Australia Books

I'm writing this in the midst of California wild fire season (and, seriously, I only have to walk outside to smell the smoke) to recommend the most AMAZING novel I've read in months.

I can't say enough about how wonderful this book is. It's the story of a family in Australia who are at the very bottom of the social ladder (they are garbage collectors, and the dad is usually in jail) struggling to find a place in the world. The narrator is the youngest son (Mole Maloney), who, like his father and grandfather, becomes one of the most gifted bush firefighters in his region. He accompanies a slew of wonderful family members and close friends as he tells the story of his familly's adventures through the years between WWII and the Viet Nam war.

Each member of the Maloney family is a fabulous, admirable character. By the end of the book you just want to erect a monument to all of them. It's wonderfully moving, and quintessentially Australian. I can't rave about it enough. I cried multiple times when reading this book. It's just fantastic.

Bryce Courtenay's other novels are equally great, if you haven't read them.

This has become one of my favourite books. It is more than just the story of a poor family. It shows us the prejudices that live inside even the most honourable of people. It shows that strength of character and doing what is right can be the biggest challenge of all. These characters face incredible obstacles and get help from where they least expect it and turned away by people who should help them. It allows you a glimpse of the complex inner workings of a society as experienced by the characters. Ranks right up there with Bryce Courtneay's "Power of One". Excellent read! I couldn't put it down and I was sad when it was over.

Bryce Courtenay is such a great writer! I love the Australian history and the power of love Bryce often writes about. I wish he could write faster!

Bryce Courtenay is a writer whose characters stay with you long after you have finished his books. I have not enjoyed an author as much since Ferrol Sams.

This book is a narration by Mole, an Irish Catholic kid whose mother is of such loose moral character that she has had 4 different children from 4 different men. BUT she does go to Church on Sunday which I guess is Mr. Courtenay's way of telling the reader that she is not a slut after all. Mole's father (or his stepfather I think) is what Australians refer to as a "Bludger Piss Artist' which means he doesn't work and spends most of his time in Prison or drinking.However every time there is a bush fire Tommy becomes the local Fire Fighting Hero and then EVERYBODY wants to buy him a drink at the Pub so he does have his 15 minutes of fame. Mole's sister has inherited her Mother's loose moral character and wants to go to University when she is pregnant. Maybe she wanted to study hard and discover JUST WHO the father of her unborn child was. This is a very disappointing effort from a writer who has produced better works than this which is why I give this book 5 stars.

I first saw a picture or two on some program to download desktop photos. I followed some info cuz I was captivated by the Alice pictures. I discovered Robyn's journey, story and this story book. I considered buying a used one, but decided to get a new one. I just love the whole of it and so appreciate the author not only taking the journey but sharing it with the rest of us. Even if some of the sharing was against her original plans. Thanks Robyn. Your journey touches deeply in inexplicable ways.

Although large in size, and filled with breathtaking photographs, this book includes so much more than the regular "picture book". Robyn's thoughtful words make you feel as if you are traveling right along with her and her famous camels. The story is engaging and heart-wrenching; and the reader runs through the same emotions that Robyn feels at each leg of the journey, from the tragedy of loss to the jubilation of completion.

Beautiful and introspective - and very highly recommended.

This book breaks all the boundaries - combining Photography, digital media and narrative to capture the wild spirit in us all. Makes me want to buy and camel and set off!

The combination is a winner because of:
* the stunning page and a half photo spreads of Australian desert and scenes showing Robyn's trek with the camels
* engaging narration by Robyn that shows you the beauty, fear, boredom, and other feelings that accompany her on the months of solitude crossing 1700 miles of outback Australia
The photographer represented National Geographic, and the photos have that look the magazine readers expect. Interesting panoramas, the light playing on the spinifex, the wrinkled face of an Aboriginal tracker, the otherworldly red dirt, the camels silhouetted against the skyline.
Robyn represented only herself and undertook the trek for reasons even she did not understand. Seeing her develop and expand her thinking during the days and weeks and months on the track makes this a fascinating book.

I bought this book while on a visit to Australia in 1990 and read it on the flight home! I was completely entranced by this woman's tenacity and determination to complete her often difficult but life expanding trek ALL ALONE! I had lost this book in a fire in 1993 and felt like I had lost a friend - I am soooo happy to see it is back in print! The incredible photos that accompany the journey are worth every penny!

I'm having a problem. I'm in a dilemma and I'd like to know what you think. I hope you'll let me know. Here's the problem. I kinda take it for granted that we have free will. It seems like some kind of defining characteristic of the human soul. Although we may breathe the same air, and although the same Spirit runs through us, it's our free will that defines our individuality. The Biblical tradition seems to point to our free will. The concept of sin sure requires it. In the Edgar Cayce readings there is the idea there is nothing more powerful than our individual will. On TV it says, "The power of one!" There you have it.
On the other hand, I've been reading a book on prayer and healing. It's the almost classic and often referred to book by Larry Dossey, M.D., Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine, (HarperCollins). He writes about how over one hundred experiments, exhibiting good scientific methodology, indicate that "prayer brings about significant changes in a variety of living beings." This includes fungus, bacteria, animals and humans. Moreover, the healing effects did not depend upon whether the person praying was in the presence of the organism being prayed for or at a great distance. Healing occurred whether the healing object was in a lead-lined room or a cage shielded from electromagnetic energy. It didn't seem to matter if the person (if it was a person and not a medical sample) knew about the prayer or believed in prayer.
"The fact that prayer works (at least some of the time) says something important about our nature, and how we may be connected to the Absolute," he says. It also shows that we are connected to each other. It shows that our thoughts matter. Dossey is smart and brave enough to discuss the flip side of this revelation. Call it "toxic prayer," where our negative thoughts have a negative effect on others. I'm not talking just about curses or swearing (as in asking the Absolute to squash you or condemn you to an eternity in the fires), but even those so-called "harmless" black thoughts we have about people from time to time. If we can be helped by prayers, we can be harmed by the mental negativity of others, even when we do not know they are being negative toward us, even when we are safely in our own homes, even when we are minding our own business. Sounds to me like an invasion of free will, a bruise to my autonomy, an assault on my integrity.
Now I have often heard that we are not supposed to pray for people without their permission. If Dossey is right, it is possible to pray for people without their knowledge and they still get well. We can hope that they wanted to heal! Seems like we shouldn't say to someone, "Good morning," but rather, "Good morning, by your leave, unless you have other plans!"
But I'm not joking, I'm serious and seriously confused here. I have read of experiments begun in Russia and duplicated here, where one person can mentally affect the physical functioning of another person, making that person tired, sleepy, even putting the person to sleep. It is possible to telepathically affect a person's heart rate. I guess that means that it is possible to stop a person's heart, especially if some writings on Voodoo are to be believed.
Now if it is true that we can mentally, telepathically, energetically--however you want to envision it--affect another person, even when they are in the privacy and safety of their lead lined home, then what does that mean about free will. Do we have free will if someone else can, from a distance, without our knowledge or consent, make us do their bidding, think the thoughts they want us to think, make the moves they want us to make? It is even possible to hypnotize a person at a distance, telepathically. The Russians called it "mental suggestion." Now we've all heard the soothing reminder, "you can't hypnotize a person to do something against their will." So does that mean you can't telepathically induce a person to think, feel, or do something against their will? If the telepathic influence was effective, then at some level the affected person was willing to allow it to happen? Is that how we get out of the quandry? Or is there really a hole in the protective shield of our free will?
I've met many people who complain that someone is sending them bad energy, invading their thoughts. Do we take the complaint seriously? Is the person "psychotic"? Since mental influence exists, maybe the person is right. If so, then is the real problem is that the person is willing to have it happen? The person objects to the invasion but feels helpless to stop it. Where's the free will, the willingness? Maybe not all of our free will is available for our freedom of choice. Maybe some of it is hidden in the dark depths of the soul. What do you think? Let me know. www.henryreed.com/publications/bookreviews

Dr. Dossey explains in HEALING WORDS how prayer-based healing works. It has been scientifically proven in hundreds of experiments to be a balanced part of health care that can significantly decrease health problems and significantly improve our quality and quantity of life. Dossey shares some of his own real-life stories of caring for patients... including an American Indian shaman, who requested Dr. Dossey's medical help for his aching neck! This book contains a wealth of information about prayer experiments written in Dossey's characteristically down-to-Earth style. I love the way Dossey raises questions about whether some prayer experiments are ethical, and why some scientists continue to resist the mounting body of evidence that so clearly shows how prayer has a powerful effect on healing.

This book reaffirmed my belief in prayer, and helped me to better understand its healing powers.

While conducting research on the power of prayer and healing, I was encouraged to get this book and I am so glad I did! I could not but this book down once I began to read it. This is a must read if you are interested in the subject. It is well written and it is based on true experiences in Dr. Dossey's practice.

It's probably tempting to dismiss this book as "New Age" claptrap. That would be a mistake.

In fact Dossey is highly critical of the "New Age" movement. And despite some overblown cover blurbs, he doesn't claim to have "proven" anything about the power of prayer in healing; he's making suggestions and exploring possibilities, not laying down law.

Nor, for the most part, is his speculation wild or unfounded. His suggestions are founded on two things: empirical research that seems to show prayer is effective in promoting the biological growth of certain forms of life under controlled laboratory conditions, and the theological/philosophical view that reality is ultimately a single, universal, "nonlocal" Absolute Mind.

However controversial these foundations might be, he presents his suggestions with proper caution. And he is especially careful to avoid falling into the New Age blame-the-patient trap; he is well aware that prayer doesn't always achieve the results we might like and that this isn't because somebody has done something to "choose" or "deserve" ill health.

On the contrary, he has a healthy sense that prayer is really (though this language isn't quite his) for the purpose of adjusting us to the Divine Will rather than vice-versa. (Anthony de Mello tells a story somewhere about a man who said, "In your country it is regarded as a miracle when God does the will of a human being. In my country it is regarded as a miracle when a human being does the will of God.") On his view, the "power" of prayer is shown as much in our acceptance of our health limitations as in their elimination.

There are a couple of places where Dossey threatens to wander off the deep end (e.g. his suggestion that prayer can change the past), and there's a little bit of language (e.g. "Era I, Era II, and Era III") that recalls bad 1970s self-help books. But I really have only one bone to pick with Dossey: he tends at times to overstate the difference between his views and those of traditional, "classical" theism.

There is a tendency among those (of whom I am one, which is in part how I know this) who left their childhood religions in their early teens to assume, more or less unconsciously, that our understanding of such religion was complete at that time and none of its adherents understood any of the cool things we went on to discover for ourselves. It's hard to shake one's implicit belief that those hidebound "fundamentalists" couldn't _possibly_ have known any of this nifty "spirituality" stuff; "dogmatic" religion is, of course, the arch-enemy of "true" spirituality -- isn't it?

Dossey has a very mild tendency in this direction. In consequence I suspect he will occasionally leave more traditional religious believers with the sense that they are being misunderstood, patronized, or both.

But it doesn't happen very often, and it hardly happens at all in this book. On the whole, Dossey's approach tends to confirm rather than undermine the great theistic religions' view of prayer.

I won't explain what the book is about, as that was done in the other reviews. My biggest problem with this book is the writing style. I REALLY had a hard time getting through it. This book had so many strange sentence constructions and digressions that when I was less than half-way through it, I lost patience and finished the book by reading the first sentence of each paragraph except when it got more interesting. I was tempted to abandon the book altogether because of the style but finished it because I wanted to find out how it ended, and because I hate wasting money. No-one other reviewer has had the same complaint about the book so maybe it's just me...

Elegantly written, Pears' first novel is the story of a Devon village during the summer of 1984, the hottest and driest in memory.

"It was the summer the world stopped turning on the spiral of history, the summer we spent waiting for the world to begin again, when the sun hung above the village and poured a hot glue that slowed everything down."

Narrator Alison Freemantle looks back from adulthood onto that summer of her ambivalent coming-of-age (freeing Pears from the constraints of a 13-year-old's understanding or, especially, use of language). She contemplates the changes in her body and forms a secretive friendship with the Viscount's shy son. She also comes perilously close to losing her life in impulsive, childish stunts - swimming alone in the deepest section of the quarry pool, striking a match in a dry barn full of hay.

The book opens in September, when summer should be over and school should have begun. But the teachers are on strike and the drought has taken on an implacable force that saps the will of warm blooded creatures. "Gradually, though, objects took on a life of their own and moved without the spirits' help, rising from the surfaces of furniture through empty air that the heat had squeezed even gravity out of."

Recalling that summer in all its torrid detail, Alison wanders into the history of her family - her bookish, now-blind, strong-willed grandmother; her taciturn, hard-working grandfather; her sad-fated, childlike father; solid, enduring mother; her two brothers, one so stolid and silent, the other a quivering mass of nerves and worries, her sister who already seems a guest on the verge of leaving.

Alison draws us into the lives of the other villagers as well - the Rector who wrestles intellectually with his faith in an empty 26-room house, the brooding farmer who'd left home for a dozen years when his father criticized his table manners, the hedge-layer, Martin, "the friendliest man in the village, and the most lonely."

Slowly, at various intervals over the course of Alison's free-ranging story, the details of their histories emerge, until each character stands revealed, perfectly ordinary and wondrously strange, with lives of poignant heroisms, hard-won joys and crushing defeats.

Dialogue is in the vernacular of the Devon countrypeople and the characters are farmers, each with a supplemental trade - slaughterer, glazier. The Freemantles are no different, yet, choosing wives from outside the village, they stand slightly apart, slightly more prosperous, with a bigger house.

Under the singular heat the soil turns to dust, the hay dries to wisps in the fields, the cows' ribs protrude, the hens eggs turn transparent and yolkless. Tension simmers, occasionally erupts. There is death and betrayal. Love affairs begin and end. But there is no single driving event, no plot. That the novel succeeds in grabbing and holding the reader is due to the Alison's strong and lively narrative voice - quite a feat for any novelist, amazing in a novice.
Humorous, sad, magical, "In the Place of Fallen Leaves" is a beautiful novel.

I was blown away by this novel. What a treat! The 13 year-old narrator, Alison, floats around the many members of her family during one of the dryest summers in the history of England, making very perceptive observations about all of them. Because her dad ruined his brain thanks to too much cider, her oldest brother Ian runs the farm, helped by brother Tom and the guidance of Grandfather. Alison becomes friends with a boy her age, Jonathan, and they spend a summer of discovery. A parellel story is the tender romance between the Rector and Maria, the Portuguese lady. The Rector is a sweet, sweet man, far less in control of himself than he thinks.

I loved the humor (the Green is renamed "The Brown", because all the grass dried up). I loved the dialect ("bay" for "boy"). I wish i could have been in Alison's shoes when i was 13.

Not necessarily a book I would have selected myself, but from the first page I was captivated. One of the most magical novels I have read in years. Pears' prose is wonderfully poetic, the story is charming, enigmatic, subtle and devastatingly thought-provoking. A truly stunning masterpiece. If you read but one novel this year, make it this one.

This book tells the story of the hottest summer of the 20th Century from the point of view of a family living in rural Devon. It is quite simply a stunning book that is written so that the characters seem so real and touching. It is sensitive and is almost dreamlike in its narrative. The heat of that summer is conveyed so well that you feel as though you are living it. As one other reviewer said it is "intoxicating and magical" and I would fully agree with that. A superb book.

Thor Heyerdahl's double achievement of the Kon Tiki and Ra expeditions are nothing short of incredible. In the Kon Tiki he set out to prove how the Pacific Islands had been originally populated. He succeeded. For Ra, he constructed a craft of local papyrus reeds and set out to show how ancient Egyptians reached the Americas thousands of years before Columbus. He succeeded again.

Whilst a plethora of so-called experts scoffed at the very notion - claiming any such craft would simply disintegrate in anything more than a calm sea, Heyerdahl and his 6 man crew set sail from North Africa. After 2,700 miles they were eventually battered into submission by a great storm and had to abandon their craft. Within a year, however, they were back with Ra II and made the crossing from Morocco to Barbados in 57 days. The distance - a mere 3,270 miles. Now we know why Pyramids are also found in Central and Southern America...

Heyerdahl's achievements rank alongside being the first man on the moon or the first to climb Everest - except that he has two such credits to his name. In this book, his latter adventure is recorded in the most interesting, yet factual way, and is a joy to read.

NM

Thor Heyerdahl's double achievement of the Kon Tiki and Ra expeditions are nothing short of incredible. In the Kon Tiki he set out to prove how the Pacific Islands had been originally populated. He succeeded. For Ra, he constructed a craft of local papyrus reeds and set out to show how ancient Egyptians reached the Americas thousands of years before Columbus. He succeeded again.

Whilst a plethora of so-called experts scoffed at the very notion - claiming any such craft would simply disintegrate in anything more than a calm sea, Heyerdahl and his 6 man crew set sail from North Africa. After 2,700 miles they were eventually battered into submission by a great storm and had to abandon their craft. Within a year, however, they were back with Ra II and made the crossing from Morocco to Barbados in 57 days. The distance - a mere 3,270 miles. Now we know why Pyramids are also found in Central and Southern America...

Heyerdahl's achievements rank alongside being the first man on the moon or the first to climb Everest - except that he has two such credits to his name. In this book, his latter adventure is recorded in the most interesting, yet factual way, and is a joy to read.

NM

Thor Heyerdahl's double achievement of the Kon Tiki and Ra expeditions are nothing short of incredible. In the Kon Tiki he set out to prove how the Pacific Islands had been originally populated. He succeeded. For Ra, he constructed a craft of local papyrus reeds and set out to show how ancient Egyptians reached the Americas thousands of years before Columbus. He succeeded again.

Whilst a plethora of so-called experts scoffed at the very notion - claiming any such craft would simply disintegrate in anything more than a calm sea, Heyerdahl and his 6 man crew set sail from North Africa. After 2,700 miles they were eventually battered into submission by a great storm and had to abandon their craft. Within a year, however, they were back with Ra II and made the crossing from Morocco to Barbados in 57 days. The distance - a mere 3,270 miles. Now we know why Pyramids are also found in Central and Southern America...

Heyerdahl's achievements rank alongside being the first man on the moon or the first to climb Everest - except that he has two such credits to his name. In this book, his latter adventure is recorded in the most interesting, yet factual way, and is a joy to read.

NM

Thor Heyerdahl's double achievement of the Kon Tiki and Ra expeditions are nothing short of incredible. In the Kon Tiki he set out to prove how the Pacific Islands had been originally populated. He succeeded. For Ra, he constructed a craft of local papyrus reeds and set out to show how ancient Egyptians reached the Americas thousands of years before Columbus. He succeeded again.

Whilst a plethora of so-called experts scoffed at the very notion - claiming any such craft would simply disintegrate in anything more than a calm sea, Heyerdahl and his 6 man crew set sail from North Africa. After 2,700 miles they were eventually battered into submission by a great storm and had to abandon their craft. Within a year, however, they were back with Ra II and made the crossing from Morocco to Barbados in 57 days. The distance - a mere 3,270 miles. Now we know why Pyramids are also found in Central and Southern America...

Heyerdahl's achievements rank alongside being the first man on the moon or the first to climb Everest - except that he has two such credits to his name. In this book, his latter adventure is recorded in the most interesting, yet factual way, and is a joy to read.

NM

This book could be the best adventure book I have ever read and best anthropology book ever. I could not put this book down. How could I have gone 36 years without reading it. I read Kon Tiki 20 years ago and loved that as well. This ranks up there with Bryson and Cahill for adventure/history writing.

I found this guide full of interesting places to visit, sparking my interest and desire to see more of the world. I would love to discover the same type of pleasure that one would get from being immersed in a different culture, especially one as appealing as the one painted in RV in NZ.

It's my dream to have a holiday in NZ. This humerus discription of the adventures of the motorcaravan experience makes me want to go even more! A fun read for the traveler and nontraveler alike.

I found this travel book extremely informative. As an aspiring trans continental RV traveler, I have always dreamt of one day exploring New Zealand. I have traveled all across North and South America, and after reading this woman's humorous details of discovering the Kiwi lifestyle, I am confident New Zealand will be my next destination.

RV In NZ: How To Spend Your Winters Freedom Camping South-Way South In New Zealand by Carolyn Harris (a veteran of touring New Zealand in winter mootorcarvans) is the definitive guide for anyone wanting to explore the beauty and excitement of a New Zealand excursion. Readers are definitively provided with solid information and invaluable advice on everything from buying a motorcaravan and getting the motorcarvan on the road, to finding free and/or low cost parking as well as meeting and traveling with New Zealand "movaners". If you are planning a trip to New Zealand and want to explore that wonderful country first hand -- then give a careful reading to Carolyn Harris' RV In NZ!

I have to admit, I had not thought about RV'ing through New Zealand. A friend once invited us to Australia and he and his wife actually do this RV thing in the States: they buy a motorhome, travel around the US (they are missionaries on furlough) then sell it and return back to Australia. Here, Carolyn Harris tells you how to purchase an RV and how to survive the North and South Islands of this beautiful country.

The book actually assumes you know a bit about RV's--there is terminology and technical discussion that someone who already toured in an RV might be more familiar with. Carolyn advises you on motor memberships (AAA and KOA), money, dealing with the Kiwis, where to go, what to eat and even, how to talk--there is a glossary of Kiwisms in the back of the book.

I enjoyed reading the glossary as much as the book and was interested in how a country so remote can be so like us and so unlike us in every way. If you are considering an extended stay in an RV down in the Roaring Forties (fortieth parallel south and beyond) this book is a worthy guide.

In this novel within a novel, Australian author Thomas Keneally returns to the political themes which won him prizes for The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Voices from the Forest, and Schindler's Ark. Keneally has always been at his best depicting ordinary people facing extraordinary pressures, especially from governments bent on totalitarian rule, and this contemporary allegory is no exception. Taking place in an unnamed oil-rich country in the Middle East ruled by a tyrant who calls himself Great Uncle, the novel centers on a man calling himself "Alan Sheriff," a short story writer given one month to write an "autobiographical novel" for which Great Uncle will take full credit. Sheriff, we learn in the opening chapter, is telling his story to a western journalist from a detention camp in an unnamed desert country, where he has languished for three years.

Keneally increases the impact and universality of the story through his clever use of western names. As Alan Sheriff tells the journalist, it is important for his credibility in the west that he be like a man you'd meet on the street, which is much easier with a name like Alan--"not, God help us, Said and Osama and Saleh. If we had Mac instead of Ibn." Alan believes his "saddest and silliest story" will interest Americans, despite the fact that his country and the US are now enemies.

Through Alan's story, the reader meets Mrs. Douglas, whose nephew, not careful enough of the pH level of Great Uncle's swimming pool, has been shot and hanged from the ramparts; Mrs. Carter, whose son has been missing for six years; Alan's beloved wife, Sarah Manners, an actress who has become unemployable; Matt McBride, another writer who becomes head of the Cultural Commission where he works for Great Uncle; and Louise James, an American who would like to get Sheriff to come to Texas as a visiting professor. All these characters contribute to a stunning conclusion as Sheriff tries to write the required novel.

Easily the best Keneally novel in over a decade, this serious and thoughtful novel has significant political ramifications. The characters are "ordinary people," much like the rest of us, caught in extreme situations, and Keneally builds up enormous suspense as the long tentacles of the tyrant grab everyone in their path. Though most readers will recognize the unnamed country and the tyrant, it is a tribute to Keneally that their specific identities are totally irrelevant to his themes and plot. The author makes it clear that a government's manipulation of the people's perceptions through staged events is not limited to the Third World. Mary Whipple

Keneally vividly conjures up the dilemmas that the artist in a repressive regime faces. "The Tyrants Novel" alows the reader to fell the vise closing in on Alan Sheriff as he is forced to work with the regime that is destroying his homeland.

"The Tyrants Novel" avoids the stereotypical scenes of repression - physical abuse, direct threats - in order to spin a web of gnawing anguish. A few scenes in "The Tyrants Novel" will remain with me for years to come - not because they are rendered so graphically, but because they are presented in a plausible manner that makes them even more disturbing.

One thing that Keneally does is to give all of his characters - in what is clearly Iraq - Englich and Irish names. At first, this seems bizarre, but the sad fact is, westertn readers will more readily identify with characters named "McBrien", "Sarah" and "Andrew" than they will with "Abdul" and "Mohammed".

A great novel and one that has sent me serching out Keneally's other books.

THE TYRANT'S NOVEL is at once ingenious and innovative in its ability to mirror recent world history events without disclosing vital identities. While reading it is difficult to not think of current geopolitical events. When we first meet protagonist Alan Sheriff he is being held as a political prisoner in an undisclosed Western nation. While being interviewed by journalists Sheriff explains his tale of how he ended up in his current predicament and his former life in an anonymous nation suffering from U.S.-led oil embargo and is ruled by a ruthless dictator. As the narrative unfolds the similarities between Sheriff's home country and Saddam Hussein's Iraq is quite uncanny and difficult to overlook.

Sheriff was once a member of the elite middle class largely unaffected by the devasting economic repercussions of the oil embargo. But despite his social standings he has created a reputation for his literary skill he is ordered by the tyrant to write a novel about the chaos that has burdened his country to be published under the tyrants name and released in time for a forthcoming G7 summit. Sheriff's been provided a very short deadline and in order to complete this unthinkable task he must battle personal demons that plague him.

Thomas Keneally performs a superb job in creating this fast-paced thriller that failed to lose steam at any given time. I was immediately hooked by the opening paragraph and couldn't wait to reach the end. Recommended.

In this novel within a novel, Australian author Thomas Keneally returns to the political themes which won him prizes for The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Voices from the Forest, and Schindler's Ark. Keneally has always been at his best depicting ordinary people facing extraordinary pressures, especially from governments bent on totalitarian rule, and this contemporary allegory is no exception. Taking place in an unnamed oil-rich country in the Middle East ruled by a tyrant who calls himself Great Uncle, the novel centers on a man calling himself "Alan Sheriff," a short story writer given one month to write an "autobiographical novel" for which Great Uncle will take full credit. Sheriff, we learn in the opening chapter, is telling his story to a western journalist from a detention camp in an unnamed desert country, where he has languished for three years.

Keneally increases the impact and universality of the story through his clever use of western names. As Alan Sheriff tells the journalist, it is important for his credibility in the west that he be like a man you'd meet on the street, which is much easier with a name like Alan--"not, God help us, Said and Osama and Saleh. If we had Mac instead of Ibn." Alan believes his "saddest and silliest story" will interest Americans, despite the fact that his country and the US are now enemies.

Through Alan's story, the reader meets Mrs. Douglas, whose nephew, not careful enough of the pH level of Great Uncle's swimming pool, has been shot and hanged from the ramparts; Mrs. Carter, whose son has been missing for six years; Alan's beloved wife, Sarah Manners, an actress who has become unemployable; Matt McBride, another writer who becomes head of the Cultural Commission where he works for Great Uncle; and Louise James, an American who would like to get Sheriff to come to Texas as a visiting professor. All these characters contribute to a stunning conclusion as Sheriff tries to write the required novel.

Easily the best Keneally novel in over a decade, this serious and thoughtful novel has significant political ramifications. The characters are "ordinary people," much like the rest of us, caught in extreme situations, and Keneally builds up enormous suspense as the long tentacles of the tyrant grab everyone in their path. Though most readers will recognize the unnamed country and the tyrant, it is a tribute to Keneally that their specific identities are totally irrelevant to his themes and plot. The author makes it clear that a government's manipulation of the people's perceptions through staged events is not limited to the Third World. Mary Whipple

Thomas Keneally's The Tyrant's Novel opens in a refugee holding camp of sorts in a Western nation. The initial narrator tells a brief story of meeting one of the refugees held there, Alan Sheriff, who is seeking political asylum and whose story makes up much of this enjoyable novel. Alan was a very successful novelist, with an American publishing contract, in a fictional country that is a thinly-disguised contemporary Iraq. His life is ideal, or as much as that can be when living under a despot's rule, when it pretty much crumbles in front of his eyes. His beloved wife dies suddenly and he is subsequently 'asked' by the Great Uncle, the tyrant of his country (and a dead ringer for Saddam Hussein) to ghostwrite a novel for him. The request is not just for any novel, but one which is so wonderful and moving, one which so exposes the effects that economic sanctions are having on his country that the world's superpowers will be convinced to removed those sanctions. Part of what makes Keneally's novel so wonderful is that it is both a politcal novel and a novel about writing and the creative process. Keneally masterfully, seamlessly blends these two genres into an enjoyable whole. The novel is at once a politcal allegory and a story of symbolic writer's block. It is an excellent, heart-breaking story, well-done and compelling. Enjoy.

this is incredibly eerie for a kids book. very good concept behind the story; simple, yet as previous reviews state raises many questions and possibilities.

really good illustrations aswell. i read it years ago for the first time and havent forgotten it since.

I love this book - it is so clever and stirs emotions of confusion within the reader so easily. The only thing that I didn't like about it when I first read it, was that it raised so many questions that I had nowhere to find an answer to! Well never fear, make sure you read the sequel - BENEATH THE SURFACE. It shows how the watertower affects the world. Truly breathtaking storytelling.

The Water Tower is different from any other picture book I have ever read. This book shows what boys will do if they are left alone with a water tower. The Water Tower is rather bizarre and you really have to think in order to get the point of conquering your fears. It starts out with two boys that want to go to swim in the eerie old water tower that sits on the top of Shooters Hill. The boys go up the water tower, but only one has the guts to go swimming in it. The pictures are well drawn and help you understand what is going on in the book. There are some hidden things throughout the book you have to look out for, so keep your eyes open. Overall, this is a great book and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars because it was too short.

This book has kept the students in my grade 4/5 class at Acton School in Burnie, Tasmania captivated throughout this whole week. At first when I read it to them they picked up that the town residents eyes were funny looking but on further investigation they found many other peculiarities in the story. They were crowding around the book trying to see the different pictures and solve the mystery.

Erin says her favourite part was when Bubba came out of the tank and Spike wants him to show him his hand. Bubba says "No" because his mum would be worried however at the beginning he says that his mum would not care!

Alaster says that his favourite part of the book is solving all the mysteries.

Laura says her favourite part of the book was the picture of Bubba's face up close.

Melissa Lowry agrees with Erin that the part where Bubba came out of the Watertower is her favourite. Actually most of the class agrees that this part was the best. I think this is because it began all the questioning about the story.

Aaron and Matthew say that the mystery is related to the pitchfork that is seen on all pages.

We will be continuing to use Gary Crew books for language and drama work. We would love to hear from any one who has solved the mysteries in the story or of any activities you have been doing in the classroom. Thanks. .............

This eerie tale will keep the reader intrigued long after finishing the book. In the town of Preston, an old rusting water tower stands on the edge of a hill. Two boys decide to go inside for a swim on a sweltering summer day. What happens inside is a mystery, but one of the boys is forever changed.

This 1995 Australian Picture Book of the Year winner uses the contrast between colorful illustrations and black background to great effect. In a twist on the usual picture book, the illustrations tell the real story, while the text provides the background information.

What a great puzzle. This is the kind of book that I could not stop thinking about, even long after I read it. This is an engaging book for adults as well as for children.

Who would have ever predicted that the beginning of the 21 century would be over saturated with glossy, hard cover, expensively produced books on the subject of male physical appeal.
UNfortunately,95 percent of the wet-dream books are silly,ridiculously self-conscious, theatrically staged attempts at erotica with pouty male models & eager to cash-in cameraqueers referencing female pinup poses and attitudes more than anything else. Both Betty Page and Marilyn Monroe were queens of the erotic pose, but men should never mimic them. The vast majority of the books also look like it were shot by the same cameracrew and staged by the same stylist. One body type, one facial structure, 2 maybe 3 basic poses. Very mind numbingly unimaginative.
But once in a great, long, while, a book of man-pics comes along that successfully creates a sexy, fantasy universe populated by attractive men going about the daily job of just being masculine (in the blue collar sense). Casting the subjects is the most important (after two decades of obvious,gay-icon types they are, naturally, no longer sexy) followed by the unwavering (butch)taste of the photographer.Although the images are staged (as opposed to documentary),there's a ease and a naturalness about the images that's refreshingly attractive. The use of natural light, butch/gritty locations, the relaxed facial expressions (instead of forced seductive cliche' stare-downs) to and the UN-beefcake poses work well. I can only imagine what these books have done for Bondi-eye-candy-tourism in Australia.

This expose' on the working Sydney Man pictorial is somewhat explicit, but gives you a general idea of the beauty of the aussie men's natural form in the act of every day working class life. Somewhat cheesy, but, although somewhat extreme forms they represent, it give you a general idea of the Aussie zest for life attitude. These men are examples of perhaps a small perecentage of the Aussie working men, by far, a bit muscle bound for what I have seen, being I have lived there off and on, but these guys are a part of the scene that makes Oz Down Under a unique canvas of the Lust for Life Population that seems to savor physical activity and outdoorsy keep active lifestyle, in place of our American Armchair Couch Potato Society, and they will let you know that....believe me!!

I have all three of Paul Freeman's Sydney Men Collection, and it is tasteful enough for a coffee table display, in a mature setting of course, very well done and although a bit dark and brooding, I am sm sure Mr. Freeman intended to give it the rough hewn and dank enviornment these working men must endure to make it through there rough lives....Oyee Vay, Ei Yi Yi, and OMG! will be your cries at every turn of the page, really!!!

So gawk if you will at perfect buns of steel and rippling chiseled form, these guys are for real, and believe me, those are all most probably sparkling blue eyes that go along with those square jaws and chesire grins.

According to Wikipedia, 'Bondi is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia', but to photographer/artist Paul Freeman, Bondi is a resource for the models of his highly successful series of 'Bondi' male photography books. This volume, BONDI WORK' is, for this viewer, the finest of the series. Combining full page bleed color photographs with equally sophisticated black and white images, and interspersing these dramatic compositions with occasional two page spreads of snapshot size images that often create 'stories' simply by their placement on the page, makes for a large scale survey of the amazing Australian models Freeman finds and captures for us.

The theme here is 'work' and the settings are all in the various factories and workplaces in Bondi. The men are buff, but not distortedly so, and are presented both au natural and in elements of work clothing. For the most part these models appear very natural: no body shaving here, no need for oils and accoutrements - these are men in the raw, and enjoying themselves. The work theme matches the characters in this portfolio as these men all appear to be naturally buff from labor in the workplace (as well as the gym).

Freeman includes full frontal (and rear) nudity but only incidentally. This is not a collection of aroused models but rather a collection of men who can arouse the viewer merely by the gifts they possess! This is a fine collection for a very large audience. Not only are the models well chosen and well placed, but the photographs are also very high quality in composition and lighting and choice of setting. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, January 08

I am familar with Bondi's work, but I felt that this edition was by far his best work to date. Beautiful black and white picture of men set in work situations. I highly recommend this book.

There is a song in which the lyrics sum up my reaction to this book. The lyrics are, "your just to marvelous for words...". Enough said. Start salivating.

This is the author's first mystery novel and it deserves a place with other fast-paced attorney sleuth stories. The protagonist, defense attorney Katherine Rochelle, lands her first murder case. Her investigation takes her close to home and back to the past to solve her grandparents' disappearance. The two events are related, but can Kate stay out of the killer's range and former cop Gabe's hot embrace long enough to expose the real villain? I read through this story fast and felt it could be right at home on the mystery shelves with books like BLONDES HAVE MORE FELONS by Alesia Holliday. Katherine is a charming sleuth and you'll cheer for her from the start. I hope sexy Gabe makes a repeat appearance in the sequel.

Katherine Rochelle is putting her life and career back on track after the disastrous fallout from her previous job at the US Attorney's office when she blew the whistle on the illegal activities of her boss/lover. She's now back in Palm Beach practicing criminal law in partnership w/ her two best friends. Her first major case is the high profile defense of Lloyd Silber, who has been accused of murdering his young assistant, Grace Roberts.

Kate is from old Palm Beach money and her grandfather was a famous judge who, along w/ his wife, disappeared from the courthouse years ago. The case was never solved, and unflattering stories about the judge and possible ethical violations have circulated since he vanished. Lloyd and Grace, both of whom were friends of Kate's family, had been working on a major renovation project of the historic courthouse when Grace's murder took place.

The case brings Kate together w/ the law firm's new PI, Gabriel Chavez. Sizzling hot Gabe is also putting his past behind him as he starts a new career. As the situation between Kate and Gabe starts to simmer, they both begin to wonder if they should start thinking more about the future--together.

Kate can't escape the past, tho, as Lloyd's case seems to bring up new questions about her grandparents' disappearance and the possible connections to present events. There are also questions about the involvement of Kate's Aunt Hilary and Uncle Colin, who helped raise Kate; family friend Paul Scholfield, who has been nominated for a Supreme Court vacancy; the Castillo crime family; and even Kate's ex-husband. Clearly, this case has serious implications for Kate, both personally and professionally.

This is an excellent romantic legal thriller with a good balance between the two elements. Kate is a smart character w/ a strong sense of justice. She is well-matched w/ Gabe, who is also a crusader at heart. The chemistry between the two is ultra hot, and they have enough common interests and goals to make them a viable, believable couple. The legal mystery is well done w/ enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing until the end.

A scandal involving sleeping with her boss Harold Lowell cost wealthy Palm Beach criminal defense attorney Katherine Rochelle her job at the U.S. Attorney's Office. So when she feels a proper amount of time has passed she opens up a partnership with two friends, Carling Dent and Nicole Sterling.

Her Aunt Hilary orders Katherine to defend family friend Lloyd Silber accused of killing Grace Roberts. Katherine reluctantly agrees and cautiously hires private investigator Gabriel Chavez to make inquiries; her hesitation stems from her attraction to the ex-cop and not his competency as he is acknowledged as one of the best. As he digs up information, the case takes a wicked spin as it is connected to the disappearance of her grandparents years ago. Before deciding whether she should recluse herself due to a possible conflict of interests as she always wanted to know what happened to her relatives, someone tries to kill Kate. Only Gabriel keeps her safe, but she wonders who will keep her heart safe once he steals it.

Fans of romantic legal thrillers will enjoy this stirring tale. The story line stars an attorney struggling to regain her reputation shattered when she had an affair with her boss; both losing their jobs. Though Gabriel is a fine male lead, Katherine is the star from her first sterling performance bringing to heel a felon, a judge, and a prosecutor in the courtroom until the final efforts to prove her client innocent and learn what happened to her grandparents. Readers will want more stories starring the "Debt, Default, and Miscarriage" legal team especially COURTING DANGER.

Harriet Klausner

Stephenson is at the top of her game with this legal suspense. Classy criminal defense attorney Katherine Rochelle investigates a murder that not only places her life in danger, but has her digging into her family's past. Blend in her two friends, Carling Dent and Nicole Sterling, along with a hot private investigator, Gabe Chavez, and you've got an un-put-downable story. This book goes on my keeper shelf. I look forward to future stories by this wonderful author!

Katherine "Kate" Rochelle has been in Palm Beach's social elite since birth. She has had money all her life. For her career, she became a criminal defense attorney. Scandal hit when Kate learned her co-worker was on the take. Kate could not let such illegal matters go and dutifully turned him in. Kate is as honest as her grandfather (a judge) had been before he disappeared from his court chambers in the old courthouse over thirty years ago. However, her honesty makes the other lawyers antsy, especially those who believe Kate should have turned the other way. So Kate made her own law firm and is out to prove herself all over again. Her first case is to prove that a friend, Lloyd, did not murder Grace.

Grace Roberts had been murdered in Kate's grandfather's old chambers. Since Kate does not believe in coincidences, she begins looking into a possible connection. Kate's partners, Carling and Nicole, hire a P.I. named Gabriel "Gabe" Chavez to assist her. It does not take long for Kate to realize that her life is in danger. The evidence is beginning to look as though someone high up is the culprit. Kate's debutante skills and social connections help her get some answers. Yet only Gabe's P.I. and police skills can keep her alive.

***** This story seems to be the first of a trilogy. At least, I hope Kate's partners each get their own stories.

What? You say that you demand lots of action? You want suspense AND some romance as well? Then pick up this novel and RUN! Otherwise, you may not get your hands on a copy. Once readers begin talking about this title it will fly off the shelves. Excellent legal and mystery drama. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.