A LEGACY OF CRIME AND REDEMPTION THE STAINED MAN – a crime, a scandal, and the making of a nation By Patrick Mullins Scribe Publications 2026 ISBN: 978 1 761381 95 9 (Australian edition) RRP: $39.99 (PB) Reviewed by Anne Henderson Patrick Mullins is a great storyteller. He is also a meticulous researcher, historian and [...]
LEADING AT THE TOP AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP: THE RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF BETTER by Sassoon Grigorian ISBN: 9781764755306 RRP: $52.75 (PB) Reviewed by Vik Kortiang Authentic Leadership by Sassoon Grigorian stands out as a refreshingly grounded exploration of leadership, built entirely on his personal experience rather than abstract frameworks. Instead of presenting models or academic theories, Sassoon draws [...]
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MENZIES ERA IN AUSTRALIAN POLITICS THE MENZIES LEGACY. IDEALS, CHANGE, PROCESSION, 1960S AND BEYOND - editor Zachary Gorman Melbourne University Press 2026 ISBN-13 9780522881905 RRP: $50 (HB) Reviewed by William Coleman This most recent volume of Menzies studies by the Robert Menzies Institute provides an opportunity to revisit the commonplace punch and [...]
A CENTURY OF SPIES – HOW MOSCOW INVADED THE WEST THE ILLEGALS – Russia’s Most Audacious Spies and the plot to infiltrate the West By Shaun Walker Profile Books 2025 ISBN: 978 1 78816 7772 RRP: $53.92 (HB) Reviewed by Anne Henderson The successful TV series The Americans is a spy drama set in Virginia [...]
CATHOLICS AND THE ALP – NO MORE AN ALLIANCE IRON LAW NO MORE: THE RISE AND DEMISE OF THE CATHOLIC-LABOR ALLIANCE IN AUSTRALIA by JEFF KILDEA Connor Court Publishing/Australian Solidarity Press, 2026, ISBN: 9781923568730 RRP: $39.95 (PB) Reviewed by Keith Harvey Jeff Kildea, a prominent historian of all things Catholic, especially those Irish Catholic, in Australia [...]
THE STORY OF ONE; THE STORY OF MANY THE COLOUR OF HOME Growing up in 1970s Britain By Sajid Javid Abacus Books 2026 ISBN: 978 0 349 14762 8 RRP: $ 59.99 (HB) Reviewed by Anne Henderson As much of the West struggles with the civil challenge of multiethnic communities, while hate speech has become [...]
A TALE OF SURVIVAL – JUST FOR FUN LUNA PARK – The extraordinary story of the showmen, shysters and schemers who built Sydney’s famous park By Helen Pitt Allen & Unwin 2026 ISBN: 978 1 76106 511 8 RRP: $34.99 (PB) Reviewed by Anne Henderson The Victorian age of industrial expansion left many legacies, but [...]
SURVIVING THE INVERTED WORLD OF POLITICAL REPRESSION AN UNLIKELY PRISONER – How an eternal optimist found hope in Myanmar’s most notorious jail By Sean Turnell Viking 2023 ISBN: 978 1 76134 292 9 RRP: $35 (PB) Reviewed by Anne Henderson Literature over decades has left many records of the individual experiences of those forced to [...]
TIED TOGETHER IN WAR THEY FACED EACH OTHER THE LAST TITANS: CHURCHILL AND DE GAULLE by Richard Vinen Bloomsbury Publishing 2025 ISBN: 9781526668936 RRP: $44.99 (HB) Reviewed by Anne Henderson One was short and rotund with an infectious personality, the other was tall and statuesque with little public show of emotion. They were the two [...]
HOW WRONG CAN AN AUTHOR BE? THE ERRORS ABOUND IN REMEIKIS’ BOOK ON HOWARD WHERE IT ALL WENT WRONG: The Case Against John Howard By Amy Remeikis Scribner Australia/Simon & Schuster, February 2026 ISBN: 9781761822117 RRP: $29.99 Reviewed by Gerard Henderson Question: Where did it all go wrong? Answer: At the very beginning. The reference is [...]
