Richard Walsh

Richard Walsh reviews 'Do I Make Myself Clear?: Why writing well matters' by Harold Evans

August 2018, no. 403 • 26 July 2018

Harold Evans, the celebrated former editor of London’s The Sunday Times and ex-president of Random House USA, is angry. He fulminates against lazy journalism, against the impenetrability of government announcements, and against the pseudo-legal language of terms and conditions we are bullied into accepting during almost any online transaction these days, no matter how trivial. Most of all, he w ... (read more)

Richard Walsh reviews 'Fair Share: Competing claims and Australia’s economic future' by Stephen Bell and Michael Keating

June-July 2018, no. 402 • 24 May 2018

This is not a book with immediate appeal for the general reader, who is likely to be deterred by the denseness of its analysis. That is unfortunate, because its message deserves to be widely disseminated. It provides a useful account of economic history since the end of World War II, both internationally and in Australia, and ultimately offers a bespoke reform agenda. The authors’ account begin ... (read more)

Richard Walsh reviews 'What Editors Do: The art, craft, and business of book editing' edited by Peter Ginna

April 2018, no. 400 • 27 March 2018

This is an American book and no doubt primarily aimed at those interested in how American publishing works, and specifically at those interested in gaining employment there or upgrading their skills. In Australia it will be of limited use to those with similar ambitions and interests, because the Australian publishing industry is structured in a significantly different way. But it contains enough ... (read more)

Richard Walsh reviews 'Memoirs' by Mike Willesee

January–February 2018, no. 398 • 19 December 2017

Mike Willesee has been one of the giants of the Australian media for over half a century. He was a major force in television for most of those years; but he began his life in print journalism and made a small fortune as the joint owner of 2Day FM when it was sold to the Lamb family. The memoir of such an important figure is always much anticipated, and its publication has been greeted with much fa ... (read more)

Richard Walsh reviews 'Wednesdays with Bob' by Bob Hawke and Derek Rielly

December 2017, no. 397 • 23 November 2017

This is a book with a strange genesis. Its author, Derek Rielly, explains that he confessed to an agent one night that he’d always wanted to meet Bob Hawke. Her response was: ‘I know a publisher who loves Bob. Get me a proposal.’ In order to obtain Bob’s cooperation, Rielly had first to win over Blanche d’Alpuget and then the ‘greatest post-war prime minister’ himself. Given that Bla ... (read more)