The Golden Maze: a Biography of Prague (HB) by Richard Fidler

$39.99 AUD

Category: History

ABC broadcaster and bestselling author of Ghost Empire and Saga Land, Richard Fidler is back with a personally curated history of the magical city that is Prague. In 1989, Richard Fidler was living in London as part of the provocative Australian comedy trio The Doug Anthony All Stars when revolution broke out across Europe. Excited by this galvanising historic, human, moment, he travelled to Prague, where a decrepit police state was being overthrown by crowds of ecstatic citizens. His experience of the Velvet Revolution never let go of him. Thirty years later Fidler returns to Prague to uncover the glorious and grotesque history of Europe's most instagrammed and uncanny city: a jumble of gothic towers, baroque palaces and zig-zag lanes that has survived plagues, pogroms, Nazi terror and Soviet tanks. Founded in the ninth Century, Prague gave the world the golem, the robot, and the world's biggest statue of Stalin, a behemoth that killed almost everyone who touched it. Fidler tells the story of the reclusive emperor who brought the world's most brilliant minds to Prague Castle to uncover the occult secrets of the universe. He explores the Black Palace, the wartime headquarters of the Nazi SS, and he meets victims of the communist secret police. Reaching back into Prague's mythic past, he finds the city's founder, the pagan priestess Libussa who prophesised: I see a city whose glory will touch the stars. Following the story of Prague from its origins in medieval darkness to its uncertain present, Fidler does what he does so well - curates an absolutely engaging and compelling history of a place. You will learn things you never knew, with a tour guide who is erudite, inquisitive, and the best storyteller you could have as your companion.  ...Show more

Moonlite: The Tragic Love Story of Captain Moonlite and the Bloody End of the Bushrangers by Garry Linnell

$34.99 AUD

Category: History

Charismatic, intelligent and handsome, George Scott is unlike any other bushranger. Born into a privileged life in famine-wracked Ireland, Scott's family loses its fortune and is forced to flee to New Zealand. There, Scott joins the local militia and fights as a soldier against the Maori in the brutal N ew Zealand wars. After recovering from a series of serious gunshot wounds, he sails to Australia and becomes a Lay Preacher, captivating churchgoers with his fiery and inspiring sermons. But Scott is also prone to bursts of madness. The local villagers back in Ireland often whispered that a 'wild drop' ran in the blood of the Scott family. One night he dons a mask in a small country town, arms himself with a gun and, dubbing himself Captain Moonlite, brazenly robs a bank before staging one of the country's most audacious jailbreaks. After falling in love with fellow prisoner James Nesbitt, a boyish petty criminal desperately searching for a father figure, Scott finds himself unable to shrug off his criminal past. Pursued and harassed by the police, he stages a dramatic siege and prepares for a final showdown with the law - and a macabre executioner without a nose. Meticulously researched and drawing on previously unpublished material, Moonlite is a brilliant work of non-fiction that reads like a novel. Told at a cracking pace, and based on many of the extensive letters Scott wrote from his death cell, Moonlite is set amid the violent and sexually-repressed era of Australia in the second half of the 19th century. With a cast of remarkable characters, it weaves together the extraordinary lives of our bushrangers and the desperation of a young nation eager to remove the stains of its convict past. But most of all, Moonlite is a tragic love story. For these are the dying days of the bushrangers and Captain Moonlite is about to make his last stand. ...Show more

Red Lead: The Legendary Australian Ship's Cat Who Survived the Sinking of HMAS Perth and the Thai-Burma Railway by Roland Perry

$29.99 AUD

Category: History

The legendary Australian ship's cat who survived the sinking of HMAS Perth and the Thai-Burma Railway. Just after midnight on the 1st March 1942, Australia's most celebrated cruiser, HMAS Perth, was sunk by Japanese naval forces in the Sunda Strait off the coast of Java. Of the 681 men aboard, 328 survived the sinking and made it to shore - and one cat. Her name was Red Lead, and she was the ship's cat, beloved by the crew and by HMAS Perth's legendary captain Hec Waller. But surviving shell fire, torpedoes and the fierce currents of the Sunda Strait was only the start of the terrible trials Red Lead and the surviving crew were to face over the next three and a half years. From Java to Changi and then on the Thai-Burma Railway, Red Lead was to act as a companion, mascot and occasional hunter of food for a small group of sailors who made it their mission to keep her alive in some of the most hellish prison camps on earth.Red Lead's extraordinary story is one of courage, loyalty and love amidst battle, imprisonment and death, brought vividly to life by bestselling author Roland Perry.         ...Show more

First Person by Richard Flanagan

$22.99 AUD

Category: History

A young and penniless writer, Kif Kehlmann, is rung in the middle of the night by the notorious con man and corporate criminal, Siegfried Heidl. About to go to trial for defrauding the banks of $700 million, Heidl proposes a deal- $10,000 for Kehlmann to ghost write his memoir in six weeks.But as the wr iting gets under way, Kehlmann begins to fear that he is being corrupted by Heidl. As the deadline draws closer, he becomes ever more unsure if he is ghost writing a memoir, or if Heidl is rewriting him-his life, his future. Everything that was certain grows uncertain as he begins to wonder- who is Siegfried Heidl-and who is Kif Kehlmann?By turns compelling, comic, and chilling, First Personis a haunting journey into the heart of our age.'Powerful, funny, disturbing, moving . . . Flanagan candidly and honestly confronts the raw truths of the writing life and the family life, material and spiritual poverty, love and despair and desire . . . He touches on genuine brilliance.' - The Australian'A triumph . . . This is a book of demonic possession, of obsession, and there?s a zinger of thought, of expression, in every paragraph.First Personis a parable for the age of Trump? - Phillip Adams, The Weekend Australian Magazine'Flanagan?s most artfully constructed and thematically complex novel to date.? - Australian Book Review ...Show more

The Lost Boys by Paul Byrnes

$35.00 AUD

Category: History

In the First World War of 1914-1918, thousands of boys across Australia and New Zealand lied about their age, forged a parent's signature and left to fight on the other side of the world. Though some were as young as thirteen, they soon found they could die as well as any man. Like Peter Pan's lost boys , they have remained forever young. These are their stories.This extraordinary book captures the incredible and previously untold stories of forty Anzac boys who fought in the First World War, from Gallipoli to the Armistice. Featuring haunting images of the boys taken at training camps and behind the lines, these tales are both heartbreaking and rousing, full of daring, ingenuity, recklessness, random horror and capricious luck.A unique perspective on the First World War, THE LOST BOYS is military history made deeply personal, a powerful homage to youthful bravery and a poignant reminder of the sacrifice of war. ...Show more

The Windsor Diaries: 1940-45 by Alathea Fitzalan Howard

$34.99 AUD

Category: History

The Windsor Diaries are the never-before-seen diaries of Alathea Fitzalan Howard, who lived alongside the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret at Windsor Castle during the Second World War. Alathea's home life was an unhappy one. Her parents had separated and so during the war she was sent to live wi th her grandfather, Viscount Fitzalan of Derwent, at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park. There Alathea found the affection and harmony she craved as she became a close friend of the two princesses, visiting them often at Windsor Castle, enjoying parties, balls, cinema evenings, picnics and celebrations with the Royal Family and other members of the Court. Alathea's diary became her constant companion during these years as day by day she recorded every intimate detail of life with the young Princesses, often with their governess Crawfie, or with the King and Queen. Written from the ages of sixteen to twenty-two, she captures the tight-knit, happy bonds between the Royal Family, as well as the aspirations and anxieties, sometimes extreme, of her own teenage mind. These unique diaries give us a bird's eye view of Royal wartime life with all of Alathea's honest, yet affectionate judgments and observations - as well as a candid and vivid portrait of the young Princess Elizabeth, known to Alathea as 'Lilibet', a warm, self-contained girl, already falling for her handsome prince Philip, and facing her ultimate destiny: the Crown. ...Show more

For Gallantry: Australians Awarded the George Cross and the Cross of Valour by Craig Blanch

$69.99 AUD

Category: History

From the frozen wastes of Antarctica to the burning ruins of the Bali bombings, For Gallantry tells the stories of the 28 Australians awarded the nation's highest non-combat awards for bravery: the Imperial George Cross and its Australian Honours and Awards replacement, the Cross of Valour. Created to m ark extraordinary deeds away from the field of battle, the awards are the non-combat equivalent of the coveted Victoria Cross. More than a quarter of the recipients were awarded posthumously — testimony to the selflessness recognised by the decorations. They came from all walks of life. From teachers and farmers to defence force members and firefighters, theirs are stories of incredible physical and moral courage. Some were recognised for single heroic acts, others for their conduct over many months of terrible adversity. With assistance from the sole surviving Australian holder of the George Cross, and recipients of the Cross of Valour, For Gallantry profiles their heroic actions in a dedicated volume for the first time. 'Courageous behaviour comes in many forms. For Gallantry tells the remarkable true stories of some of Australia's most selfless people. A beautifully illustrated work that keeps you captivated from the first page.' — Dan Keighran VC ...Show more

Rooted: An Australian History of Bad Language by Amanda Laugesen

$32.99 AUD

Category: History

Bugger, rooted, bloody oath...What is it about Australians and swearing? We've got an international reputation for using bad language (Where the bloody hell are ya?) and letting rip with a choice swear word or two has long been a very Aussie thing to do. From the defiant curses of the convicts and bullo ck drivers to the humour of Kath and Kim, Amanda Laugesen, director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre, takes us on a fascinating journey through the history of Australia's bad language to reveal our preoccupations and our concerns.Bad language has been used in all sort of ways in our history: to defy authority, as a form of liberation and subversion, and as a source of humour and creativity. Bad language has also been used to oppress and punish those who have been denied a claim to using it, notably Indigenous Australians and women. It has also long been subject to various forms of censorship. 'If you've ever wondered why to use bad language in Australia is to 'swear like a bullocky', Amanda Laugesen's Rooted will give you the answer. Taking us on a colourful tour of more than two centuries of bad language that extends from the mildly offensive to the completely filthy, Laugesen tells the story of Australia through those words and phrases that have often been seen as unfit to print. This is an engrossing social history – a bloody beauty – from one of our leading experts on Australian English.' — Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, The Australian National University ...Show more

Great Expectations: Emigrant Governesses in Colonial Australia by Patricia Clarke

$29.99 AUD

Category: History

Maiden Voyages - Women and the Golden Age of Transatlantic Travel by Siân Evans

$32.99 AUD

Category: History

A VIVID PORTRAIT OF WOMEN'S LIVES DURING THE GOLDEN AGE OF TRANSATLANTIC TRAVEL Before convenient air travel, transatlantic travel was the province of the great ocean liners and never more so than in the glory days of the interwar years. It was an extraordinary undertaking made by many women. Some trav elled for leisure, some for work; others to find a new life, marriage, to reinvent themselves or find new opportunities. Their stories have remained largely untold - until now. Maiden Voyages is a fascinating portrait of these women, and their lives on board magnificent ocean liners as they sailed between the old and the new worlds. The ocean liner was a microcosm of contemporary society, divided by class: from the luxury of the upper deck, playground for the rich and famous, to the cramped conditions of steerage or third class travel. These iconic liners were filled with women of all ages, classes and backgrounds: celebrities and refugees, migrants and millionairesses, aristocrats and crew members. Full of incredible gossip, stories and intrigue, Maiden Voyages has a diverse cast of inspiring women - from A-listers like Josephine Baker, a dancer from St Louis who found fame in Paris, Marlene Dietrich and Wallis Simpson, Violet 'the unsinkable' Jessop, a crew member who survived the sinking of the Titanic, and entrepreneur Sibyl Colefax, a pioneering interior designer. Whichever direction they were travelling, whatever hopes they entertained, they were all under the spell of life at sea, a spell which would only break when they went ashore. Maiden Voyages is a compelling and highly entertaining account of life on board: part dream factory, part place of work, independence and escape - always moving. ...Show more

ANZAC Day Then and Now : Australia's Unofficial National Day by Tom Frame

$39.99 AUD

Category: History | Series: Acsacs Ser.

Peter Stanley, Jeffrey Grey, Carolyn Holbrook, Ken Inglis, Tom Frame and others explore the rise of Australia's unofficial national day. Does Anzac Day honour those who died pursuing noble causes in war? Or is it part of a campaign to redeem the savagery associated with armed conflict? Do the rituals of 25 April console loved ones? Or reinforce security objectives and strategic priorities? Contributors explore the early debate between grieving families and veterans about whether Anzac Day should be commemorated or celebrated, the resurgence in support in recent decades, popular culture's reflection on the day and the increasing profile of political leaders in public commemorations. ...Show more

On Our Doorstep: When Australia Faced the Threat of Invasion by the Japanese by Craig Collie

$32.99 AUD

Category: History

In 1942 Australia faced the threat of invasion by the Japanese. This is what happened.