Australia Books

Nearly a year has passed since the death of patriarch Bertram Thorton. Rebecca and Daniel Thorton are expecting their first child and deeply in love with one another. Life is good at Douloo Station.

Daniel, struggling with his feelings of inadequacy in filling his father's footsteps, works long hours and feels the heavy burden of supporting the station, his mother, wife and coming child. To add to his burdens, a drought has hit Queensland, Australia, turning the surrounding countryside to nothing but dust. As a cattle rancher this is disasterous.

For the Love of the Land is a story of love and courage, strength and faith as the family supports one another, loves one another and looks to God for His divine intervention.

Bonnie Leon ends this book with a dramatic flare that leaves the reader breathless.

In 1872 about a year has passed since Bostonian Rebecca Williams married Australian rancher Daniel Thornton and moved to his Dooloo Station in Down Under (see THE HEART OF THORNTON CREEK). Although her father-in-law has since passed away, Rebecca is happy and pregnant. Adding to her feelings of euphoria is her beloved Aunt Mildred has come for a visit. Perhaps her only concern is how hard Daniel works to keep the station afloat especially with the devastating drought.

Daniel feels like a loser as he works as hard as he can but feels failure is pending. He believes he is not the man his dad was as his father would never allow their family station to go under. Still in spite of his efforts Daniel finds each day closer to the doom with only his beloved mother, wife, and now newborn keeping him going. Rebecca, unable to help her spouse, prays everyday for rain.

The return to Thornton Creek is an interesting Australian historical romance that showcases the plight of farmers when the weather fails to cooperate for an extended period as much as living up to the title FOR THE LOVE OF THE LAND. The story line provides a deep look at people struggling to cope with a drought especially Daniel who feels the weight of the world on his shoulders as he believes he is not up to the standard set by his late dad in spite of the women who love him telling him his father would be proud of his efforts. Bonnie Leon writes a terrific family driven Queensland saga.

Harriet Klausner

This is an excellent book with down to earth material information. If interested in Australian species as a whole or perhaps into Eucalyptus trees, this book is a 5 star purchase.

This widely respected book is the only example I am aware of to combine botanical and naturalistic information with silvicultural and timber usage notes.
The most useful book on the subject that I am aware of.

I cannot rate this book highly enough - thorough research and incredible stories make it impossible to put down until the last page.

Freedom or Death is a collection of stories about the most dangerous aspect of the Australia prisoner of war experience - escape. Here is all the adventure, suspense and courage of ordinary Australians who defied their captors; men willing to risk death in order to overcome almost impossible odds in the loneliest war of all - the fight for the right to be free. In Freedom or Death we meet Australian POWs from all walks of life and all theatres of war: one who fled a German work camp during the Great War; another who escaped from the legendary Colditz Castle and an airman who brazenly attempted to fly a German Messerschmitt back to England. We also re-live the tragic saga of the brutal Japanese death marches across North Borneo, from which six Australians escaped to become the only survivors from 2000 POWs on the march. We follow the incredible journeys to freedom from the Japanese-held islands of Ambon and Hainan by some resolute members of Gull Force. The author, Colin Burgess, is also the author of several children's books and adult non-fiction including The Diggers of Colditz (with Jack Champ), Prisoners of War and Barbed Wire and Bamboo (both with Hugh Clarke). These tales of valour, sacrifice and grim survival are Australia's great escape stories, true stories of suspense and the indomitable spirit of ordinary men determined to escape - or die.

ned kelly was the jesse james of australia. this is the story of the two guys who worked in his gang--one who betrayed them all.

For a true Kelly enthusiast,this wonderful book by Ian Jones has to be the pinnacle.I don't want to gush too much but quite simply,it is superb.It is far superior to his"Ned Kelly-A Short Life".Basically,it examines the lives of Joe Byrne(Neds trusted lieutenant)and Joes best friend,Aaron Sherritt.Their surrounding environment of the town of Beechworth and the Woolshed valley is brought alive by Jones and despite the fact that Ned himself remains a somewhat shadowy figure,the book is fascinating reading.Both Byrne and Sherritt seem @ times to be teetering on the edge of sanity within the framework they built for themselves.This is perhaps not a book for someone new to the story but it is certainly well worth owning.It makes you want to visit the areas covered in the book and walk in the footsteps of Ned,Joe and Aaron themselves!Highly recommended.

MARK PERRY-ADELAIDE SA.

Everyone knows that when it comes to romance, the genre gets no respect. And why is that? This book does something for the romance industry that no other book to date has. It demands R-E-S-P-E-C-T and starts breaking down those barriers and answering the question as to why the genre gets no respect. It's amazing to see how many people actually judge a book by its cover and yet never by its contents. What's even more shocking is to discover that the same people bashing romance never actually picked one up. Or better yet, never tried to write one. It's not easy writing about emotions. Or sex. Meaningful, emotional sex. Not a how to guide. And then there are others that might have read one book in 1982 and based on that, have judged the romance industry since. No surprise people, but the books changed since then! Big time! There's no bodice getting ripped, that's for sure. Yet why is everyone still using the term? Brilliantly, Juliet Flesch weaves through the misconceptions and uses examples and trends. The biggest thing I walked away with this book (being a romance writer myself) is a HUGE class in self-esteem. Which I needed. From Australia with Love not only focuses on the history of how romance writing sparked and developed (not just in Australia but in the US and around the world) but how stereotypes and misinformation (caused by others who never picked up a romance in their life) has both promoted and harmed the industry. Juliet Flesch does an amazing job representing the true essence of the romance writing industry and their readership. So the next time you think to judge a romance by its cover, pick up a copy of this book first and then figure out where you are as a reader or a writer in the most successful fiction genre ever to date.

From Australia With Love is a lively, eye-opening examination of Australian romance writing between 1950 and 2000. With objectivity, humor and irony, Juliet Flesch makes a solid argument for the importance of romance writing and why it should rightfully take its place alongside other genres, such as mystery writing. She skillfully disabuses those feminists who believe that all heroines in romances are poor role models, giving many examples of strong, independent women who have rewarding careers and function in complex webs of relationships. The background information about the huge romance publishing industry is also very interesting. For example, the English language version of a romance novel in Canada is sold in bookstores, while the French version, which loses some humor and subtlety in translation, is sold in drugstores and supermarkets. This entertaining book will engage the interest of the romance reader and the general reader alike. The fact that it is both beautifully written and easy to read is an added bonus.

Michael Palin (of Monty Python fame) is more than funny: he's a perceptive and compassionate traveller! I loved his first two BBC travel series and their companion books, so when one day in Seattle, I read in the paper that the next evening he would begin a third, I made sure to tune in. I wasn't disappointed; from a remote Alaskan island so close to the International Dateline that Palin writes: "The Russian soldiers staring at me across the water have already had the day I'm having" to "the southernmost place of worship in the world, outside of Antarctica", this one is as good an armchair journey as any the BBC has produced. Something special: the photography is, as usual, superb, and there's an underwater sequence in the Philipines that has to be seen to be believed. So, either take a year off yourself (that's about what it took Palin), pack your own forty-eight (!) suitcases and spend your own mint to do this trip of a lifetime, or just do it with Mike Palin. After all, that's what books are for, isn't it?

Michael Palin's "Full Circle" trip involved traveling all of the way around the Pacific Ocean. He (and his film crew) started at the Bering Strait in Alaska and then traveled down the Asian side of the Pacific, crossed over to Cape Horn, and traveled up through South and North America, returning to Alaska.

The trip covered 50,000 miles through 17 countries in ten months. Specifically, these countries were visited: USA (Alaska), Russia (Siberia), Japan, S. Korea (entry to N. Korea was denied), China, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, USA (California and Washington), Canada (British Columbia) and back to Alaska again.

This trip, like the other ones done by Michael Palin for the BBC, was filmed for viewing as a television mini-series. (This version is available on DVD, at least at Amazon UK.) Afterwards, Michael Palin and Basil Pao (the stills photographer in the filming crew) created this book as an alternative record of the trip.

The book is richly illustrated with Basil Pao's beautiful photographs. Michael Palin's text is wonderful because he has a way of finding interesting places and people and of describing them with warmth and humor.

The diversity of the many countries and places is amazing. Artic wilderness, tropics, deserts, cramped cities, huge rivers, high mountains, etc., etc. There are many high points along the way, the most exciting being when Michael Palin had to lasso a camel while standing in the back of a pickup truck that was going over bumps and around bends at break-neck speed!

At the same time, Michael Palin does not shy back from visiting and describing the thought-provoking places along his journey. The Russian Gulag in Siberia, Hiroshima and the remembrance of the atomic bomb, the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea and the border between Mexico and the United States are all discussed with unusual insight.

This book easily deserves five stars. Except for the audio version, that is.

The nice thing about the audio version is that Michael Palin reads the book himself, and he does a great job as a reader. But the audio version does not include Basil Pao's beautiful photographs, of course, and worst of all, it's abridged. My dislike of abridged audio books results in me giving the audio book version only three stars.

Rennie Petersen

Need to understand an Aussie? This is your book! Natively I don't speak english; I can understand american speakers but when my daughter married an Australian it was like listening a completely different language. A friend handed me this book to help me communicate with my son in law and "G'Day Mate" did the miracle! It was very helpful for understanding certain qualities in the language used in Australia. I highly recommnd this book to anyone, english speaker or not, who wants to speak "aussie" or at least understand it.

Need to understand an Aussie? This is your book! Natively I don't speak english; I can understand american speakers but when my daughter married an Australian it was like listening a completely different language. A friend handed me this book to help me communicate with my son in law and "G'Day Mate" did the miracle! It was very helpful for understanding certain qualities in the language used in Australia. I highly recommnd this book to anyone, english speaker or not, who wants to speak "aussie" or at least understand it.

As an OD consultant, I have read many books on team building activities. From most books I typically like one out of five exercises. Games Trainers Play Outdoors is awesome! I like every exercise. They are practical and open to adaptations as needed by the audience. I strongly recommend it.

I stumbled across this book and found it to be quite a treasure. I am a youth leader for our church and found these games to be ideal for building unity and having fun together. There are 75 games in all. The games are well illustrated and explained clearly. This is a great resource for fun, purpose-filled games for many age groups.

Garth Pig is a fabulous children's book, and it ought to be reprinted! My parents still remember long passages of the text 20 years later, they read it to me so many times. Garth's kidnapping by the ice cream lady (a wolf) and his dramatic rescue by his nine daring siblings on their 10-seat bicycle will captivate kids of all ages, and the wit and fun along the way is sure to charm adults as well. This is a gentle story, too - bravery and honesty from the protagonist piggies, and the ice cream lady is "never seen again" - nothing too scary for little ones. You'll thank yourself for tracking down this great book!

I had grown up with this book and it takes you into another world. They are fun stories, and Garth has had other stories written about him too. A funny, well worth it read.

Gary and the Very Terrible Monster was a favorite of mine when I was young. I loved reading the story, and making up sound effects. This book is a great story about responsibility and a new friend!

Gary became apart of my children's library many years ago. Then the book became a much loved part of my class library [first grade]. I have used it so-o-o many times I could not count them all. Now my students make their own Terrible Monster books and they lead to wonderful sharing and learning.