Captured by terrorists, kept in solitary confinement, guarded by men with AK47s and little respect for life. Could you survive it? Bundaberg photojournalist Nigel Brennan travels to Somalia with Canadian reporter Amanda Lindhout. They are abducted by a criminal gang, that puts a price of US$3 million on their heads. If it's not paid, they will be killed. And the Australian government does not pay ransoms. After more than a year of stalled negotiations, Nigel's family takes matters into their own hands. They go against government advice, scarifying their livelihoods, houses, and personal lives to bring the hostages home. Meanwhile, the kidnappers are losing patience. Brutalised, shackled, not knowing when or how the situation will end, Nigel faces the fight of his life. This is a story about what it takes to survive, and how far a family will go for freedom, whatever the price.

The Price of Life: The True Story of an Australia Held to Ransom for 462 Days

Biographies & Memoirs

Brennan, Nigel

Bonney, Nicole

Brennan, Kellie

True Crime

Michael Joseph Australia

Some stories are too good to be true ... In the year 1861, there were three campfires burning outside the gold mining town of Mull Creek, in the British colony of Victoria. At the first is Jesus Whitetree, an escaped orphan with no knowledge of his new world, not even his age or real name. He only knows he wants to find gold. Gold makes everything good. At the second fire is the Jack Pink Gang. Jack is a little-known bushranger who is a violent criminal by day and a nervous wreck by night. His mother - a notorious criminal known throughout the colony as Mother Pink - engages the services of a bush poet to get Jack's name in the newspapers and make him feared and famous. And at the third fire is Mary, a young Aboriginal girl, and police constable Harry Logan. Harry has a good heart, but he also has Mary in chains. Despite her hard life and current circumstances, Mary remains smart, cheeky and troublesome to the struggling policeman. With the announcement of the first Melbourne Cup, all three parties descend upon Melbourne town. And the thrilling horserace offers something different for each of them - a new beginning, a chance to be written into history, or a prize bigger than they could imagine. But only one can take the gold. GOOD AS GOLD is a reimagining of the very first 'race that stops a nation', and a heartwarming story about triumph and the things that mean more than gold.

Good As Gold: An Australian Yarn Of Robbery, Races And The Lust For Gold

Literature & Fiction

Smith, Justin

Genre Fiction

A moving and inspiring WWII novel of friendship and courage, based on the true events of the Bangka Island Massacre, by the bestselling author of The Drifter. In 1942, country girls Minnie Hodgson and Margot McNee set sail from Perth, Australia for Singapore in search of adventure, full of excitement and keen to do their part working as nurses to the fallen soldiers in a time of war. What they encounter is an army of new friends and the terrors of a city under siege. When the Japanese attack and Singapore falls, they are forced to flee aboard the Vyner Brooke. The ship is bombed, resulting in utter devastation. Separated in the mayhem, one group of nurses find themselves in prisoner-of-war camps for the duration of the war, surviving on their wits, with humour, dignity, loyalty and determination. But another group of young Australian nurses – the girls on the beach – are washed ashore on Banka Island, where they will meet a fate that must never be forgotten. Inspired by the author’ s own family story, this is an unforgettable novel of enduring friendship and boundless courage, based on the shocking true events of the Bangka Island Massacre.

The War Nurses

Hodgson, Anthea

Two country weddings, fifty years apart … and the miracle of second chances. In the tiny Tablelands township of Burralea, Flora Drummond is preparing to play in a string quartet for the wedding of a very close friend. The trouble is, she can't quite forget the embarrassing teenage crush she once had on the handsome groom. All is as it should be on the big day. The little church is filled with flowers, the expectant guests are arriving, and Mitch is nervously waiting – but his bride has had a sudden change of heart. Decades earlier, another wedding in the same church led to a similar story of betrayal and devastation. Hattie missed out on marrying her childhood sweetheart the first time around, but now she has returned to the scene of her greatest heartache. As Flora is drawn into both romantic dramas, she must also confront a relationship crisis of her own. But the past and the present offer promise for the future and there's a chance for friends, old and new, to help each other to heal. From the rolling green hills of Far North Queensland to the crowded streets of Shanghai on the eve of the Second World War, this is a beautiful romantic saga that tells of two loves lost and found and asks the questions – do we ever get over our first love, and is it ever too late to make amends?

The Country Wedding

Hannay, Barbara

The heart-warming new rural romance novel from the acclaimed author of Dear Banjo and True Blue. There was something about Charlie. Something about the way he questioned and teased her, brought her outside of herself ... the way he'd made her crash headlong into love just by singing to her. At age seventeen, Beth Paterson was determined to study medicine at university, despite the heartache of losing her mother. Tutoring Charlie Campbell worked well with her plan - but falling in love with him sure didn't, and neither did getting her heart broken when he abruptly left town. Now Charlie is a big star on the alternative rock scene, while Beth is a respected doctor in her hometown. When Charlie comes back to fight for the tiny community where he was raised, neither one of them can ignore the resurgence of wild attraction they once shared. Beth swore no man would ever hurt her again - least of all this man. But some love songs can never be forgotten, especially when they were written for you ... From the author of Dear Banjo comes a book to make your heart sing and your spirits soar. 'A deeply moving love story set against a stunning Kimberley backdrop, Love Song is perfect for fans of Fiona Palmer, Nicole Alexander and Rachael Johns.' Better Reading

Love Song

Wasley, Sasha

Ridiculous Australian tales of sporting stuff-ups and forgiveness by the bestselling author of A Thoroughly Unhelpful History of Australian Sport. In sport, the term 'good bloke' doesn't mean what it says. Like 'fun run', it often actually means exactly the opposite. Titus O'Reily, the sports historian Australia neither needs nor deserves, examines why our nation's sportspeople are so readily forgiven for doing terrible things. With ridiculous tales from Australia's chequered sporting history, A Sporting Chance dissects the scandals big and small, the mistakes made in covering them up and the path athletes tread back to redemption. From the Essendon supplements saga and the sandpaper-loving Australian cricket team to whatever it is Nick Kyrgios has done now, Titus reveals the archetypes at the heart of our greatest sporting scandals. There's the corrupt cop who gave us the race that stopped a nation and the boxing champion who refused to train. There's the cashed-up businessmen who bankrupted clubs and the commentators who can't get their foot out of their mouth. And of course there's the good blokes, like Wayne Carey, Matthew Johns and Shane Warne, who it seems we'll forgive for absolutely anything. In his rambling and at times incoherent style, Titus asks the question- are Australians really that forgiving of their sporting heroes? With the rise of social media, women's sport and the drive towards greater equality, are the good blokes of Australia's sporting landscape an endangered species?

A Sporting Chance: Australian Sporting Scandals and the Path to Redemption

Sports & Outdoors

O'Reily, Titus

Miscellaneous

Inspirational true stories of adopted dogs who have rescued their owners. Dogs are renowned for their loyalty, and those saved from animal shelters or rescue groups seem to be especially devoted to the humans who have offered them a second chance. In this extraordinary collection, meet the brave dogs that have shown incredible courage - even risking death - to protect their people. There's Leala, the Staffy who raced for help when her two-year-old owner fell in a dam; Buddy, the labrador who licked his owner awake to save her from a house fire; and Brian, the pit bull who valiantly fought off three other dogs to protect his owner. From unforgettable moments of courage to heart-warming tales of true loyalty, these are the stories of some of the most heroic rescue dogs in the world.

The Rescuers: Incredible Stories of Life-Saving Dogs

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Greaves, Laura

Pets & Animal Care

Break-ups suck but you don't have to suck at break-ups. Break-ups are awful, and they're very real, but that doesn't mean they get to take over your whole life for a year. YOU can take charge. YOU can be the boss of your break-up. YOU can choose to see it as a gift. And you dang well should! Life is too short not to learn and grow from our romantic upheavals, then move the hell forward! Break-up Boss gives you all the tools and techniques (and lots of lectures - cute!) to deal with all of the stages of your break-up, and just as you need it- in your pocket, as you're about to call your ex/have another shot of tequila. This is a Real Life, no-nonsense picture of a break-up, and an enthusiastic, empowered and positive view of how to deal with it. Think of it as a teeny-weeny pocket coach! Always on your side, and with a singular goal- to get you through this break-up in a positive, healthy fashion, and over onto the sunny unicorn-saturated hill of self-confidence and happiness. Or at the very least, to not text your ex just cos it's Sunday and you're sad and hungover and fancy some hanky panky.

Break-up Boss

Foster-Blake, Zoe

Parenting & Relationships

An indispensable reference guide to the heart by Australia's favourite relationship advisor Zoe Foster Blake. Most of us mosey between single, dating and committed in a half-rapturous, half-tortured loop for a large portion of our lives. There's no right or wrong when it comes to love, life and relationships. There are no rules and there is no normal when it comes to the heart; it's different for each of us, every single time. However! A fresh perspective never hurts, especially if the Same Shit keeps happening again and again. Thankfully, this visually pleasing tome lovingly serves up a few for you to consider. With her trademark warmth, wit and realism, Australia's favourite relationship advisor Zoe Foster Blake is here to benevolently guide you through the murky, magnificent spectrum of love. Love for yourself! A love of being single! Love for the journey of finding love, rather than just the destination! Love for our exes, who all teach us something even if we want to tip them into the ocean! And of course- wholehearted and respectful love for others. Whether you are gloriously, serenely single, disheartened after a nuclear heartbreak, wedged ungraciously in the friend zone, managing a flock of completely inappropriate Tinder suitors, or profoundly in love and primed for a Major Commitment, this is an indispensable and empowering reference guide to the heart. Read it with an open mind, and an open heart.

LOVE!: An Enthusiastic and Modern Perspective on Matters of the Heart

The new outback mystery from Australia's authentic rural writer and voice of the bush Kerry McGinnis. 'The Heartwood is the core of this district. It always has been so, but it's still just a building. It's your family - you and Adam and old Tiger - who animate it, keep the heart beating, so to speak.' In the abandoned railhead town of Tewinga, now almost a ghost town, Lyn and Adam Portman struggle to keep the Heartwood Hotel afloat. Lyn loves her husband and longs to be a mother. But she's kept busy caring for her elderly father, her community, and Max, the young worker who reminds her of the brother she's lost and dearly misses. When he fails to return from a day trip, Lyn's concern deepens as the length of his absence grows, the more so with rumours of criminal activity at a nearby station. Meanwhile, a chance meeting uncovers a family bombshell that leaves Lyn reeling. The community must pull together as never before, proving that sometimes the smallest towns have the biggest hearts - and hide the darkest secrets. From the bestselling author of Secrets of the Springs, this is the new outback mystery from Australia's authentic rural writer and beloved voice of the bush.

The Heartwood Hotel

McGinnis, Kerry

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Books by Michael Joseph Australia