Australia Books

an excellent book that integrates the art, culture and ethos of the indigenous cultures of australia with the relevant dreamtime stories, illustrations and photographs.

Very easy to read, well written and informative. A must read for those interested in electoral reform.

Ex DIA agent turned private investigator Penn Gwinn is hired by an unknown client to fly to Sydney, Australia to purchase the legendary Aqualene, an opal known to the Australian Aboriginals as "the Eye of God".

All is not what it seems however, as the seller of the opal is murdered and the Aqualene stolen before Penn can get his hands on it.

What follows is a fast-paced, action-packed journey through Mexico and back to Australia in the chase for the legendary stone.

The Australian File is well written, with an enjoyable plot that flows well. As the author intended, nothing is quite what it seems, and as a result I found The Australian File hard to put down.

This is the bible of Australian finches. It may be dated, but is still top of the league

A wonderful piece of work - but I would have preferred the genus Litoria to be split into the various genera that Wells and Wellington (1985) used, as it is just so much easier to understand the relationships of each from a zoogeographic point of view. Nevertheless, all good things come to those who ask often enough, so here's asking for a revised edition !

Good books on monitors are hard to come by and this is one of them. Up-to-date info and beautiful photo's (the one on the cover is almost worth the price of the book IMO) make it a must for anyone interested in these incredible dragon-like lizards.

From the magnificient and beautiful Perentie to the cute Short-Tailed Pygmy Monitor all the varanids occuring in Australia are described and illustrated. It is also a good reference for those who wish to keep them as pets.

Little scholarship exists on Australia. Even smaller are the books on Australian Politics. Here is a short history of the Liberal party of Australia, created in the 1940s by Mr. Menzies as a conservative party in opposition to Labour this is the party of the current PM Mr. Howard. This fascinating look explains Australia and its issues including its foreign policy, its role in Vietnam and he struggle for morality among other things. From Menzies, the anti-communist, to Holt who disappeared this is an amazing account. A very interesting story and a necessary read where so little exists on modern Australian politics.

Seth J. Frantzman

This is the one book I require students to buy for my graduate seminar on Australian Film and History because it is simply the most thoughtful, ambitious and informed book on the cultural and political significance of the Australian film industry. It is also a valuable work for anyone interested in national cinemas and their relation to Hollywood.

This is a very comprehensive book but what I really wanted it the Australian National Dictionary, I will be back for that.

This large format almost square book provides a survey of Australian art today. Following an informative illustrated introduction the vast bulk of the book comprises an artist by artist survey covering the full spectrum of Australian painting. Each artist is allotted four pages. The first page provides some brief information about the artist, (as these are written by different contributors the nature of the content varies), along with a very brief biography and selected bibliography, is followed by three pages illustrating the artist's work. The book concludes with some brief notes about the contributors.

Eighty artists are included, and the number of colour illustrations totals 160. The book is most attractively laid out, with imaginative typography along with a careful and varied arrangement of the illustrations, all of which really does show the work to advantage. The range of work covered is vast, ranging from realism to non-representational and including the iconic work of Aboriginal artists. It all makes for a most sumptuous and desirable volume.