Nonfiction

Everything You Need To Know About the Referendum To Recognise Indigenous Australians by Megan Davis and George Williams

Reviewed by Suzanne Steinbruckner

There are strong arguments on both sides of the debate for changing the Australian Constitution to recognise Indigenous Australians and this text looks at the legal and constitutional ramifications of making such a change. The book aims to educate the…

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Fury: Women Write About Sex, Power and Violence edited by Samantha Trenoweth

Reviewed by Tara Kaye Judah

It’s too easy to read statistics on violence against women and do nothing. The stats are alarming, but they rarely instigate change. Giving a voice to what’s being called a ‘silent epidemic’ needs more than numbers. Fury: Women Write About

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The Wife Drought by Annabel Crabb

Reviewed by Kara Nicholson

Journalist and TV personality Annabel Crabb is interested in the domestic lives of the career-driven. Her television show, Kitchen Cabinet, takes us into the kitchens of some of our most powerful politicians, and The Wife Drought delves deep into…

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Blood and Guts: Dispatches from the Whale Wars by Sam Vincent

Reviewed by Kara Nicholson

With print journalism on the decline it’s heartening to discover there’s still very much a place for investigative journalism in book form. Australian writers in particular are producing some fantastic works of gonzo journalism: Anna Krien, Jeff Sparrow and Helen…

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The History of Rock ’n’ Roll in Ten Songs by Greil Marcus

Reviewed by Tam Patton

When Greil Marcus’s editor suggested he write a history of rock ’n’ roll, he not surprisingly felt it was ‘a terrible idea, that it had been done to death’. Thankfully, Marcus did not shy from the task; instead, he reinterpreted…

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This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial by Helen Garner

Reviewed by Belle Place

It’s difficult to loudly sing the praises of a book that covers such a harrowing subject. I had anticipated the release of Helen Garner’s new non-fiction since early in the year, though the title of the work, in itself, seems…

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How I Rescued My Brain by David Roland

Reviewed by Stella Charls

Through his work as a forensic psychologist, David Roland spent years grappling with matters of the mind. Indeed, the emotional pressure of supporting his patients in their mental-health problems coupled with personal and financial stresses led to Roland’s own struggles…

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Hack Attack by Nick Davies

Reviewed by Brigid Mullane

In July of this year, Andy Coulson, former editor of Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World and David Cameron’s disgraced director of communications, was sentenced to serve 18 months in jail for his part in one of the greatest scandals…

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The Whitlam Mob by Mungo MacCallum

Reviewed by Sean O’Beirne

It’s hard to understand now what it would have been like to have the same government in Australia for 23 years. Different prime ministers, but still: the same party, the same ideas, sitting on top of the country, all the…

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Warning: The Story of Cyclone Tracy by Sophie Cunningham

Reviewed by Mark Rubbo

It’s almost 40 years since Cyclone Tracy destroyed the northern city of Darwin on the night of 24 December, 1974. Australia had not known a natural disaster like it since European colonisation. Seventy-five people died, hundreds more were injured and…

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