Australia's Prime Minister and premier diplomat in the 1930/1940s, this new biography presents him as a consistent internationalist and places him in a global context. >

The prime ministership is indisputably the most closely observed and keenly contested office in Australia. How did it grow to become the pivot of national political power? Settling the Office chronicles the development of the prime ministership from its rudimentary early days following Federation through to the powerful, institutionalised prime-ministerial leadership of the postwar era.

An expanded edition of one of the most acclaimed accounts of Australian military history.

In the years between the two world wars of the twentieth century leaders in Western countries worried about a food surplus. The hardships of the Great Depression were intensified by a glut of wheat and consequent low prices on the world market. Yet at the same time nutrition scientists protested that significant proportions of populations, even in affluent countries, were unable to afford a diet adequate for health. Fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meat were out of reach for the poor. This book traces the work of three men who sought to bring together the interests of farmers and the needs of the hungry: scientist and passionate campaigner for better nutrition, John Boyd Orr; Australian politician and international statesman, Stanley Melbourne Bruce; and Economic Adviser to Bruce at the Australian High Commission in London, Frank Lidgett McDougall. Bruce once said McDougall brings me a new idea every morning. One of those ideas became the genesis of their work, which helped bring about the formation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945. All three undertook significant roles in the formative years of the organisation. The story of this contribution to the international world order is little known. The cooperation, diplomacy and persistence of these men provides inspiration for tackling the alarming prospect of food shortages in the present century.

Volunteering his services as a pilot to fly renowned international peace advocate Egon Kisch between Fremantle and Melbourne, Rowland is unaware how hard Australia's new attorney-general will fight to keep the "raging reporter" off Australian soil. In this, it seems, the government is not alone, as clandestine right-wing militias reconstitute into deadly strike forces. A disgraced minister, an unidentified corpse and an old flame all bring their own special bedlam. Once again Rowland Sinclair stands against the unthinkable, with an artist, a poet and a brazen sculptress by his side.

It was an historic moment in Australian political history. A sea of purple balloons filled a packed hall in Sydney's North Ryde, faces young and old beamed with the excitement of change, and one woman was set to make history and claim the seat from Australia's second-longest-serving Prime Minister. It had all the characteristics of a classic tale: David and Goliath, the tortoise and the hare, Don Quixote and the windmill. When Maxine McKew decided to run in Bennelong, she became the ultimate underdog. In The Battle for Bennelong, journalist Margot Saville hits the campaign trail with Maxine McKew, indulging in Maxine's obsession with dim sum, watching her draw yet another raffle and dance excitedly at the Granny Smith Festival. Saville's unprecedented access takes us to campaign dinners, fundraising meet-and-greets, behind the electioneering machine and inside Maxine's house on election night. Saville records her fleeting, tightly managed meetings with the Prime Minister, and the commensurate highs and lows in both camps during the six-week campaign. Saville also includes the episode of the Lindsay 'how to vote' scandal and its devastating repercussions. In a tight contest against John Howard fought on issues such as the economy, WorkChoices and succession plans, did Maxine's dancing affect her primary vote? You'll find out in The Battle for Bennelong.

A BIZARRE MURDER PLUNGES THE HAPLESS AUSTRALIANS INTO A QUEER WORLD OF BRITISH ARISTOCRACY, INTERNATIONAL POLITICS, SCANDAL, SPIES and FASCIST BLACKSHIRTS. A WORLD WHERE GENTLEMEN ARE NOT ALWAYS WHAT THEY ARE DRESSED UP TO BE. The Fifth Book of the Acclaimed Rowland Sinclair Mysteries Handsome, the epitome of stoicism and dignity, wry and witty despite his impeccable manners, protagonist Rowland Sinclair is an Oxford educated gentleman artist in his late 20s who enjoys being the black sheep of his conservative and wealthy family. Rowland has narrowly escaped Germany, damaged – physically and emotionally. Having spent time in Germany as a young man in the 1930s, he is horrified by the changes that have come about under the Nazi government. The country which he knew as the centre of modern art and culture is now, under Hitler, oppressed and brutalised. For the first time, he is moved to take a stance, to try and sway the political thought of the time. He doesn't really know what he is doing, or what should be done, but he is consumed with a notion that something should be done. Aristocrats with secrets. Scandalous rogues clad in tailcoats and sensational gowns. Danger is formally dressed. And Edna, siren, emancipated sculptress, the object of Rowland's deepest, unspoken desires, is by his side and yet out of his reach.