Barack Obama: The Making of a Man by David Maraniss

$33.00 AUD

Category: Political

Millions have read Barack Obama's "Dreams from my Father" and think they know his story. Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer David Maraniss has produced a startling biography which reveals the true narrative of Obama's early years. In "Barack Obama", David Maraniss has written a sweeping narrative wh ich reveals the real story of Obama's beginnings: child of a black man from Luoland and a white woman born in Texas. He charts the fortunes of the two disparate families, polar opposites in every way, which produced these two extraordinary individuals, who met briefly in Hawaii, never cohabited, and married only to legitimize the child born of that union. At the heart of Obama's psyche and his political beliefs - and therefore his presidency - is his life-long struggle to understand the extreme duality of his identity. Maraniss explores his extraordinary journey from a mixed race boy raised by white grandparents in laid-back Hawaii to an African America with a burning political vision and vocation. "Barack Obama" contains a wealth of new material. Maraniss reveals here previously unpublished love letters written by Obama as a young man in a search of an identity: black or white, writer or a man who could lead. He also includes the journal entries of Obama's first significant (white) girlfriend, which chart their intense relationship and the moment when young Barack realized that he must leave everything behind him and set out for Chicago in order to 'become' an African American. The story wrought here is one of fierce ambition, survival, and love. It is suitable for readers of Maraniss' "First in His Class", "Obama's War's" by Bob Woodward, "Obama's Dreams from my Father" and David Remnick's "The Bridge". ...Show more

Amateur by Edward Klein

$38.95 AUD

Category: Political

Klein, who is known for getting the inside scoop on everyone from the Kennedys to the Clintons, reveals never-before-published details about the Obama administration's political inner workings, as well as Barack and Michelle's personal lives.

The Unquiet Monk: Thomas Merton's Questing Faith by Michael W Higgins

$25.00 AUD

Category: Political

"For the 25th anniversary of Thomas Merton's birth, a fresh introduction to his life and work."Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk, poet, spiritual writer, and social critic, remains many years after his death in 1968, one of the most influential religious figures of our time. From a cloistered monastery i n Kentucky he spoke to the spiritual and social concerns of the world, offering a voice of conscience, sanity, and compassion. One hundred years after his birth in 1915, his fascinating life and spiritual wisdom continue to find an audience. In this concise but original work, Michael Higgins offers a fresh interpretation of this endlessly fascinating, complex, and multivalent genius. Drawing in part on interviews with those who knew him, Michael Higgins explores the story of Merton's life, his work as a poet and writer, his prophetic response to war and social disorder, his contemplative response to the human condition, and his forays into interreligious dialogue. ...Show more

Before You Judge Me - Being David by David Oldfield

$30.00 AUD

Category: Political

Before you Judge Me, Being Davidis a less traditional biography andmore of a 'conversations with.' or'lessons I've learnt' in the style ofbook.It is David's views on the worldwe're living in what's right withit; what's wrong with it. We learnwhat makes David tick; why hethinks the way he thinks and what exactly he is thinking. We learnhow the David of today evolved.The book is an insight into David'sviews and thoughts on Australia;where we're heading; where we've been and how we can betterour lives and the lives of others. We learn the lessons life hastaught him many of which, may surprise.David has a good insight into the Australian policitical scenebut also his opinions resonate with every day Australians whileupsetting other's with his honest approach to our country.David tries to give some balance to his opinions and hiscareer in policitics that made him one of the most talked aboutpolitictians of his time.Very well written with a ba ...Show more

Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore

$55.00 AUD

Category: Political

The remarkable untold story of the men and women who sustained Stalin in power in the Soviet Union for nearly 30 yearsThere have been many biographies of Stalin, but the court that surrounded him is untravelled ground. Simon Sebag Montefiore, acclaimed biographer of Catherine the Great's lover, prime mi nister and general, Potemkin, has unearthed the vast underpinning that sustained Stalin. Not only ministers such as Molotov or secret service chiefs such as Beria, but men and women whose loyalty he trusted only until the next purge. Here is the Stalin story from the inside, full of revelations.How the death of Stalin's wife was hushed up - was it suicide? How the Soviet leaders and their families lived and partied inside the Kremlin walls. What happened on the first day of war with Germany in 1941. The fullest account of the meeting between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill that settled the fate of the axis powers. And how the Great Terror in which 10 million died actually happened. Simon Sebag Montefiore was a journalist on the Sunday Times before he started writing books. He speaks several languages, has travelled widely, and now writes books full time. His first biography, Prince of Princes, the life of Catherine the Great's lover and chief minister Potemkin, was a huge seller in hardback and paperback. ...Show more

Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill: A Brief Account of a Long Life by Gretchen Rubin

$25.00 AUD

Category: Political

A "WALL STREET JOURNAL" SUMMER PICKA "WASHINGTON POST" BESTSELLER Warrior and writer, genius and crank, rider in the British cavalry's last great charge and inventor of the tank, Winston Churchill led Britain to fight alone against Nazi Germany in the fateful year of 1940 and set the standard for leadin g a democracy at war. With penetrating insight and vivid anecdotes, Gretchen Rubin makes Churchill accessible and meaningful to twenty-first-century readers by analyzing the many contrasting views of the man: he was an alcoholic, he was not; he was an anachronism, he was a visionary; he was a racist, he was a humanitarian; he was the most quotable man in the history of the English language, he was a bore. Like no other portrait of its famous subject, Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill is a dazzling display of facts more improbable than fiction. It brings to full realization the depiction of a man too fabulous for any novelist to construct, too complex for even the longest narrative to describe, and too significant ever to be forgotten. ...Show more

Money Men, the Australia's Twelve Most Notable Treasurers by Chris Bowen

$35.00 AUD

Category: Political

The Money Men is the first in-depth look at the most interesting men to have held the office of Treasurer of Australia. Former Treasurer Chris Bowen brings his unique insider perspective to reveal the lessons learned from the successes and failures of twelve treasurers. From the first pioneer, George Tu rner, through to Wayne Swan, former Treasurer Chris Bowen uses his unique insider experience to feature stories of courage, intelligence, intrigue and discord and emphasises the importance of successful partnerships between the Prime Minister, Treasurer and Treasury. Containing comprehensive interviews with many former Treasurers and senior bureaucrats, The Money Men provides an exclusive insight into Australia's most important economic office. ...Show more

Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer by Philip Carlo

$28.00 AUD

Category: Political

Richard "The Ice Man" Kuklinski led a double life beyond anything ever seen on The Sopranos, becoming one of the most notorious professional assassins in American history while hosting neighborhood barbecues in suburban New Jersey. Now, after 240 hours of face-to-face interviews with Kuklinski and his w ife and daughters, author Philip Carlo tells his extraordinary story.Kuklinski was Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's partner in the killing of Paul Castellano at Spark's Steakhouse. John Gotti hired him to kill the neighbor who accidentally ran over his child. For an additional price, he would make victims suffer; he conducted this sadistic business with cold-hearted intensity, never disappointing his customers. By his own estimate, he killed over two hundred men, taking enormous pride in his variety and ferocity of technique.Kuklinski's story, once known, captivated the public and became the subject of three HBO documentaries about which the New York Times raved "Few viewers are ever likely to forget this thoroughly chilling portrait. As for possible movie competition, it would work on the level of The Silence of the Lambs." ...Show more

Navi Pillay: Realising Human Rights for All by Samantha Naidu

$19.95 AUD

Category: Political

The life story of Navi Pillay, a trailblazer in Human Rights Law. Pillay was born in 1941 to an Indian family living in apartheid South Africa. In 1967, she was the first non-white woman in South Africa to set up a law practice which she used to defend many anti-apartheid activists and, in 1973, wa s able to obtain legal representation for the inmates of Robben Island. In 1995, Mandela nominated Pillay as the first non-white female judge in the High Court. In 2008, she was appointed UN High Commissioner for human rights. ...Show more

To the Bitter End: The Dramatic Story Behind the Fall of John Howard and the Rise of Kevin Rudd by Peter Hartcher

$35.00 AUD

Category: Political

On 24 November, 2007 Australia resoundingly changed government. If you think you know what really happened during that tumultuous year behind the closed doors of the Liberal Party, in the back rooms of the ACTU and deep in the campaign war room of the Labor Party, think again. 2007 was a year to remembe r in Australian politics. It saw the dramatic fall of John Howard and the unexpected rise of Kevin Rudd. It saw the Liberal Party buckle under the inertia of incumbency and the Labor Party find new discipline and energy. It also saw the union movement at the centre of the most effective and powerful political campaign in years. This is the story of that year. It is about faltering ambition, driving ego, confidences lost and gained. It is about friends and enemies, truth and deception, humiliation and triumph. ...Show more

Isaiah Berlin by Ignatieff, Michael

$34.95 AUD

Category: General

Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America's Most Perilous Year by David Von Drehle

$40.00 AUD

Category: Political

The electrifying story of Abraham Lincoln's rise to greatness during the most perilous year in our nation's historyAs 1862 dawned, the American republic was at death's door. The federal government appeared overwhelmed, the U.S. Treasury was broke, and the Union's top general was gravely ill. The Confede racy--with its booming economy, expert military leadership, and commanding position on the battlefield--had a clear view to victory. To a remarkable extent, the survival of the country depended on the judgment, cunning, and resilience of the unschooled frontier lawyer who had recently been elected president.Twelve months later, the Civil War had become a cataclysm but the tide had turned. The Union generals who would win the war had at last emerged, and the Confederate Army had suffered the key losses that would lead to its doom. The blueprint of modern America--an expanding colossus of industrial and financial might--had been indelibly inked. And the man who brought the nation through its darkest hour, Abraham Lincoln, had been forged into a singular leader.In "Rise to Greatness," acclaimed author David Von Drehle has created both a deeply human portrait of America's greatest president and a rich, dramatic narrative about our most fateful year. ...Show more