AustLit

'Ken Inglis (1929–2017) was one of Australia's best known and most innovative historians. In part based on a colloquium held in Melbourne in 2015, this tribute to him is an exceptional book. It fulfills its task of attempting to explain his life and work, but it does much more in telling us about Australian life between the 1930s and 2000s, particularly about the humanities and social sciences in leading universities between the late 1940s and today. There are twenty two chapters and useful biographical materials, as well as a seventeen-page bibliography of Inglis’ written work, including his journalism. The authors are as good a group as could be assembled and together elucidate his life and set it into context. Inglis was a very Australian historian, although influenced by British and American history and methods. The chapters bring this out nicely as they explore Inglis, whom Bill Gammage fittingly describes in his Introduction as a laconic Australian.'  (Introduction)

'In 1997 Dennis Altman published an autobiography, Defying Gravity: A Political Life, and many of his books, such as The End of the Homosexual? in 2013, are part memoir. This is his second attempt at dedicated autobiographical writing, based on diary entries written between 2016 and 2019. The book revolves around contemporary events but skips back and forth over Altman's long involvement and unrequited love affair with the US, and since the 1970s his presence within gay and LGBTI liberation and then HIV‐AIDS activism. Rather improbably, it works and tells us about his political philosophy, his life and loves, his activism, and the people he has met during a busy life. One of Australia's leading intellectuals, he has trod the world stage for close to half a century. Altman is good at assessing individuals, hilariously funny on occasions, and has had more meals with famous people, attended more conferences and given more interviews than most individuals could ever dream about.' (Introduction)

'There is a fascination for any historian in understanding what motivates their colleagues; why they chose a particular topic, and how they organise their research. Blainey is as big as they get: there is a remarkable list of his monograph publications at the beginning of this book, more than forty titles. He has dominated Australian history for decades with his steadfastly narrative, succinct style, and hardly a mention of theory. He also pioneered light referencing: usually his books have no footnotes, merely annotated notes at the back that mention the main sources. He does occasionally use footnotes very sparingly, which is not the way most academic historians operate. His style, perfected over seventy years, relates to his beginnings as a freelance historian of mining and industry.' (Introduction)

'I have often wondered what would have happened if the British had settled Australia from the north, rather than taking the advice of Cook and Banks and settling first at Botany Bay? While modern Australia was established on the backs of sheep herds, suited to the south, and the southern climate was closer to that of a European summer, the real exploitable wealth for the future was in minerals and agricultural potential, both greatest in the tropical north. Lyndon Megarrity’s book examines the politics of attempts to develop the north, the many failures, and the short‐sighted lack of political will on all sides.' (Introduction)

'Geoffrey Bolton was one of Australia’s greatest historians and writing books about the lives of historians can be a tricky business. I have a colleague who likes to try to rank the top historians in Australia. We have argued over where Bolton would fit in the list. I have always said that he ranks in the first five. He was productive over several decades and covered diverse topics from the British Empire to the Perth street in which he grew up. He did not have a niche and was also peripatetic, working in many places, a true historian for all seasons. How then would one design a book to commemorate his life without creating an exaggerated eulogy to a great historian? ' (Introduction)