In Australian Notebooks, Betty Churcher revisits some of the artworks she most cherishes—a seminal Picasso, early works of the Heidelberg School, a striking portrait by Lucian Freud—and invites us to look afresh at the treasures that can be found in Australian galleries.Taking in the glorious work of Australian artists such as John Olsen... Read more...

Australia has always been reliant on 'great and powerful friends' for its sense of national security and for direction on its foreign policy—first on the British Empire and now on the United States. Australia has actively pursued a policy of strategic dependence, believing that making a grand bargain with a powerful ally was the best policy to... Read more...

Chelsea has had a rough week. After a few great years of professional triumphs and personal stability, she suddenly finds herself—at the grand old age of 28—homeless, jobless and single. Cheating on her boyfriend with her boss probably wasn't the brightest idea. Salvation comes in the form of her father, Gary 'Turbo' Turbiton, a once ma... Read more...

The urgent phone call comes from behind the barbed wire.'This is Ayalon prison,' says one of the guards urgently. 'Listen, he hanged himself, we need an ambulance.'Prisoner X, just 34 years old, was slumped in a small bathroom, separated from his cell by a transparent door. Kept in one of the most technologically sophisticated solitary jail cells, a... Read more...

Far from being the work of a madman, Anders Breivik's murderous rampage in Norway was the action of an extreme narcissist. As the dead lay around him, he held up a finger asking for a Band-Aid.Written with the pace of a psychological thriller, The Life of I is a compelling account of the rise of narcissism in individuals and society. Manne examines ... Read more...

The June issue of Meanjin is one for taking stock and taking risks. Liam Pieper argues that we've well and truly lost the war on drugs, Suzy Freeman-Greene takes a look at our obsession with the weather, Fatima Measham welcomes us to Werribee and shows us a whole new side of a much-maligned suburb and Zora Sanders talks to Booker-winner Eleanor Catt... Read more...

Many of us take our mental health for granted, so when we are confronted by mental illness in friends or family members, or in ourselves, we can be overwhelmed.Understanding Troubled Minds is a calm and authoritative guide that takes us through the full range of mental illnesses and their treatments, emphasising the value of partnerships between psy... Read more...

On a Sunday evening in July 2011, 40-year-old Anthony Dunning was pinned to the floor of Melbourne's Crown casino by security staff. Four days later, he died in the intensive care unit of the Alfred Hospital. The incident was reported to the police by two friends who were with Dunning on the night—not by Crown casino. Later that week, a spokes... Read more...

So This Is Life is a wonderfully evocative account of youth that will surely take its place among the classics of Australian childhood. At age seven, after her parents' marriage broke down, Anne Manne travelled with her mother and sisters from Adelaide to the Central Victorian countryside to begin a new life. So This Is Life is not a conven... Read more...

At the height of his fame, Mark Twain, the great writer and humorist from Missouri, was facing financial ruin from one of his failed business ventures. Broke but much loved he embarked on a money-raising lecture tour around the equator, making a stop in Australia. The Wayward Tourist republishes Mark Twain's Australian travel writing in which... Read more...

Is there more to politics than politics? What about sincere belief? Or conviction?Both are missing in action, trumped by political expedience.We've just sat through an election campaign in which the major parties fought a pitched battle over precious little, two bitterly adversarial political organisations scrambling desperately for the middle groun... Read more...

In this gorgeously illustrated book, join Betty Churcher on a personal tour of her most beloved works, including masterpieces by Rembrandt, Goya, Manet, Velázquez, Courbet, Vermeer and Cézanne.A trained artist, Betty's sketches reveal the secrets within the artworks and the processes of their creation.With the gift for making art accessible tha... Read more...

These brilliant books hum with action, adventure and courage. Honestly and plainly written, they are full of humanity and great wisdom.Out of the Smoke tells of Ray's experiences as Action Chief Quartermaster in HMAS Perth, which was sunk while engaging an overwhelming Japanese naval force in the Sunda Strait. Two cruisers, HMAS Perth and USS Housto... Read more...

Transported convict George Clarke absconded in the early 1800s and went far into the then unexplored wilderness of northern New South Wales. There, thought by the Aborigines to be a 'ghost', he lived with them for four years integrating into their lives and later leading them on raids to steal the white men's cattle.On eventual capture he claimed to... Read more...

Emily Skinner, vibrant, observant, eternally young-at-heart, emigrated from Britain to Australia in 1854. Not only did she keep a ship-board journal, she later recorded her reminiscences of a colourful life as a miner's wife.Here, published for the first time, is Emily's account of a voyage half-way around the word to marry her sweetheart. She evoke... Read more...

This book examines the Kelly Outbreak against its geographical and social background. Failure to unlock the land through selection had created a class of struggling selectors who felt that the established authority of squatters and police denied them justice. Their sympathy and support helped Ned come and go as he pleased, despite the price on his h... Read more...