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Tidy summary

An aspirational history
by
December 2025, no. 482

Australia: A history by Tony Abbott

HarperCollins, $49.99 hb, 488 pp

Buy this book

ABR receives a commission on items purchased through this link. All ABR reviews are fully independent.

Tidy summary

An aspirational history
by
December 2025, no. 482

I cannot recall an Australian history book that has received more reviews so soon after its release than Tony Abbott’s recent offering, Australia: A history. Frank Bongiorno, Michelle Arrow, Marilyn Lake, Jane Lydon, Marcia Langton, and even former Australian of the Year Grace Tame have all given their thoughts on Abbott’s tome. The reviews have ranged from mildly positive to utterly scathing. This is hardly surprising, given how polarised opinions are of the former prime minister. Mostly, however, responses from leading historians have challenged the book’s ideological framing, selective storytelling, and the marginalisation of Indigenous and feminist perspectives. This book is in every sense Tony’s Abbott’s ideologically partisan, aspirational history of Australia for Australians.

Australia: A history

Australia: A history

by Tony Abbott

HarperCollins, $49.99 hb, 488 pp

Buy this book

ABR receives a commission on items purchased through this link. All ABR reviews are fully independent.

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