its Dirty Footsteps - A Personal Story by Lindsay Simpson

$24.99 AUD

Category: Memoirs

Adani's license to mine 60 million tonnes of coal for 60 years threatens Australia's precious ancient source of groundwater in the Galillee Basin, a vast underground water reservoir, part of the Great Artesian Basin, occupying more than 20% of Australia. How could a company with a globally disastrous re putation for environmental destruction along with a dubious financial status woo an Australian Prime Minister, a State Premier and a handful of regional mayors to back a project to build Australia's largest coalmine and the world's largest coal terminal only kilometres from the Great Barrier Reef? This book documents the inconceivable story of how Australian governments abrogated their responsibilities to protect this world heritage icon; bypassing environmental safeguards, thereby irrevocably damaging Australia's reputation as environmental steward of some of the world's most valuable natural assets. ...Show more

Unbowed by Billy Hedderman

$34.99 AUD

Category: Memoirs

A Bigger Picture (Malcolm Turnbull, HB) by Malcolm Turnbull

$55.00 AUD

Category: Memoirs

When Malcolm Turnbull took over the nation’s top job there was a sense of excitement in Australia. Sky-high opinion polls followed as the political outsider with a successful business, legal and media career took charge. The infighting that had dogged politics for the best part of a decade looked to be over. But a right-wing insurgency brutally cut down Turnbull’s time in office after three years, leaving many Australians asking, ‘Why?’ Exceptionally candid and compelling, A Bigger Picture is the definitive narrative of Malcolm Turnbull’s prime ministership. He describes how he legalised same-sex marriage, established Snowy Hydro 2.0, stood up to Donald Trump, and many more achievements – remarkable in their pace and significance, and delivered in the teeth of so much opposition. But it’s far more than just politics. Turnbull’s life has been filled with colourful characters and controversies, success and failure. From his early years in Sydney, growing up with a single father, to defending 'Spycatcher' Peter Wright against the UK government; the years representing Kerry Packer, leading the Republican Movement and making millions in business; and finally toppling Tony Abbott to become prime minister of Australia. For the first time he tells it all – in his own words. With revelatory insights on the workings of Canberra and the contentious events of Turnbull’s life, A Bigger Picture explores the strengths and vulnerabilities of one of Australia’s best-known and most dynamic business and political leaders. Lyrically written in highly readable and entertaining prose, this is a genuine page-turner that’s not just for political junkies.     ...Show more

Ellis Rowan: A Life in Pictures by Christine Morton-Evans

$34.99 AUD

Category: Memoirs

Ellis described the fungi: Growing, they look like dolls dressed up in fluted lace petticoats … Some are apple green, others mauve; one is black, and another has a scarlet cap. They stand high on long white stems, and the fungus closely resembles exquisite lace. In her 70s, artist and naturalist Ellis Rowan spent day after day painting birds, plants and flowers in the tropics of Papua New Guinea. After a young local boy brought her a beautiful toadstool one day—then another, and another—she painted no less than 72 images of various species of fungi, many of which were unknown to Australian botanists at the time. Scattered throughout Christine Morton-Evans’ new illustrated biography of the artist, Ellis Rowan’s own words offer an expressive and often amusing insight into the way Rowan saw the world. Portraying herself as an ‘intrepid lady explorer’, she not only adventured into wild and inaccessible places in search of new wildflowers and wildlife, she also wrote of these expeditions in vivid accounts for her family, and later for print in newspapers. A first-generation Australian, driven by the pioneering spirit of her parents, Rowan decided early that she would search out, collect and paint an entire collection of wild Australian flora. From the late 1870s, she exhibited works at international exhibitions, winning dozens of medals and receiving the highest honours at the 1888 Centennial International Exhibition in Melbourne. In 1895, Rowan met Queen Victoria, who purchased three of Rowan’s paintings, which she intended to have made into a fire-screen. It was but a small part of her success. Her life’s work made an important contribution to knowledge of our country’s flora and fauna. From her early life in Melbourne, through schooldays, marriage and children, to the tropical north of Australia, England and Papua New Guinea, Rowan was known for her independent, strong character. She enjoyed her own company, content to flout the conventions of the period in pursuit of activities that would satisfy her endless curiosity about people, places and nature. This is her story, told through the wonderful paintings that form part of her collection of 970 works held by the National Library of Australia. ...Show more

When the Ship Hits the Fan by Rob Anderson

$29.99 AUD

Category: Memoirs

Captain Rob Anderson spills the beans on a lifetime of incidents, accidents and shenanigans of every type, in every ocean of the world, during an era when the seas were largely unregulated and more like the Wild West than anything witnessed on land.     Since he first went to sea at 15 Captain Rob ha s been a magnet for trouble but, somewhat preposterously, as matter, he has more often been the one responsible for keeping each enterprise afloat and picking up the pieces when the ships hit the fan.     Whether it's stashing a headless body in the freezer, losing another body before a sea burial, accidentally sabotaging the annual Roebuck Bay Hotel Race in Broome, nearly losing his scrotum in a Japanese spa, or catapulting a mate off the roof of his truck when racing from the dock for last orders...it was all part of the job for Captain Rob. No wonder, when it eventually came time to 'swallow the anchor' he got as far inland as he practically could! ...Show more

Women Don't Owe You Pretty by Florence Given

$24.99 AUD

Category: Memoirs

Women Don't Owe You Pretty will tell you to... love sex, hate sexism, protect your goddamn energy, life is short, dump them, and that you owe men nothing, least of all pretty. Florence's debut book will explore all progressive corners of the feminist conversation; from insecurity projection and refusing to find comfort in other women's flaws, to deciding whether to date or dump them, all the way through to unpacking the male gaze and how it shapes our identity. Women Don't Owe You Pretty is an accessible leap into feminism, for people at all stages of their journey who are seeking to reshape and transform the way they view themselves. In a world that tells women we're either not enough or too much, it's time we stop directing our anger and insecurities onto ourselves, and start fighting back to re-shape the toxic structures of our patriarchal society. Florence's book will help you to tackle and challenge the limiting narrative you have been bombarded with your whole life, and determine feminism on your own terms. After all, you are the love of your own life.   ...Show more

A Lasting Conversation: Stories on Ageing by Susan Ogle (Editor); Melanie Joosten (Editor)

$29.95 AUD

Category: Memoirs

A Lasting Conversation, Stories on Ageing explores many a spec ts o f ageing including resilience and defeat, satisfaction and reg ret, excitement and fear, love, loss and laughter. These stories are written from various perspectives, including older women and men, their daughters and sons, grandchildre n and observers. They present a fascinating picture of what it is to grow old as an Australian. Each story is infused with acute observations and wry humour. A Lasting Conversation includes the work of some of Australia’s best story tellers, Jon Bauer, Tony Birch, Gillian Bouras, Helen Garner, Sonya Hartnett, Kate Grenville, Cate Kennedy, Michael Meehan, Mandy Sayer, Amy Witting and Michelle Wright as well as stories by health care professionals. This collection will be a resource for thebaby-boomers who are approaching old age, older people,their families, carers, doctors and students. ...Show more

Daddy Cool: Finding My Father, the Singer Who Swapped Hollywood Fame for Home in Australia by Darleen Bungey

$32.99 AUD

Category: Memoirs

A captivating, generous and exquisitely written memoir of family and a daughter discovering her father's multi-layered life. 'Every family has secrets. Ours also has an award-winning biographer. My sister's discoveries astonished me.' Geraldine Brooks Who can ever truly know their parents? He was a gl amorous heart-throb, a famous American singer performing in front of Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Clark Gable and other stars at the Academy Awards. In the 1930s, his recording of 'Hawaiian Paradise' outsold those of Bing Crosby and Guy Lombardo. So how did he become an Australian infantryman, fighting alongside and performing for his fellow Diggers in Palestine, Beirut, Egypt and New Guinea? Why did he leave Hollywood and the ritziest hotels in America for a modest Californian bungalow in suburban Sydney? And what caused him to cease his endless drifting from one woman to another, one marriage to another, and settle with the love of his life?  She was a strong Aussie woman, a talented radio broadcaster and publicity agent. Why did she take a chance on this reckless vagabond and notorious womaniser? Seeking answers, Darleen Bungey turns her biographical skills on her own family, exploring her father's multi-layered and at times tempestuous life with a truthful eye and loving heart. 'This memoir does maximum honour to the idea that each family is its own unique story. And in the case of Darleen Bungey, the tale she tells of Robert Cutter/ Lawrence Brooks, her father, is a charming and engrossing record of an exuberant, gifted, contradictory and brave man whose nationality was as varied as his gifts and who kept his daughters enriched and fascinated to the end. In an era of catastrophic family confessions, it reads like silk.' Tom Keneally 'This is something beautiful. Bungey's writing is as spellbinding and wondrous as the subject she has so bravely, forensically, gracefully explored. Further evidence that the most interesting people in our worlds were always waiting outside our bedroom doors.' Trent Dalton 'A daughter's tender tribute uncovers her father's past life of Hollywood glamour and scandal, reminding us that our parents had other lives, loves and secrets before we came along.' Caroline Baum 'A family story, beautifully told, of an American singer who turned his back on fame to live the life he needed in the suburbs of Australia. Daddy Cool is unexpected, sweet and raw.' David Marr ...Show more

Gloria Steinem (I Know This to Be True): On Integrity, Empathy and Authenticity by Gloria Steinem; Geoff Blackwell

$17.99 AUD

Category: Memoirs | Series: I know this to be true

One of America's most influential political activists on issues of equality and gender, Gloria Steinem answers fundamental questions about leadership and what really matters to her.

I Know This to Be True: The Guiding Principles of Nelson Mandela by Sello Hatang; Verne Harris

$17.99 AUD

Category: Memoirs

A unique insight into the qualities, routines and disciplines of Nelson Mandela, revolutionary anti-apartheid leader and first president of a democratic South Africa (1994-99).

Most Dangerous Man In The World, The: The Inside Story On Julian Assange And WikiLeaks by Andrew Fowler

$29.99 AUD

Category: Memoirs

"The Most Dangerous Man in the World is the definitive account of WikiLeaks, threats against its existence and the man who is as secretive as the organisations he targets. Through interviews with Julian Assange, his inner circle and those who fell out with him, Andrew Fowler tells the story of how a man with a turbulent childhood and brilliance for computers created a phenomenon that has become a game-changer in journalism and global politics. In this international thriller, Fowler gives a ringside seat on the biggest leak in history. He charts the pursuit of Assange by the US and Sweden and the offer of political asylum by Eucador. It tells the story of how in the eyes of many Assange had become, according to the Pentagon Papers whistleblower, Daniel Ellsberg, 'the most dangerous man in the world'." ...Show more