What right do I have to talk about this place? What do I know about it? How much can I feel, can I see and smell and hear the suffering? These are the questions author and teacher Stephen Orr asked himself after visiting the remains of the Auschwitz prison camp. In this guest post, Stephen writes of the importance of feeling pain that is not necessarily yours, and of remembering what has happened in the…
Continue readingIn The Australian War Memorial: A century on from the vision, Steve Gower, the highly successful director of the Australian War Memorial from 1996 to 2012, gives a comprehensive account of the development of the Memorial from its inception just over a century ago. The book recounts the many challenges in establishing the Memorial and then in developing further its galleries and displays, the extensive collection, associated events and the overall supporting facilities. It also goes behind…
Continue readingLaunching this week is Never a True Word, the debut political thriller from Michael McGuire. The book follows Jack, a journalist who thinks he's met every shade of nutter, narcissist and bully, until he enters the bizarre world of politics as a spin doctor. Perhaps Jack might have benefitted from reading John Hill's how-to, On Being a Minister – here John discusses his experiences with Adelaide's 'best informed, most intelligent and, at times, most offensive interviewers', Matt and Dave. My first Matt and Dave interview,…
Continue readingNow, you all know by now that Wakefield Press is a pretty special place, with a very long history. I bet that you're not aware, however, of the fact that we are also the home place of our esteemed Prime Minister's very first two books. (Alright alright, I say that because I wasn't aware. In fact, I was pretty surprised!) The Minimal Monarchy (1995) is unfortunately out of stock for the moment, but we still have…
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