AustLit

'Combining brilliant storytelling with rigorous research, Diagnosis Normal is an incisive and darkly funny memoir from journalist turned academic Emma Jane.

''I have three gears- glum melancholy, inappropriate outbursts, and extreme slapstick. On a good day, I can pass as normal but not for too many minutes. I'm what most people would regard as a hardened introvert . . . I like other people. I'm just not very good at them.'

'Emma Jane has lived a thousand colourful lives. She escaped a small town and a traumatic childhood by moving to Sydney, where she made an indelible imprint on the oppressively blokey mediascape. She played in an all-girl band, married a rock star she hardly knew, had a baby, ditched journalism for academia, and changed her name from Emma Tom to Emma Jane. But all the while she was struggling with her mental health. Then, during the first Sydney lockdown she was accidentally sectioned in a psychiatric ward. At the time she wasn't sure whether to be more embarrassed by the institutionalisation or the fact she'd forgotten to set her at-home eyebrow dye timer and looked like Groucho Marx. Given everyone suffered some sort of corona-related DIY body hair disaster, however, she decided to focus on her confinement, and when she was subsequently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder a number of things suddenly fell into place.

'Emma writes candidly about the complex combination of autism, mental illness and childhood sexual abuse that led to her being the person she is, and explores the impact each has on so many others in society. Critically, by breaking the toxic silence surrounding sexual violence and mental illness, she raises the possibility of not just surviving them but thriving. As she writes- 'We need to speak unspeakable things. We need more un-pretty stories.' (Publication summary)

'One family's death-defying act to escape the Nazis and start a new life in Australia.

'Written by award-winning author and journalist Sue Smethurst, whose husband is Mindla and Michael’s grandson, The Freedom Circus is an epic story of courage, hope, humanity, survival and, ultimately, love.

When Sue Smethurst first sat down with her grandmother-in-law and asked how she survived the Holocaust, she was shooed away. By that time Mindla was in a Melbourne Jewish nursing home with other survivors, her body ageing but mind still razor sharp.

''Vhy do you vant to know?' she’d ask. 'My story is nothing special.'

'As death began approaching Sue became a little more pushy. She knew Mindla’s life had to be recorded and they were running out of time. Each week she’d bring cake from her favourite shop in St Kilda, a bottle of the brightest nail polish she could find, a handful of old pictures and her tape recorder. They’d chat and paint Mindla’s nails, and with each ‘chat’ her story unfolded. It was beyond anything Sue could have imagined.

'The tale of how Mindla and her husband Michael Horowitz, a circus performer for the famous Staniewski Brothers, escaped from Poland with their son and embarked on a terrifying journey across Russia, is nothing short of extraordinary.' (Publication summary)

'An Awesome Ride is the true and inspirational story of Shaun Miller. His legacy is alive through his father, Cameron, which is all he'd ever wanted.

'‘Hi guys. I have some bad news I want to tell you all.’ So said seventeen-year-old Shaun Miller on YouTube in May 2012, shortly after receiving a devastating diagnosis about his heart condition. The clip has now been viewed millions of times.

'At the outbreak of World War I, 129 women were registered as medical practitioners in Australia, and many of them were eager to contribute their skills and expertise to the war effort. For the military establishment, however, the notion of women doctors serving on the battlefield was unthinkable. Undaunted, at least twenty-four Australian women doctors ignored official military policy and headed to the frontlines.

'This book explores the stories of the Australian women who served as surgeons, pathologists, anaesthetists and medical officers between 1914 and 1919. Despite saving hundreds of lives, their experiences are almost totally absent from official military records, both in Australia and Great Britain, and their achievements have remained invisible for over a century. Until now.

'Heather Sheard and Ruth Lee have compiled a fascinating and meticulously researched account of the Great War, seen through the eyes of these women and their essential work. From the Eastern to the Western Fronts, to Malta, and to London, we bear witness to the terrible conditions, the horrific injuries, the constant danger, and above all, the skill and courage displayed by this group of remarkable Australians. Women to the Front is a war story unlike any other.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'On 24 July 2013, Anglican priest Rod Bower put up these words on the roadside sign of his Gosford parish church. Next he posted them on Facebook, sparking a social media revolution. The post was shared thousands of times – suddenly the one-time butcher was on the public stage.
'Today Fr Rod has close to 65,000 followers on social media. He uses this platform to raise questions about Australia’s corporate soul, to assert that we are all brothers and sisters – asylum seekers, Muslims, those identifying as LGBTI, Indigenous Australians '... And for such messages, the death threats pour in. 
'How did a shy adopted kid from the country become this steadfast conscience of our nation, preaching both peace and disruption? Part life story, part love story, part manifesto, Outspoken describes an evolution as surprising as are Fr Rod’s views about Christianity. 
'Utterly frank, both philosophical and funny, this is a singular book by a singular person. It illuminates the life and work of the man behind those signs.'  (Publication summary)

'Celia Ashton has driven ambulances throughout the Blitz for the Bloomsbury Auxiliary Ambulance Depot. Cool under fire, she revels in her exciting and extremely dangerous job.

'When her husband, a known Nazi supporter, is released from prison, Celia refuses to return to her unhappy marriage. Instead she joins forces with Simon Levy, a man who appears to despise her, to help a young Jewish orphan. In so doing she discovers that one ruthless traitor can be more dangerous than any German bomber, and that love can cross any boundary.'  (Publication summary)

'In the early hours of 19 February 1980, Bon Scott, lead singer of the rock band AC/DC, left The Music Machine in Camden, London, with a man called Alistair Kinnear, whereupon he lost consciousness and was left to sleep in Alistair’s Renault 5, parked outside Alistair’s East Dulwich apartment.

'That evening, Bon’s lifeless body was found, still in the car. He was pronounced dead on arrival at King’s College Hospital.

'Less than two months later, far away in the Caribbean, recording began on Back In Black, AC/DC’s tribute to their fallen bandmate. Worldwide, it would go on to become the biggest selling rock album of all time.

'The legend of the man known around the world simply as ‘Bon’ only grows with each passing year – in death the AC/DC icon has become a god to millions of people – but how much of his story is myth or pure fabrication and how much of the real man do we know?

'There have been books that claim to tell his story. They haven’t even come close.

'Jesse Fink, author of the critically acclaimed international bestseller The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC, leaves no stone unturned for Bon: The Last Highway, a book years in the making that finally solves the riddle of the death of Bon Scott.

'The 1977–80 period forged the legend of AC/DC. There wasn’t a harder working band in the music business. But, as Fink startlingly reveals, the relentless AC/DC machine was also threatening to come apart. Fink has answers to the nagging questions rock ’n’ roll fans have been asking since 1980 and reveals secrets that will change music history.

'Bon: The Last Highway is the original, forensic, unflinching and masterful biography Bon Scott has so richly deserved and music fans around the world have been waiting for.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Former Australia captain Ian Chappell once said: 'An international coach is something the Australian team travels in around England.'

'It is a view that has plenty of subscribers. After all, by the time players reach first-class or certainly international level, surely they shouldn’t need to be told how to play, should they?

'Which begs the question: what does the coach of an international cricket team actually do and why has the role assumed such importance in the modern game of cricket?

'In this candid insight from inside the bubble of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup champions, Australia’s head coach Darren Lehmann – also a two-time Cricket World Cup winner as a player – details what his job involves and explains his coaching philosophy, a philosophy fashioned both during his illustrious playing career alongside some of the game’s all-time greats such as Stephen Waugh, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and Glenn McGrath, and also through two significant and shattering brushes with tragedy – the deaths of his mentor David Hookes and young Australia batsman Phillip Hughes.

'This book traces Darren’s path to the top coaching job in Australian cricket, delves into the areas of man-management – including getting the best out of so-called maverick players – examines the coach’s pivotal relationship with his captain, dealing with the mental side of the game and the media, and the highs and lows of the role, as well as addressing the issues of pressure, maintaining a team’s hunger and the part luck plays in success or failure.

'This is a book that is a must-read for everyone keen to get an insight into how a world-class sporting team ticks.' (Publication summary)

As death and destruction fall from the skies day after day in the London Blitz, Australian ambulance driver, Lily Brennan, confronts the horror with bravery, intelligence, common sense and humour.

Although she must rely upon her colleagues to carry out her dangerous duties, Lily begins to suspect that someone at her Ambulance Station may be giving assistance to the enemy by disclosing secret information. Then her Jewish ambulance attendant and best friend, David Levy, disappears in suspicious circumstances. Aided, and sometimes hindered, by David’s school friend, a mysterious and attractive RAF pilot, Lily has to draw on all of her resources to find David but also negotiate the dangers that come from falling in love in a country far from home and in a time of war.

Source: Publisher's Blurb

'The Kane Cornes story is the story of the modern Port Adelaide Football Club. It is a story of triumph, tragedy and renewal. It is an intensely personal and honest story of a young man born into football royalty, who as the son of Glenelg and Crows legend Graham Cornes was hard-wired to detest the club he would adore. It's a story of courage off the field, as Kane and his wife, Lucy, fight for the survival of their critically ill son Eddy.

'Kane tells the inside story of the 2004 premiership, and how after three failed finals campaigns his club established itself as an AFL powerhouse, only to witness the sacking of his beloved coach Mark ‘Choco' Williams.

Kane reveals the chaos that followed, which almost resulted in his own sacking, as the club came close to financial collapse. He charts how the club emerged from its darkest hour – the horrific death of his teammate and friend John McCarthy – to win respect, new fans, and become an AFL finals force again under the inspirational leadership of Ken Hinkley, who rates Kane as one of the club's greatest players and team men of all time.' (Publication summary)

'This is the story of a football champion who crammed more highs and lows into an 11-year career than just about any player of his generation Mark Gasnier sits in the corner of the dressing-room at the Sydney Football Stadium, looks at his Dragons teammates and shakes his head. Another lost finals match. Another premature exit. Another opportunity gone. They've been in this dark place before, but his time it is different. Gasnier knows its terminal. A contract dispute that has been torturing him for two years, having gouged away half his earnings, cannot be reconciled. The next morning, he boards a plane for France and is certain he will never play rugby league again.

This is the story of a football champion who crammed more highs and lows into an 11-year career than just about any player of his generation. Carrying the surname of his uncle and Immortal Reg, he had blinding pace, a shimmy, a step and an innate sense of timing. Whether it was for St George Illawarra, NSW or Australia, he could seemingly sniff out a try at will. As former NSW coach Phil Gould once remarked: "Mark Gasnier, the best centre I have seen."

Yet for a game that came to him so naturally, Gasnier's career was never so straightforward. His famous bloodlines and the notorious hoodoo that had seen the Dragons fail to win a premiership in three decades meant the weight of expectation never went away. A drunken phone call during a NSW bonding session that led to his sacking on the eve of his Origin debut, the curse of injury and the ultimate decision to walk away from the game and play rugby union for Paris glamour club Stade Francais only add to his complex journey. Those obstacles only made the finish - when he returned to the NRL to win the grand final with St George Illawarra - sweeter ... before he shocked everyone again with the early announcement of his retirement.

Throughout his career, Gasnier was guarded with the media. For the first time, he candidly tells his story.' Source: http://www.randomhouse.com.au/ (Sighted 11/09/2012).

'The hilarious and surreal true story of Australia's biggest ever men's magazine launch . . . and the chaos and disasters that followed.

'Paul Merrill was an award-winning women's magazine editor when he was inexplicably chosen to launch Britain's first weekly publication aimed at the "new lad": ZOO. He quickly gained notoriety after running competitions to find the country's randiest nanna, ugliest baby and teen mum of the year, and offering prizes of a boob job for your girlfriend, lesbian wedding and even euthanasia. Then he was suddenly deported to Australia to launch ZOO here, and events became even more outlandish.

'Find out how Merrill:
- persuaded the prime minister's stepdaughter to remove her clothes
- hijacked Kyle Sandilands' wedding
- lost 130,000 pairs of inflatable breasts in the South China Sea
- accidentally gave his home address to a serial killer
- tried to cook a dwarf
- searched for Australia's hottest horse dentist and sexiest wall.

'Containing hundreds of bizarre and unexpected anecdotes, A Polar Bear Ate My Head is the most side-splitting insider's account of the world of magazines ever published. Whether or not you've ever bought a men's mag or been attacked by the world's largest white bear, you will love this book.' (From the publisher's website.)

'Growing up in post-feminist Australia, Nelly Thomas, one of Australia's most gifted and natural comedians, was told she could "have it all". She's giving it a crack - but she still isn't quite sure what "it" is.

'What do women want?

'In pursuit of answers, Thomas has tried being a telemarketer, a professional student, a fast-food worker, a broadcaster, a smoker, a prostitute's confidant, a health advocate, a reality television obsessive, a mother, a partner (or is it girlfriend? lover?), an award-winning comedian, a sex-educator, a Loony Lefty Feminista and a self-confessed fatty boombah. Like many of her generation, she's had a lot of options, yet she's wondering - which do you choose?

'In this hilarious part-memoir, part-manifesto, Thomas navigates the murky waters of her life and womanhood in the twenty-first century. She tackles the big contemporary issues - career, equality, family, porn, sex, entertainment, obesity, parenting, culture, class, Beyonce's derriere - with customary insight and a wickedly dry wit.

'A must-read for the modern Aussie woman.' (From the publisher's website.)

'All surfers dream of shedding responsibilities and answering the siren's call of ocean swells. For most, it is an ideal that recedes as age advances - as family, career and provider fatigue threatens to overwhelm the wanderlust of youth.

'But what if you could defy the slow march of age? Shelve all your worldly pressures, pack up the family and a few trusty surfboards and hit the open road for the Great Australian surfing road trip? Inspired by the dreams of his youth, surf writer Tim Baker embarks on the Big Lap in search of the perfect wave and domestic bliss.

'Surfari documents the state of surf culture and our coastline, and the array of colourful characters who inhabit these parts, evoking all the magic, charm and challenges such a lifestyle entails. It is a story for anyone who has ever dreamed of an alternative to the busy, micro-scheduled existence of work, school, shopping and the daily drudge.

'The result is a lively, colourful account of what happens when you trade your life for another variety, and the delights and dangers that lay in wait when you dare to chase your dreams and follow another path.' (From the publisher's website.)