Download or read book Girt Nation written by David Hunt and published by Black Inc.. This book was released on 2021-11-02 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Hunt tramples the tall poppies of the past in charting Australia's transformation from aspiration to nation - an epic tale of charlatans and costermongers, of bush bards and bushier beards, of workers and women who weren't going to take it anymore. Girt Nation introduces Alfred Deakin, the Liberal necromancer whose dead advisors made Australia a better place to live, and Banjo Paterson, the jihadist who called on God and the Prophet to drive the Australian infidels from the Sudan 'like sand before the gale'. And meet Catherine Helen Spence, the feminist polymath who envisaged a utopian future of free contraceptives, easy divorce and immigration restrictions to prevent the 'Chinese coming to destroy all we have struggled for!' Thrill as Jandamarra leads the Bunuba against Western Australia, and Valentine Keating leads the Crutchy Push, an all-amputee street gang, against the conventionally limbed. Gasp as Essendon Football Club trainer Carl von Ledebur injects his charges with crushed dog and goat testicles. Weep as Scott Morrison's communist great-great-aunt Mary Gilmore holds a hose in New Australia. And marvel at how Labor, a political party that spent a quarter of a century infighting over how to spell its own name, ever rose to power. 'Makes you wish David Hunt had been your history teacher. Laugh-out-loud funny and you'll actually learn something.' —Mark Humphries 'An entertaining and instructive historical romp through the formative period of Australian nation-making with a colourful cast of rhymesters, revolutionaries, rebels, racists, reprobates and rabbits.' —Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, The Australian National University 'Once again, David Hunt uses his sharpened wit to chisel away at misconceptions from Australian history leaving us with the cold, hard truth of how our nation came to be.' —Osher Günsberg 'Australian history told intelligently, but with more humour than ever before ... Girt Nation is fabulous storytelling, putting meat on the bones of the national story.' —The Weekend Australian

Download or read book Girt written by David Hunt and published by . This book was released on 2016-05-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2014 Indie Award for Non - Fiction. Girt. No word could better capture the essence of Australia... In this hilarious history, David Hunt tells the real story of Australia's past from megafauna to Macquarie ... the cock - ups and curiosities, the forgotten eccentrics and Eureka moments that have made us who we are. Mark Twain wrote of Australian history: 'It does not read like history, but like the most beautiful lies ... but they are all true, they all happened.' In Girt, Hunt uncovers these beautiful lies, recounting the strange and ridiculous episodes that conventional histories ignore. The result is surprising, enlightening - and side - splittingly funny. Girt explains the role of the coconut in Australia's only military coup, the Dutch obsession with nailing perfectly good kitchenware to posts, and the settlers' fear of Pemulwuy and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamingcoat. It introduces us to forgotten heroes like Mary McLoghlin, transported for the typically Irish crime of 'felony of sock'; Patyegarang, the young Eora girl who co - authored the world's most surprising dictionary; and Trim the cat, who beat a French monkey to become the first animal to circumnavigate Australia. Our nation's beginnings were steeped in the unlikely, the incongruous and the frankly bizarre. Girt restores these stories to their rightful place. Not to read it would be un - Australian.

Download or read book True Girt written by David Hunt and published by Black Inc.. This book was released on 2016-10-31 with total page 454 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this side-splitting sequel to his best-selling history, David Hunt takes us to the Australian frontier. This was the Wild South, home to hardy pioneers, gun-slinging bushrangers, directionally challenged explorers, nervous indigenous people, Caroline Chisholm and sheep. Lots of sheep. First there was Girt. Now comes . . . True Girt True Girt introduces Thomas Davey, the hard-drinking Tasmanian governor who invented the Blow My Skull cocktail, and Captain Moonlite, Australia's most famous LGBTI bushranger. Meet William Nicholson, the Melbourne hipster who gave Australia the steam-powered coffee roaster and the world the secret ballot. And say hello to Harry, the first camel used in Australian exploration, who shot dead his owner, the explorer John Horrocks. Learn how Truganini's death inspired the Martian invasion of Earth. Discover the role of Hall and Oates in the Myall Creek Massacre. And be reminded why you should never ever smoke with the Wild Colonial Boy and Mad Dan Morgan. If Manning Clark and Bill Bryson were left on a desert island with only one pen, they would write True Girt. 'An engaging, witty and utterly irreverent take on Australian history.' —Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Project 'Astounding, gruesome and frequently hilarious, True Girt is riveting from beginning to end.' —Nick Earls

Download or read book My Ikaria written by Spiri Tsintziras and published by Black Inc.. This book was released on 2018-04-02 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three years ago, Spiri Tsintziras found herself mentally, physically and spiritually depleted. She was stretched thin – raising kids, running a household and managing a business. She ate too much in order to keep going and then slumped in front of the telly at night, exhausted, asking herself ‘What is it all for?’ Spiri’s quest for a healthier, more nourishing life took her from her suburban home in Melbourne to her family’s homeland of Greece, and to the small Greek island of Ikaria. The people of Ikaria – part of the famous ‘Blue Zones’ – live happy, healthy and long lives. Inspired by their example, Spiri made some simple lifestyle changes and as a result lost weight, gained energy and deepened the connection to those closest to her. Best of all, she didn’t have to give up bread or wine! Spiri’s heartwarming memoir, which includes delicious family recipes, will console and entertain anyone bogged down in the daily grind – encouraging you to put your health and happiness first. ‘My Ikaria is a kindly wake-up call to live a more mindful, meaningful and generous life – a joy to read.’ —Alice Pung ‘I applaud Spiri for sharing her fascinating and insightful journey to better health through My Ikaria. As our lives become increasingly busy and fast-paced, we can all learn valuable lessons from the Ikarians, who show us it’s not about striving to live longer but to live better.’ —Jerril Rechter, VicHealth CEO ‘Tsintziras gives an engaging account of her Ikarian journey, practically and philosophically, saying “they’ve reached across the seas and inspired me to live better”. This charming memoir may inspire you to live better too.’ —SAWeekend

Download or read book Nationalizing Empires written by Stefan Berger and published by Central European University Press. This book was released on 2015-06-30 with total page 700 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essays in Nationalizing Empires challenge the dichotomy between empire and nation state that for decades has dominated historiography. The authors center their attention on nation-building in the imperial core and maintain that the nineteenth century, rather than the age of nation-states, was the age of empires and nationalism. They identify a number of instances where nation building projects in the imperial metropolis aimed at the preservation and extension of empires rather than at their dissolution or the transformation of entire empires into nation states. Such observations have until recently largely escaped theoretical reflection.

Download or read book Horse Girl written by Carrie Seim and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-03-29 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mean Girls meets Black Beauty in Horse Girl by celebrated author Carrie Seim--a funny and tender middle-grade novel about finding your forever herd. "This book is funny and exciting. Beautifully portrays both the pleasures and risks of riding horses and also of being a teen. Very original, and a great pleasure to read."--Jane Smiley, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Wills is a seventh grader who's head-over-hoof for horses, and beyond excited when she gets the chance to start training at the prestigious Oakwood Riding Academy. But Amara--the Queen of the #HorseGirls--and her posse aren't going to let the certifiably dork-tagious Wills trot her way into their club so easily. Between learning the reins of horse riding, dealing with her Air Force pilot mom being stationed thousands of miles from home, and keeping it together in front of (gasp!) Horse Boys, Wills learns that becoming a part of the #HorseGirl world isn't easy. But with her rescue horse, Clyde, at her side, it sure will be fun. Complete with comedic, original hoof notes to acquaint the less equestrian among us, Horse Girl delivers everything a young readers wants: mean girls, boy problems, and embarrassingly goofy dad jokes. And it does so on the back of a pony.

Download or read book The Rome Zoo written by Pascal Janovjak and published by Black Inc.. This book was released on 2021-08-03 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rome, too, wants the sound of roaring as evening falls ... The Rome Zoo: a place born of fantasy and driven by a nation’s aspirations. It has witnessed – and reflected in its tarnished mirror – the great follies of the twentieth century. Now, in an ongoing battle that has seen it survive world wars and epidemics, the zoo must once again reinvent itself, and assert its relevance in the Eternal City. Caught up in these machinations is a cast of characters worthy of this baroque backdrop: a man desperate to find meaning in his own life, a woman tasked with halting the zoo’s decline and a rare animal, the last of its species, who bewitches the world. Drifting between past and present, The Rome Zoo weaves together these and many other stories, forming a colourful and evocative tapestry of life at this strange place. It is both a love story and a poignant juxtaposition of the human need to classify, to subdue, with the untameable nature of our dramas and anxieties. Spellbinding and disturbing, precise and dreamy, this award-winning novel, translated by Stephanie Smee, is unlike any other. Winner of the Swiss Literature Award, the Prix Michel-Dentan and the Prix du public de la RTS “Like all truly great literary allegories, The Rome Zoo is both innocent and wise, filled equally with tenderness and darkness. A gorgeous, dream-like fable of Italy's past and present.” —Ceridwen Dovey

Download or read book The Australians written by John Hirst and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2011 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is there an Australian national character? What are its distinguishing features? Over the years, how have insiders and outsiders summed up this country and its people, and how have Australians responded to outside criticism? In The Australians, John Hirst gathers together the key assessments of the national character, on topics as diverse as sport, war, mateship, humour, put-downs, suburbia and going native. There is celebration and criticism. There is humour and insight. There is the difference between what Australians think of themselves and what they are really like. Contributors include Winston Churchill, Ned Kelly, Tim Flannery, Henry Lawson, Peter Cosgrove, Germaine Greer, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Captain James Cook, David Malouf, Mark Twain, H.G. Wells, Patrick White, Oscar Wilde and Tim Winton.

Download or read book State of the Nation written by Gwenda Tavan and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2015-01-29 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A stunning collection of essays that analyses the major issues facing Australia today This nation has a lot of unfinished business. Will we become a republic any time soon? How can we honour our Indigenous peoples and tackle the intractable disadvantage they face? What does our treatment of asylum seekers reveal about us? Will we have a proper debate the next time we go to war? In early 2013 La Trobe University held a conference in honour of Professor Robert Manne, at which papers were presented by thinkers Manne has worked or argued with, and whom he most admires. State of the Nation compiles these original essays. They include innovative explorations of multiculturalism, social democracy, the future for Labor and the challenge of climate change. This is a book that shows how Australia is faring, good and bad, as it enters a new era of politics. Contributors include Mark Aarons, Stefan Auer, Nicholas Barry, Peter Beilharz, David Corlett, Jean Curthoys, Patrick Dodson, Chris Feik, Raimond Gaita, Rhonda Galbally, Clive Hamilton, John Hirst, Ramona Koval, Martin Krygier, Carmen Lawrence, Geoffrey Brahm Levey, William Maley, Anne Manne, Russell Marks, Mark McKenna, David McKnight, Aurelien Mondon, A. Dirk Moses, David Ritter, Morry Schwartz, Sanjay Seth, Tim Soutphommasane and Hugh White.

Download or read book Reset written by Ross Garnaut and published by Black Inc.. This book was released on 2021-02-22 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘The nation’s most prophetic economist’—Ross Gittins In Reset, renowned economist Ross Garnaut shows how the COVID-19 crisis offers Australia the opportunity to reset its economy and build a successful future – and why the old approaches will not work. Garnaut develops the idea of a renewable superpower, he calls for a basic income and he explores what the ‘decoupling’ of China and America will mean for Australia. In the wake of COVID-19, the world has entered its deepest recession since the 1930s. Shocks of this magnitude throw history from its established course – either for good or evil. In 1942 – in the depths of war – the Australian government established a Department of Post-War Reconstruction to plan a future that not only restored existing strengths but also rebuilt the country for a new and better future. As we strive to overcome the coronavirus challenge, we need new, practical ideas to restore Australia. This book has them. La Trobe University Press in conjunction with Black Inc. and the University of Melbourne

Download or read book Dog Days written by Ross Garnaut and published by Black Inc.. This book was released on 2013-11-15 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A blueprint for the nation after the boom. Australians have just lived through a period of exceptional prosperity, but, says influential economist Ross Garnaut, the Dog Days are on their way. Are we ready for the challenges ahead? In Dog Days, Garnaut explains how we got here, what we can expect next and the tough choices we need to make to survive the new economic conditions. Are we clever enough – and our leaders courageous enough – to change what needs to be changed and preserve a fair and prosperous Australia? This is a book about the future by a leading adviser to government and business, someone with a proven record of seeing where the nation is going. Both forecast and analysis, it heralds a new era for Australia after the boom.

Download or read book My Country written by David Marr and published by Black Inc.. This book was released on 2018-11-05 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Marr is the rarest of breeds: one of Australia’s most unflinching, forensic reporters of political controversy, and one of its most subtle and eloquent biographers. In Marr’s hands, those things we call reportage and commentary are elevated to artful and illuminating chronicles of our time. My Country collects his powerful reflections on religion, sex, censorship and the law; striking accounts of leaders, moralists and scandalmongers; elegant ruminations on the arts and the lives of artists. And some memorable new pieces. ‘My country is the subject that interests me most and I have spent my career trying to untangle it’s mysteries.’ –David Marr.

Download or read book Grace and Grit written by Ken Wilber and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2001-02-06 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here is a deeply moving account of a couple's struggle with cancer and their journey to spiritual healing. Grace and Grit is the compelling story of the five-year journey of Ken Wilber and his wife Treya Killam Wilber through Treya's illness, treatment, and, finally, death.

Download or read book Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia written by Anita Heiss and published by Black Inc.. This book was released on 2018-04-16 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Childhood stories of family, country and belonging What is it like to grow up Aboriginal in Australia? This anthology, compiled by award-winning author Anita Heiss, showcases many diverse voices, experiences and stories in order to answer that question. Accounts from well-known authors and high-profile identities sit alongside those from newly discovered writers of all ages. All of the contributors speak from the heart – sometimes calling for empathy, oftentimes challenging stereotypes, always demanding respect. This groundbreaking collection will enlighten, inspire and educate about the lives of Aboriginal people in Australia today. Contributors include: Tony Birch, Deborah Cheetham, Adam Goodes, Terri Janke, Patrick Johnson, Ambelin Kwaymullina, Jack Latimore, Celeste Liddle, Amy McQuire, Kerry Reed-Gilbert, Miranda Tapsell, Jared Thomas, Aileen Walsh, Alexis West, Tara June Winch, and many, many more. Winner, Small Publisher Adult Book of the Year at the 2019 Australian Book Industry Awards ‘Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia is a mosaic, its more than 50 tiles – short personal essays with unique patterns, shapes, colours and textures – coming together to form a powerful portrait of resilience.’ —The Saturday Paper ‘... provides a diverse snapshot of Indigenous Australia from a much needed Aboriginal perspective.’ —The Saturday Age

Download or read book A Rightful Place written by Noel Pearson and published by Black Inc.. This book was released on 2017-08-03 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The nation has unfinished business. After more than two centuries, can a rightful place be found for Australia’s original peoples? Soon we will all decide if and how Indigenous Australians will be recognised in the Constitution. In this essential book, several leading writers and thinkers provide a road map to recognition. Starting with the Uluru Statement from the Heart, these eloquent essays show what constitutional recognition means, and what it could make possible: a political voice, a fairer relationship and a renewed appreciation of an ancient culture. With remarkable clarity and power, they traverse law, history and culture to map the path to change. The contributors to A Rightful Place are Noel Pearson, Megan Davis, Stan Grant, Rod Little and Jackie Huggins, Damien Freeman and Nolan Hunter, Warren Mundine, and Shireen Morris. The book includes a foreword by Galarrwuy Yunupingu. A Rightful Place is edited by Shireen Morris, a lawyer and constitutional reform fellow at the Cape York Institute and researcher at Monash University.

Download or read book Growing Up African in Australia written by Maxine Beneba Clarke and published by Black Inc.. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I was born in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. My dad was a freedom fighter, waging war for an independent state: South Sudan. We lived in a small country town, in the deep south of Western Australia. I never knew black people could be Muslim until I met my North African friends. My mum and my dad courted illegally under the Apartheid regime. My first impression of Australia was a housing commission in the north of Tasmania. Somalis use this term, “Dhaqan Celis”. “Dhaqan” means culture and “Celis” means return. Learning to kick a football in a suburban schoolyard. Finding your feet as a young black dancer. Discovering your grandfather’s poetry. Meeting Nelson Mandela at your local church. Facing racism from those who should protect you. Dreading a visit to the hairdresser. House- hopping across the suburbs. Being too black. Not being black enough. Singing to find your soul, and then losing yourself again. Welcome to African Australia. Compiled by award-winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke, with curatorial assistance from writers Ahmed Yussuf and Magan Magan, this anthology brings together voices from the regions of Africa and the African diaspora, including the Caribbean and the Americas. Told with passion, power and poise, these are the stories of African-diaspora Australians. Contributors include Faustina Agolley, Santilla Chingaipe, Carly Findlay, Khalid Warsame, Nyadol Nyuon, Tariro Mavondo and many, many more. ‘A deeply moving and unforgettable read – there is something to learn from each page. FOUR AND A HALF STARS’ —Books+Publishing ‘A complex tapestry of stories specific in every thread and illuminating as a whole ... The wonderful strength of this anthology lies in the easily understood and the never imagined.’ —Readings ‘In the face of structural barriers to health care, education, housing and employment, the narratives in Growing Up African are tempered with stories of deep courage, hope, resilience and endurance.’ —The Conversation ‘Growing Up African in Australia is almost painfully timely. It speaks to the richness of a diaspora that is all too often deprived of its nuances ... Lively, moving, and often deeply affecting, it is an absolute must-read. FOUR AND A HALF STARS’ —The AU Review

Download or read book Startup Your Life written by Anna Akbari and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2016-12-27 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As an entrepreneur, Anna Akbari learned that one of the best things about startups is their ability to “pivot” quickly—basically a euphemism for failing and starting over. And she quickly found that personal success is no different. It’s not just about developing and following the right process but also having a good idea. And that demands rigor and daily maintenance—far beyond a few positive affirmations. Like any Silicon Valley startup, the business of life is not as glamorous as its Instagram account would make it seem. What do you do when planning is not an option? When control is out of your reach? You isolate the small stuff, experiment constantly, and use the results to lay a more sustainable foundation for the future. You validate your idealized vision by testing it out in bite-sized increments. You see what sticks, integrate, and move forward. And inevitably, you experience a series of failures along the way, but those failures are key to your next success. Living a start up life is about maximizing flexibility and measuring on-going results, not avoiding failure or reaching one particular end goal. It's about embracing defeat, analyzing it, and failing up. In Startup Your Life, Akbari shows that after all, it's often the stumbles that pave the way for real happiness.