FLINDERS: The Man who Mapped Australia, by Rob Mundle, Hachette, 386pp. One could niggle that Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) did not “map Australia”, but he was the first known European to circumnavigate the coasts of both the mainland and Tasmania, completing…
THE NEW HATE: A history of fear and loathing on the populist right. By Arthur Goldwag, Scribe, 368pp Reviewed: 10 March 2012 Recently I’ve noticed more Australians voicing their disgust at the verbal violence and personal nastiness that pervade our…
SHANGHAI FURY Australian Heroes of Revolutionary China. By Peter Thompson Heinemann, 530pp. Reviewed: 22 October 2011 You might think that the last century and a half of Chinese history has already been probed from every conceivable angle, but Peter Thompson…
MACBETH A True Story By Fiona Watson Quercus, 320pp. Reviewed: 12 June, 2010 The tension between history and drama is part of our response to either genre. We scan history for dramatic human elements that resonate with choices that may…
A HISTORY OF DIPLOMACY By Jeremy Black Reaktion Books, 312pp. Reviewed: 15 May, 2010 Perhaps the first recorded “diplomatic incident” occurred in Eden, when Adam acted on advice from Eve, based upon credible representations by the Serpent (on behalf of…
DELETE The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age By Victor Mayer-Schönberger, Princeton University Press, 237pp. FUTURE FILES A History of the Next 50 Years By Richard Watson, Scribe Publications, 302pp Reviewed: 21 November 2009 I’d venture that most readers…
ON THE ORIGIN OF STORIES Evolution, Cognition and Fiction By Brian Boyd, Harvard University Press, 540pp. Reviewed: 24 October 2009 Why do we bother with stories? Why do humans invest so much energy in making, sharing and consuming narratives that…
THE GENERALISSIMO Chiang Kai-Shek and the Battle for Modern China By Jay Taylor, Belknap Harvard University Press, 722pp. Reviewed: 1 August 2009 History is not kind to losers, and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek is usually considered one of the great losers…
THE EMPIRE OF CIVILIZATION The Evolution of an Imperial Idea By Brett Bowden, University of Chicago Press, 304pp. Reviewed: 6 June 2009. How often our ears ring from the amplified calls of politicians and lobbyists rousing us to violent or…
SCIENCE AND ISLAM A History By Ehsan Masood Icon Books, 240pp Reviewed:2 May 2009 When most Westerners associate Islam with faith-based politics and socio-religious dogmatism, it is valuable to be reminded that the Quran, and the words of the Prophet…
