Politics
Shane Carmody reviews 'The Mad Marathon: The story of the 2013 election' by Mungo MacCallum
Tim Bowden, ABC journalist and historian, hosted a television program called BackChat between 1987 and 1994. Viewers could write in with their comments on Aunty’s offerings. More
James Walter on the new biography of Margaret Thatcher
Our media treat leaders as personifying everything that matters, yet social scientists disdain leadership. Most of what we know about leaders comes from biographies. And biography, dominated by those wishing either to demonise, or to celebrate, their subject, is a craft monopolised by insiders, acolytes, and journalists. Regarding Margaret Thatcher, academics ... More
Gillian Terzis on 'Clive: The story of Clive Palmer' by Sean Parnell
Even the most seasoned political observers would have been surprised at the Palmer United Party’s triumph at the federal election, which saw it claim three seats in the Senate. Was More
Jan McGuinness reviews 'Killing Fairfax' by Pamela Williams and 'Rupert Murdoch' by David McKnight
With James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch grinning smugly on its cover, Killing Fairfax: Packer, Murdoch and the Ultimate Revenge projects a strong message that they are indeed th More
Gillian Terzis reviews 'Clive: Who is the real Clive Palmer?' by Sean Parnell
Even the most seasoned political observers would have been surprised at the Palmer United Party’s triumph at the federal election, which saw it claim three seats in the Senate. Was More
Nick Hordern reviews 'Fragile Empire'
On 18 July 2013the Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny was sentenced to a five-year jail term on corruption charges. Navalny, in a speech to the court castigating the dispensation which has emerged in Russia since Vladimir Putin first became president in 2000, attacked a ‘system of power in which 83 percent of the country’s w ... More
Russell Marks reviews 'Trust Me: Australians and their Politicians' by Jackie Dickenson
‘Trust’ between voters and their elected representatives must seem rather arbitrary to politicians, whose success depends on its maintenance. Our simplistic expectations of hones More
Dennis Altman reviews 'Rendezvous with Destiny' by Michael Fullilove
Michael Fullilove, head of the Lowy Institute, has written about President Roosevelt and the men who helped him to guide the US so reluctantly into World War II. Dennis Altman reviews this model of academic research.< More
Gillian Terzis on 'Battlers and Billionaires'
Bigger than Bradman and Phar Lap combined, no Australian legend has endured the ages quite like the ‘fair go’. Egalitarianism is as central to Australian identity as exceptionalism is to the United States. The promises that underpin these mythologies are as contentious as they are seductive. The ease of social mobility is necessarily implied. Wealth accumulation ... More
Jacqueline Kent reviews 'The Stalking of Julia Gillard: How the Media and Team Rudd Contrived to Bring down the Prime Minister' by Kerry-Anne Walsh
