AustLit

'When John Devitt won Olympic 100-metre freestyle gold in 1960, his inspiration was Healy. He always wanted to write his hero's biography. Now, on the centenary of Healy's death, Devitt has joined with Larry Writer to produce an extraordinary tale of a man who was born to swim, earned sporting immortality but then sacrificed all. The book recalls Australia's first great era of swimming, our early Olympic achievements and the rise of the surf lifesaving movement. Healy helped organise the visit of Duke Kahanamoku to Australia in the summer of 1914-15, an adventure that inspired generations of board riders.

'Three years earlier, at the Stockholm Olympics, he refused to race in the 100 metres final unless the Duke, the race favourite, was also allowed to swim. The great Hawaiian had missed his semi-final, after a misunderstanding over the starting time. Cecil later won gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay, but it was his altruism that earned him a place in sport's highest pantheon. When John Devitt adopted his sporting hero, he could not have chosen a finer man.' (Publication summary)

'At the age of 21, James Dack found himself alone and responsible for raising his younger brother Stephen when their loving mother lost a long battle with cancer. Long estranged from their abusive and alcoholic father, the pair were soon homeless and sleeping on the floor of the gym at the local Police Citizens Youth Club.

'This is the powerful story of the brothers' struggle to survive the often brutal culture of the inner-city public housing estates they called home and find their places in the world - James as a real estate millionaire and Steve, after battling alcoholism, as a criminal lawyer - without going far from the neighbourhood that shaped them.

'It's also a story of loyalty, to each other, their heartland Woolloomooloo in Sydney, and most of all, to the memory of their mother whose love was always the compass that ensured they kept their bearings.' (From the publisher's website.)