AustLit

'The opposition to the Uluru statement is dispiriting and frustrating but predictable.'

'A Whitlamite sends off an old enemy who became almost a friend.'

'Remembering Richie Benaud and Peter Walsh.' 

'George Brandis was a bad arts minister, but we’ve had worse.'

'Mungo MacCallum started eating at an early age and just got back from lunch. In the meantime he has become one of Australia′s wittiest and most incisive political journalists, written for everyone from the Australian Financial Review and SBS Television to 2JJJ (now TRIPLE J) and Penthouse. In this, his eighth book, he muses on epicurean pleasures past and savoured -- from doing pre-dinner drinks and drugs with Leonard Cohen in the Greek isles to lunching with lobbyists in the fleshpots of Canberra, before escaping to reside, cook, and write some more, on the NSW north coast.

'This unlikely memoir of food and friends (and the occasional rant about tofu), is a call to arms for a no-nonsense approach to shopping, fast food, herbs, restaurants, camping and cooking real food. Enjoy this generous helping of Mungo′s favourite recipes and anecdotes containing (be warned) offal, fat, sugar, cream and other delicious ingredients. This is Mungo as you′ve never read or dined with before. Bon appétit.' (From the publisher's website.)

'Since Australia's birth in 1901, twenty-seven politicians have run the national show. Their time at the top has ranged from eight days for Frank Forde to eighteen years for Bob Menzies. But whatever the length of their term, each Prime Minister has a story worth sharing.

'Edmund Barton united the bickering states in a federation; Billy Hughes forced US President Woodrow Wilson to take notice of Australia. The unlucky Jimmy Scullin took office days before Wall Street crashed into the Great Depression, while John Curtin faced the ultimate challenge of wartime leadership. John Gorton, Gough Whitlam and Paul Keating each shook up their parties' policies so vigorously that none lasted much longer than a single term in office.

'With characteristic wit and expert knowledge, Mungo MacCallum brings the nation's leaders to vivid life. The Good, the Bad and the Unlikely tells the tale of the many men and one woman who've had a crack at running the country. It is a wonderfully entertaining education.' (From the publisher's website.)