Amazing bastard (colloquial), n: a bloke who does stuff that other bastards wouldn’t try in a month of Sundays

We’ve all met them, or at least read about them - men who drive faster, climb higher, build and invent and triumph over impossible odds.

Journalist Lawrence Money has assembled a collection of Amazing Aussie Bastards who truly stand out from the crowd. Immune to critics and disbelievers, undaunted by illness or financial setback, they have done what writer Somerset Maugham so admired – ‘moulded life to their own liking’.

From Prince Leonard of Hutt, the rebel WA farmer who seceded from Australia, to Bob Katter, founder of the latest political party (who tells why he once threw eggs at the Beatles) – and the indestructible giant of Australian radio, Alan Jones (who finally reveals the reason he switched stations). It’s a book that celebrates stellar Aussie male achievement.

What’s their secret, these Amazing Bastards?

What makes them tick?

Can we be like them?

The answer lies within these pages.