With the Falling of the Dusk by Stan Grant

$34.99 AUD

Category: Economics, Politics & Current Affairs

A deeply powerful, poetic and compelling book on the challenges facing our world, from one of Australia's most experienced journalists and international commentators, Stan Grant. History is turning. In only a few short decades, we have come a long way from Francis Fukuyama's declaration of the 'end of history' and the triumph of liberal democracy in 1989. Now, with the inexorable rise of China, the ascendancy of authoritarianism and the retreat of democracy, the world stands at a moment of crisis. This is a time of momentous upheaval and enormous geopolitical shifts, compounded by the global pandemic, economic collapse and growing inequality, Islamist and far right terror, and a resurgent white supremacy. The world is in lockdown and the showdown with China is accelerating - and while the West has been at the forefront of history for 200 years, it must now adapt to a world it no longer dominates. At this moment, we stand on a precipice - what will become of us? Stan Grant is one of our foremost observers and chroniclers of the world in crisis. Weaving his personal experiences of reporting from the front lines of the world's flashpoints, together with his deep understanding of politics, history and philosophy, he explores what is driving the world to crisis and how it might be averted. He fears the worst, but begins to chart the way forward. There is bitterness, anger and history here, but there is also the capacity for negotiation, forgiveness and hope. A powerful and incisive analysis of the state of our world, and our place within it. ...Show more

All the President's Women - Donald Trump and the Making of a Predator by Monique El-Faizy; Barry Levine

$15.00 AUD

Category: Economics, Politics & Current Affairs | Reading Level: near fine

Based on groundbreaking original reporting, an extensive new look at Donald Trump's relationships with women, revealing new accusations of sexual misconduct, exploring the roots of his alleged predatory behaviour, and illustrating how Trump's presidency has helped catalyse the #MeToo movement and revita lise women's activism. ...Show more

Greetings from Trumpland by Daniel, Zoe/Whalan, Roscoe

$34.99 AUD

Category: Economics, Politics & Current Affairs

Donald Trump, the mercurial US President, has had the world on a string since he declared he would run for office. He's presided over arguably the most volatile White House in history, with a revolving door for senior staff and advisors and haphazard decision making that's turned years of entrenched US policy on its head. Zoe Daniel, and producer Roscoe Whalan, were in the thick of history in the making, following the 2016 election campaign through the states that turned the election and talking to the 'forgotten people' who threw caution to the wind and elected Donald Trump. What was it that drove their decision making, what did they want to achieve and are they still loyal to Trump four years later? Via travels through America and beyond and interviews with real people and leaders over 5 years this book explores the changed boundaries and expectations in a world of unprecedented political partisanship and populism. Is Donald Trump a cause or an effect in a world of narcissism, reality TV, information manipulation and overt greed? We enter the 2020s in a state of global crisis on several fronts. From shaking up global institutions to Trump led foreign policy, to language and actions around race and gender, to the use of inflammatory rhetoric and the mobilisation of division, to the invention of fake news this book explores how Donald Trump has changed the world. ...Show more

How Good is Scott Morrison? by Peter van Onselen, Wayne Errington

$34.99 AUD

Category: Economics, Politics & Current Affairs

Without fear or favour, How Good is Scott Morrison? examines the trials and tribulations of our 30th prime minister. Investigating Morrison's unlikely rise to the liberal leadership and his miracle electoral win, van Onselen and Errington put his leadership under the spotlight. Covering Morrison's disa strous management of the catastrophic bushfire season that was highlighted by the extraordinary statement, 'I don't hold the hose, mate,' and the decision to holiday while the country burned, How Good is Scott Morrison? shows his resolve and the redemption the government's response to the pandemic brought him. Right now, Scott Morrison seems unassailable and sure to win the next election, but what exactly is his vision for Australia? A pragmatist rather than an ideologue, he is a deeply Pentecostal religious man but he doesn't wear his faith as a badge of honour. So what does he really believe in? When the history of this period is written, Morrison will certainly be seen as an election winner but will he be viewed as having had the courage and vision to change Australia for the better, or the worse?   ...Show more

The Hype Machine: How Social Media Disrupts Our Elections, Our Economy and Our Health - and How We Must Adapt by Sinan Aral

$34.99 AUD

Category: Economics, Politics & Current Affairs

In this brilliant smart-thinking book about the power and influence of social media, Professor Sinan Aral shows how ‘hyper-socialization' has profoundly changed us. Why does fake news spread faster than the truth? Do products and ideas become popular because they are good or because they are rated high ly online? How does influence actually work and what does it mean to be influential? Which strategies and tactics can help businesses survive and thrive in the New Social Age? Human beings have always been a social species. We've been communicating and cooperating with one another since the dawn of time. But today, something is different. Over the last decade, we've doused the fire of human interaction with high octane gasoline. We've created technologies that massively amplify the ways in which we interact with one another, automated by machine intelligence that is designed to inform, stimulate and entertain us. Together these technologies constitute what Sinan Aral calls the ‘Hype Machine'. Digital platforms like Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter are injecting the influence of peers into our daily decisions, driving the products we buy, how we vote and even who we love. Packed with original research conducted by Aral and his team, The Hype Machine describes the impact of social media on statecraft, politics, voting, business and public health, and shows us how to adapt our society to the hyper-socialized state the Hype Machine has wrought. This is a fascinating book that provides counterintuitive and surprising answers to some of the most hotly debated topics of our connected, digital era, as it impacts society. ...Show more

Barefoot Investor (2020 Edition) by Scott Pape

$29.95 AUD

Category: Economics, Politics & Current Affairs

** Reviewed and updated for the 2020-2021 financial year** This is the only money guide you'll ever need That's a bold claim, given there are already thousands of finance books on the shelves. So what makes this one different? Well, you won't be overwhelmed with a bunch of 'tips' … or a strict budget (t hat youwon't follow). You'll get a step-by-step formula: open this account, then do this; call this person, and say this; invest money here, and not there. All with a glass of wine in your hand. This book will show you how to create an entire financial plan that is so simple you can sketch it on the back of a serviette … and you'll be able to manage your money in 10 minutes a week. You'll also get the skinny on: Saving up a six-figure house deposit in 20 months Doubling your income using the 'Trapeze Strategy' Saving $78,173 on your mortgage and wiping out 7 years of payments Finding a financial advisor who won't rip you off Handing your kids (or grandkids) a $140,000 cheque on their 21st birthday Why you don't need $1 million to retire … with the 'Donald Bradman Retirement Strategy' Sound too good to be true? It's not. This book is full of stories from everyday Aussies — single people, young families, empty nesters, retirees — who have applied the simple steps in this book and achieved amazing, life-changing results. And you're next. ...Show more

Body Count: How Climate Change is Killing Us by Paddy Manning

$32.99 AUD

Category: Economics, Politics & Current Affairs

'Our house is on fire,' 16-year-old Swedish school strike activist Greta Thunberg told world leaders in 2019. Across an angry year of weather, Australians watched it in real-time: record heatwaves and worsening drought, unprecedented fish kills in the Murray-Darling Basin and devastating wildfires acros s Queensland and NSW - this is climate change, a terrifying portent for the most arid continent on earth. But most shocking of all is the untold human toll - escalating human deaths in Australia and beyond. The climate crisis is now a health emergency, with extreme weather events, disease, mental illness and infrastructure collapse killing what the WHO predicts will be millions around the world over the next decade. Shocking and undeniable, Manning reveals what climate change really looks like, telling the moving stories of victims, their families and doctors - putting names and faces to the people who have already paid the ultimate price for inaction on the biggest moral challenge of our century. ...Show more

Consequences of Capitalism: Manufacturing Discontent and Resistance by Noam Chomsky; Marv Waterstone

$32.99 AUD

Category: Economics, Politics & Current Affairs

Is there an alternative to capitalism? In this landmark text Chomsky and Waterstone chart a critical map for a more just and sustainable society.'Covid-19 has revealed glaring failures and monstrous brutalities in the current capitalist system. It represents both a crisis and an opportunity. Everything depends on the actions that people take into their own hands.'How does politics shape our world, our lives and our perceptions? How much of 'common sense' is actually driven by the ruling classes' needs and interests? And how are we to challenge the capitalist structures that now threaten all life on the planet?Consequences of Capitalism exposes the deep, often unseen connections between neoliberal 'common sense' and structural power. In making these linkages, we see how the current hegemony keeps social justice movements divided and marginalized. And, most importantly, we see how we can fight to overcome these divisions. ...Show more

F. L. Y. : Financially Literate Youth: Every Young Person's Go-To Guide for Life's Important Financial Decisions by Marlies Hobbs; Jai Hobbs

$29.99 AUD

Category: Economics, Politics & Current Affairs

FLY- Financially Literate Youth is the perfect handbook for every young person who wants to be armed with the financial knowledge and confidence to set themselves up for success as they chart the course of their life. Whether they are contemplating leaving the nest or are already beginning to spread the ir wings, this convenient and credible source will have them prepared for all of life's milestones, as well as those times when things get rocky or uncertain. And what an uncertain world they're flying into - but with the right guidance they'll be prepared to overcome any obstacle and seize every opportunity! From the basics of opening a bank account, living within a budget and understanding debt to saving for those first big-ticket items, starting a job or striking out into the property market, FLY- Financially Literate Youth is the go-to reference guide for every situation life throws up. It also includes an inspirational chapter on mindset and goal-setting, finishing with the Top Ten Tips You Need to Succeed, including, 'Find Your Tribe', 'If You Don't Know, Ask', 'Be Patient, Be Opportunistic' and, of course, 'Spread Your Wings and FLY!' ...Show more

Finding Resilience ... by Brian Walker

$45.00 AUD

$59.99 (24% off)

Category: Economics, Politics & Current Affairs

Floods, fires, famines, epidemics and disasters of all kinds are on the increase, and as their frequency rises so does the call for greater resilience. But what does that mean?   The word is used differently in psychology, ecology, economics and engineering and runs the risk of becoming meaningless ja rgon. This would be most unfortunate because, if we are to successfully navigate very real and dangerous global trends, it is resilience that needs to be understood and fostered.   Finding Resilience is international in scope and unravels how ecosystems, societies and people cope with disturbance and adversity. Written for a general readership and based on the experiences of researchers, these fascinating stories from around the world reveal what resilience is, how it works in different kinds of systems, how it is expressed, and how it can be gained and lost. ...Show more

How to Win an Election by Wallace, Chris

$29.99 AUD

Category: Economics, Politics & Current Affairs

   The 2019 Australian election produced a surprise result showing, not for the first time, that every election is there for the taking – including the next one. Here are the ten steps to winning an election. We have a democracy that performs relatively well, but many Australian elections are very clo se. So-called ‘unloseable’ elections are lost, reminding us that every election is a real contest. In this indispensable book drawing from years of close-up observation and analysis, historian and political journalist Chris Wallace draws out the ten essential steps to winning an election.The learner’s error, she argues, is to grasp onto a couple of factors – so-called ‘conventional wisdom’ - without considering a full suite of winning factors and tracing the connections between them. Wallace notes that even when a couple of factors are significant in an election scenario, small improvements elsewhere can make the difference between winning and losing if performance and professionalism are maximised across the board.How to Win an Election is not a book designed to change your political opinion. It is a crucial resource for future political campaigns to ensure credibility, competence and accountability. Most of all, it is for party supporters and voters who can cast their vote knowing it has been backed by the best possible efforts to create change.'Elections in Australia are often decided by remarkably tight margins – a few thousand votes shift in some key seats and you get a different outcome. The campaigns parties run are complex and yet need to coalesce around strong, simple core messages. From the inside they are high-wire acts, often winner-take-all-bets. Chris Wallace brings original thinking and clarity to understanding the dynamics of elections and offers practical suggestions on how to win — including some that could probably only have come from an astute outsider.' — Geoff Walsh, ALP National Secretary (2000–2003), former adviser to Prime Ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating and Premiers Steve Bracks and John Brumby, veteran of nine Australian election campaigns and journalist ...Show more

Quarterly Essay 81: Getting to Zero Australia's Energy Transition by Alan Finkel

$24.99 AUD

Category: Economics, Politics & Current Affairs

The world is overheating, and despite god intentions and significant others, emissions increase nearly every year. The challenge is immense, but there are solutions. In this lucid, persuasive essay, Alan Finkel maps Australia's energy transition. He focuses strongly on clean technologies, including the use of hydrogen, and addresses the challenge of intermittent supply. He shows how we can build a zero-emissions world. Taking into account economics, science and emotions, Getting to Zero is an essential guide to how Australia can tackle the climate crisis with realism and ingenuity.   ...Show more