The History of Australian Wine is a unique inside account of the Australian wine industry's development throughout the 20th century. Award-winning writer Max Allen weaves together an oral history full of firsthand recollections from winemakers, cellar hands, business leaders and grape growers, offering personal insights into how Australian wine has received its phenomenal international reputation. From the horse-drawn plough in the vineyard to innovative winemaking technology and our changing tastes as a nation of wine drinkers, the stories in this book reveal plenty of larrikins and pioneers. Charismatic leaders mentored each generation and imbued a strong sense of collaboration and mateship, and bloody-minded individuals fiercely steered their own course and inspired many along the way. At the heart of it all beats a powerful sense of resilience. Australian vignerons have always faced challenges, but it has been in times of extreme adversity that the industry has taken its greatest leaps forward.

The History of Australian Wine: Stories from the Vineyard to the Cellar Door

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Allen, Max

Beverages & Wine

Victory Books

Australian history is full of disasters. Some are natural but many more are man-made, results of individual or collective stupidity, reckless decisions, or greed. In Disasters that Changed Australia, Richard Evans nominates the worst disasters in an engrossing, insightful account of what happened and why. Picture British General, Douglas Haig through sheer arrogance and determination sending thousands of Australian men into swampy, disease-ridden enemy territory for no strategic gain. Or a feral legion of rabbits let loose on the environment, turning furry friends into an uncontrollable plague. Including Cyclone Tracy, Black Friday, the Snowy Mountains Scheme and the destruction of megafauna thousands of years ago, these are just many of debacles that have defined Australia. Richard Evans goes beneath the familiar stories and myths, and urges us to rethink how we respond to disasters to avoid making the same mistakes again.

Disasters That Changed Australia

History

EVANS, Richard

Australia & Oceania

In 2005, it was England's summer. In 2006-07, Australia had its revenge. And 2009 loomed as the tightest of contests in Test cricket's longest-running rivalry, both countries in a race to rebuild in the first rematch since the end of the era of Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist and Hayden. Test cricket faced its own challenge: to demonstrate the game's potential for drama and dash over five days in an era increasingly accustomed to cricket in three-hour instalments, after the successful Indian Premier League and World Twenty20. Compiled day by day to capture the season's whipsawing fortunes, The Ashes 2009 is the only essential account of the head-to-head duel that stopped both nations, and the story of its defining battles: the pace of Johnson versus the power of Pietersen, the swing of Anderson against the spunk of Hughes, and the generalships of Ponting and Strauss, ready for readers while the embers of the Ashes are still warm.

Ashes 2009

Haigh, Gideon

Sports & Outdoors

I, Mick Gatto (Updated Edition)

Literature & Fiction

Tom Noble

Mick Gatto

Classics

A fast-paced examination of organized crime, this account details the exploits of an unforgettable cast of villains, crooks, and mobsters who have made up the criminal and gangland scene in Australia. Tracing the developments in and the shifting dynamics of Australia's criminal underworld from the early 1800s until the Melbourne gangland killings of recent years, this vivid and explosive reading also investigates the role of police, politicians, and lawyers who have helped and hindered the growth of criminal empires. Anyone interested in true crime will appreciate this meticulously researched chronicle.

Gangland Australia: Colonial Criminals to the Carlton Crew (Gangland series)

Lobez, Susanna

Morton, James

A fascinating mix of true crime and memoir, this narrative chronicles detective Colin McLaren’s undercover operation as he infiltrates the Australian mafia. For years, McLaren eats with them, visits in their homes, and cuddles their kids, all the while climbing the N'Drangheta and, finally, befriending the Griffith Godfather, Antonio Romeo. In the meantime, the Mafiosi know they have a snitch and are leaving no stone unturned in their search for the traitor. Offering insight into the most notorious crimes in that nation’s history, this is the world of listening devices, wire taps, and drug deals during two of the bloodiest decades in organized crime.

Infiltration: The True Story of the Man Who Cracked the Mafia

Biographies & Memoirs

McLaren, Colin

Professionals & Academics

The Spirit of Golf and How It Applies to Life: Inspirational Tales from the World's Greatest Game

Based on the common aphorism that golf is a microcosm of life, this is a collection of 50 valuable lessons that great golfers have learned from the game, including perseverance, courage, perspective, patience, and self-belief. Presenting morals that apply to all peoplegolfers and nongolfers alikein their daily lives, this compilation draws from legends of the sport and their noteworthy matches such as Arnold Palmer at the 1960 U.S. Open, Ben Hogan at the 1953 British Open, Jack Nicklaus at the 1986 U.S. Masters, and Seve Ballesteros at the 1993 European Masters. From dealing with triumph and disaster to the importance of honesty and adequate preparation, this guide is an excellent source of wisdom and philosophy based on the world’s most cerebral ball game.

Self-Help

Allen, Richard

Success

Melding exclusive interviews with scrupulous research, this account covers the compelling psychological riddles, inspired investigations, and sensational plot twists of 13 intriguing contemporary homicides in Australia. From an elderly father and son’s demise by being chopped to pieces by a tomahawk in Tasmania to the deaths of two Thai prostitutes bound and thrown into a Northern Territory river teeming with crocodiles, this riveting record chronicles baffling, bizarre, and brutal murders. Bumbling junkies, rich white rappers, illustrious art critics, deranged killers, and tenacious cops all play key roles in the events that made Australian headlines.

Badlands: Australia's 13 Most Intriguing True Murders

Houlihan, Liam

True Crime

Based on the latest nutritional research, this book is packed with recipes that use clean, whole, and organic foods to promote good health and well-being. Gorgeously illustrated and with step-by-step instructions, the book contains more than 70 delicious and easy-to-make recipes—from beef bourguignon and cider-braised mussels to waffles and chocolate tofu cheesecake. Accounting for the benefits of natural foods and explaining how food affects both the mind and body, this cookbook is filled with ingredient shopping tips and many gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan alternatives.

Trupp's Wholefood Kitchen: Eat Well, Live Well, Feel Great

Walter Trupp

Dorota Trupp

Regional & International

It was a glorious triumph of arms for Australian forces, a romantic moment of dash and bravura that stood out in the tragedy of World War I. Yet it barely registers in Australia's national consciousness.In October 1917 members of the 4th Australian Light Horse Brigade took part in what is now known as the 'last great cavalry charge'. Waving bayonets overhead, they charged across six kilometres of open ground, cheating bombs, shells and bullets before capturing, in a desperate hand-to-hand battle, the Turkish trenches that held the key to the strategic stronghold of Beersheba. The charge was the last daring act of a day-long fight by combined British forces to capture Beersheba, and also a turning point in Britain's war against the Ottoman Empire, sending the Turks fleeing north to ultimate defeat.Yet the story has slipped through the cracks of history.Journalist Paul Daley's journey in search of Beersheba takes him from Australia to Israel, from past to present, and from the battlefields to the archives, where he discovers a dark episode in Australian history that sits starkly at odds with the Anzac myth and legend. For Daley, the Beersheba of then and now comes to take on new meaning.

Beersheba: A Journey Through Australia's Forgotten War

Daley, Paul

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