Absolutely Bleeding Green - The Raiders Story by David Headon

$39.99 AUD

Category: Australian Non-Fiction

'There is no team that gives pleasure to the sporting public like the Canberra Raiders.' - Bob Hawke, former Prime Minister of Australia The Canberra Raiders' spectacular grand final win against the Balmain Tigers in 1989 is widely regarded as Australian rugby league's greatest ever decider. For a fled gling club this was an extraordinary and unexpected achievement, heralding a sequence of years that produced two more premierships and two near-misses. The Raiders' trademark adventurous style of play was welcomed by all lovers of the game. Attacking football was back in vogue. David Headon tells the story of a unique football team that entered the Sydney competition in 1982 with little fanfare and plenty of pessimism, despite the fact that league had been an integral part of communities across the Limestone Plains for nearly a century. From this firm base, the Raiders emerged to make their mark. Absolutely Bleeding Green recounts the big wins and heart-wrenching losses as it follows the players through their Raider careers, revealing how the club was able to build exceptional team spirit, even in difficult times. It includes interviews with players past and present, with coaches and administrators, as well as with families and supporters who are so proud of the distinctive lime green jersey. 'This terrific book tells the story of a unique club that changed my life forever, just as the Raiders changed rugby league forever.' - Mal Meninga, rugby league Immortal, Canberra Raiders Hall of Fame ...Show more

Henry and Banjo by James Knight

$20.00 AUD

Category: Australian Non-Fiction

Today most of us know that Henry Lawson and Andrew 'Banjo' Paterson were famous writers. We know about Matilda, Clancy of the Overflow and the Man from Snowy River; The Drover's Wife, While the Billy Boils and Joe Wilson and his mates, but little else. Here, in a compelling and engaging work, James Knig ht brings Henry and Banjo's own stories to life. And there is much to tell. Both were country born, just three years and three hundred kilometres apart, Henry on the goldfields of Grenfell and Banjo on a property near Orange, but their paths to literary immortality took very different routes - indeed at times their lives were ones of savage and all too tragic contrasts. Banjo, born into a life of comparative privilege, would rise from country boy to Sydney Grammar student, solicitor, journalist, war correspondent and revered man about town. Henry's formal education only began when his feminist mother finally won her battle for a local school but illness and subsequent deafness would make continuing his lessons difficult, seeing him find work as a labourer, a coach painter and a journalist, all the while wrestling with poverty, alcoholism and mental illness. Both men would become household names during their lifetimes. Both would have regrets.   HENRY AND BANJO details two incredibly fascinating lives and delves into the famous (and not so famous) writings of the two men who had the power to influence and change Australia. ...Show more

The Innocent Reader: Reflections on Reading and Writing by Debra Adelaide

$29.99 AUD

Category: Australian Non-Fiction | Reading Level: 4 Non Fiction

In a book whose charm and erudition recalls 84 Charing Cross Road or Margaret Atwood's Negotiating with the Dead, one of our most prolific and respected authors, Debra Adelaide, shares a joyous and plaintive glimpse into a reading and writing life.This mercurial work is much more than memoir, much more than manual. It is an attempt to capture the spirit of a reader from someone who has dedicated their career to fostering that spirit, both in themselves and a generation of Australian writers.A marvellous book for any bibliophile or aspiring writer. ...Show more

The Australia Survival Guide (HB) by George Ivanoff

$24.99 AUD

Category: Australian Non-Fiction

The Australia Survival Guide is jam-packed with facts, stories and life-saving information about Australia's most dangerous things - snakes, spiders, sharks, bushfires, floods, cyclones and more. There's also a few cute and cuddly animals that might surprise you and some mythical creatures to consider. But this is no boring textbook, it's written as if you were playing the ultimate survival game. Only in this game, you can't respawn, there's no multi-player, no one to save you . . . it's do or die. Perfect for fans of Guinness World Records, The Zombie Survival Guide or Ripley's Believe it or Not! ...Show more

Stoked!: Winners and Grinners from Our Sporting Life by H. G. Nelson

$19.99 AUD

Category: Australian Non-Fiction | Reading Level: 6 Sport

Finding the Heart of the Nation: The Journey of the Uluru Statement Towards Voice, Treaty and Truth (HB) by Thomas Mayor

$39.99 AUD

Category: Australian Non-Fiction | Reading Level: 4 Non Fiction

'If Australia were a child, she would be traumatised by a past that she is told to forget. She has witnessed her custodians being murdered and raped, scattered to the margins of society. She suffers for what she has seen. She cannot forget. Her heart beat is fading. On 26 May 2017, a historic momen t at Uluru gave this country hope. Those custodians came together, reached in to their own hearts, and gifted us with a roadmap to find the heart of the nation - The Uluru Statement from the Heart. When you read this book, you will be feeling the pulse of this beautiful country, Australia. Finding the Heart of the Nation is a book full of stories about extraordinary people who will take you on an unforgettable journey to a place where we can start a new beginning. This book is a call to action that you will never forget.' - Thomas Mayor, 2019   This is a book for all Australians.   Since the Uluṟu Statement from the Heart was formed in 2017, Thomas Mayor has travelled around the country to promote its vision of a better future for Indigenous Australians. He's visited communities big and small, often with the Uluru Statement canvas rolled up in a tube under his arm. Through the story of his own journey and interviews with 20 key people, Thomas taps into a deep sense of our shared humanity. The voices within these chapters make clear what the Uluru Statement is and why it is so important. And Thomas hopes you will be moved to join them, along with the growing movement of Australians who want to see substantive constitutional change. Thomas believes that we will only find the heart of our nation when the First peoples - the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders - are recognised with a representative Voice enshrined in the Australian Constitution. ...Show more

The Golden Country: Australia's Changing Identity by Tim Watts

$32.99 AUD

Category: Australian Non-Fiction | Reading Level: 4 Non Fiction

John Howard was the unlikely reformer of Australian society. He loosened migration laws, massively boosting the population and making it less white. Simultaneously, his divisive rhetoric about national identity--a legacy of White Australia--hamstrung discussion of these huge changes. As the MP for a div erse electorate, the partner of a Hong-Kong-Chinese-Australian and father of Eurasian-Australians, and the descendant of a proponent of laws stopping Chinese people from coming here, Tim Watts asks: Why don't we remember Billy Sing, the Chinese-Australian sharpshooter at Gallipoli, or that Ararat was founded by Chinese miners? Why is Australia's imagined community so far behind our lived community? The Golden Countrychallenges us to reckon with the dark heart of Federation, the racial core of the Australian Legend, and to confront outdated notions of Australianness. It crunches the numbers on the economic and social effects of migration, and looks to a more inclusive future. ...Show more

The Land Before Avocado by Richard Glover

$29.99 AUD

Category: Australian Non-Fiction

'It was a simpler time'. We had more fun back then'. 'Everyone could afford a house'. There's plenty of nostalgia right now for the Australia of the past, but what was it really like? In The Land Before Avocado, Richard Glover takes a journey to an almost unrecognisable Australia. It's a vivid portrait of a quite peculiar land: a place that is scary and weird, dangerous and incomprehensible, and, now and then, surprisingly appealing. It's the Australia of his childhood. The Australia of the late '60s and early '70s. Let's break the news now: they didn't have avocado. It's a place of funny clothing and food that was appalling, but amusingly so. It also the land of staggeringly awful attitudes - often enshrined in law - towards anybody who didn't fit in. The Land Before Avocado will make you laugh and cry, be angry and inspired. And leave you wondering how bizarre things were, not so long ago. Most of all it will make you realise how far we've come - and how much further we can go. ...Show more

Gun Control: What Australia Got Right (and Wrong) by Tom Frame

$34.99 AUD

Category: Australian Non-Fiction

In the aftermath of the Port Arthur massacre on 28 April 1996 - when a gunman murdered 35 people and injured another 23 at a popular Tasmanian tourist attraction - John Howard, a conservative prime minister who had been in office for just six weeks, surprised his colleagues and startled the nation by mo ving swiftly to transform Australia's lax firearm laws. The National Firearms Agreement, produced just twelve days after the massacre with support from all levels of government and across the political divide, is now held up around the world as a model for gun control.Gun Control analyses whether the Australian Government achieved its intention and what it might have done in response to the massacre, and didn't. ...Show more

The Story of Rugby League (HB) by Andrew Ferguson

$19.99 AUD

Category: Australian Non-Fiction

Here, for the first time, is the 110 year history of rugby league in oneinformative book. All the great namesare here with wonderful stories,essential statistics and rare photosof players, clubs and key events.Expertly told by Andrew Ferguson,The Story of Rugby League is boundto inform, entertain and am aze anysporting fan or budding champion.Andrew ...Show more

Great Australian Sporting Stories by Ian Heads; Norman Tasker

$34.99 AUD

Category: Australian Non-Fiction | Reading Level: 6 Sport

'Heads and Tasker, legends themselves, set out to write a book that would continue the trail laid by early-days sporting scribes of long ago. I could not put it down.' JOHN COATES AC, PRESIDENT OF THE AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE 'I know readers will enjoy the many stories and anecdotes that Heads and Tasker have accumulated over more than a century combined in journalism.' IAN CHAPPELL, FORMER AUSTRALIAN CRICKET CAPTAIN Australia enjoys a rich sporting heritage. Our small population has yielded a disproportionate number of champions. These sports stars have become known worldwide as fierce combatants and honourable competitors, achieving soaring victories, but also heart-pounding near-wins and humbling defeats. Veteran Australian sports journalists Ian Heads and Norman Tasker have seen it all. In these 65 original stories, we hear of the explosive introduction of World Series Cricket in 1977, which turned a genteel endeavour into a high-octane contest, and the clash of the titans as Packer and Murdoch squared off over the Super League. We see rugby union become a battleground for race and the Olympics an arena for sublime acts of courage and achievement. We get an insider's perspective on every kind of sporting endeavour - from boxing to tennis, cricket to AFL, athletics to rugby league - and not just the action on the field, but the change room gossip and clubhouse politics as well. Written with wit, insight and a wealth of knowledge, Great Australian Sporting Stories is an enthralling expedition into the combative, collegiate, entertaining and always exciting world of Australian sport. ...Show more

Sailing for Beginners by Jeff Toghill

$12.00 AUD

Category: Australian Non-Fiction