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'The Costello Memoirs is a frank and fearless look inside the engine-room of the Liberal Party and the Howard Government.
'In a political career spanning eighteen years, Peter Costello, Australia's longest serving Treasurer, steered the Government through some of its greatest economic and political challenges, paying off Government debt, introducing the GST and fighting five elections.
'What were the backroom deals that made the GST possible? How did Costello transform the Australian economy from Asia's 'white trash' into the economic powerhouse able to withstand the financial meltdown of the late 1990s?
'What did Costello make of the Liberal Leaders he served with, and why did he find it so easy to trounce Labor's Shadow Treasurers?
'For the first time, the facts about the McLachlan memorandum on the leadership transition from Howard to Costello are revealed. How-and why-did the Liberal Party pass up the chance to make generational change and revitalise a Government that was sliding into defeat?
'The Costello Memoirs answers these questions, and charts the victories and defeats in one man's very public life.' (Publisher's blurb)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Menzies and Howard on Themselves : Liberal Memoir, Memory and Myth Making
2018
single work
criticism
— Appears in: History Australia , vol. 15 no. 1 2018; (p. 7-22)'This article compares the memoirs of Sir Robert Menzies and John Howard, as well as Howard’s book on Menzies, examining what these works by the two most successful Liberal prime ministers indicate about the evolution of the Liberal Party’s liberalism. Howard’s memoirs are far more ‘political’, candid and ideologically engaged than those of Menzies. Howard acknowledges that politics is about political power and winning it, while Menzies was more concerned with the political leader as statesman. Howard’s works can be viewed as a continuation of the ‘history wars’. He wishes to create a Liberal tradition to match that of the Labor Party.' (Publication abstract)
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Memoirs a Flood of Rancour and Record
Deluge of Memoirs Driven by Rancour and Record
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 9-10 August 2014; (p. 31) The Canberra Times , 9 August 2014; (p. 4) 'Kevin Rudd is one of the few major figures resisting the urge to spill the beans, writes Linda Morris. -
Life Stories : From Rift to Riff
2010
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 30 October 2010; (p. 3) -
Writing the Costello Memoirs
2008
single work
prose
— Appears in: The Sydney Papers , Summer vol. 20 no. 4 2008; (p. 51-53) -
On Being a Co-Author
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: Quadrant , December vol. 52 no. 12 2008; (p. 52-53)
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The Man Who Wouldn't Be King
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 20 September 2008; (p. 21)
— Review of The Costello Memoirs 2008 single work autobiography -
This Week's Selections
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 27 September 2008; (p. 13)
— Review of The Costello Memoirs 2008 single work autobiography -
Ambition from the Sidelines
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 27-28 September 2008; (p. 14-15)
— Review of The Costello Memoirs 2008 single work autobiography -
He Should Have Known Better
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , October vol. 3 no. 9 2008; (p. 9-10)
— Review of The Costello Memoirs 2008 single work autobiography -
Don't Ignore Pete, He's Got a Lot to Say
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 18 October 2008; (p. 16)
— Review of The Costello Memoirs 2008 single work autobiography -
Thanks for the Memoirs : Costello Sells His Story
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 31 August 2008; (p. 3) -
Seller or Cellar? Costello Book Ailing
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 21 September 2008; (p. 10) -
Costello Outsold by a Cookbook
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 27-28 September 2008; (p. 9) -
Undercover
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 11-12 October 2008; (p. 30) A column canvassing current literary news including a brief report on sales of Peter Costello's The Costello Memoirs and a note about the release of an Australian edition of the Spectator. -
The Conflict Business
2008
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Monthly , November no. 40 2008; (p. 54-56, 58)