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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'James Button spent a year writing speeches for Kevin Rudd. Before that, he reported on politics as a highly regarded journalist for Fairfax. But James also has politics in the blood: his father was the diminutive but larger-than-life Senator John Button, who was a minister in the Hawke and Keating governments. Growing up, James watched a roll-call of political luminaries debating the fate of the Labor Party. He saw great victories and defeats at close hand. He believes both his father and his family paid a heavy price for politics. Speechless is James' highly personal account of a year working in Canberra, seen from both the inside and the outside. It's told through his experience of Kevin Rudd's failure to tell his story, and how this helped destroy his prime ministership. It also reflects on how far the Labor Party has moved from the idealism and pragmatism of his father's generation. He ends on a note of hope for the Party's revival.' (Publisher's website)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
Works about this Work
-
Books for Our Time
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: Island , Winter no. 133 2013; (p. 16-17) -
After the Game
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Monthly , November no. 84 2012; (p. 54-56)
— Review of Tales from the Political Trenches 2012 single work autobiography ; Speechless : A Year in My Father's Business 2012 single work autobiography -
The Snow Leopard in Canberra
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 346 2012; (p. 18-19)
— Review of Speechless : A Year in My Father's Business 2012 single work autobiography -
Labor Politics, from Inside Out
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3-4 November 2012; (p. 20-21)
— Review of Speechless : A Year in My Father's Business 2012 single work autobiography -
Son in the Shadow
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 27 October 2012; (p. 31) The Sydney Morning Herald , 27-28 October 2012; (p. 37)
— Review of Speechless : A Year in My Father's Business 2012 single work autobiography
-
Following in Father's Footsteps
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 13 October 2012; (p. 24-25)
— Review of Speechless : A Year in My Father's Business 2012 single work autobiography -
Son in the Shadow
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 27 October 2012; (p. 31) The Sydney Morning Herald , 27-28 October 2012; (p. 37)
— Review of Speechless : A Year in My Father's Business 2012 single work autobiography -
Labor Politics, from Inside Out
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3-4 November 2012; (p. 20-21)
— Review of Speechless : A Year in My Father's Business 2012 single work autobiography -
The Snow Leopard in Canberra
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 346 2012; (p. 18-19)
— Review of Speechless : A Year in My Father's Business 2012 single work autobiography -
After the Game
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Monthly , November no. 84 2012; (p. 54-56)
— Review of Tales from the Political Trenches 2012 single work autobiography ; Speechless : A Year in My Father's Business 2012 single work autobiography -
Books for Our Time
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: Island , Winter no. 133 2013; (p. 16-17)
Awards
- 2015 shortlisted Melbourne Prize — Melbourne Prize for Literature
- 2013 longlisted Walkley Award
- 2013 shortlisted National Biography Award
- 2013 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian General Non-Fiction Book of the Year
Last amended 25 Feb 2020 16:06:40
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