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From the bestselling author of The Bush, the highly acclaimed story of a fifty-year relationship between a Vietnam veteran and an isolated clan in north-east Arnhem Land – a unique window into Australia’s deep past and precarious present, by one of our master storytellers. ‘How to sum up this story? It’s uncontainable. It wrangles worlds. It keeps getting wider and deeper like a stone in a pond. At its heart – an extraordinary telling of an extraordinary friendship.’ Paul Kelly Longlisted for the 2023 Mark & Evette Moran Nib Literary Award Now in trade paperback, one of Australia’s favourite writers on ‘questions at the heart of Australian history, politics and identity’ (ABR). Fascinating, funny, challenging and beautifully written – ‘a truly remarkable achievement’ (Peter Carey). The Passion of Private White describes the meeting of two worlds: that of the intensely driven anthropologist Neville White, and the world of hunter-gatherer clans in remote northern Australia with whom he has lived and worked for half a century, mapping their culture and history in breathtaking detail. As White began to understand this ancient culture struggling between the demands of Western modernity and the equally pressing need to preserve their lands, customs, laws and language, he was also trying to transcend the mental scars inflicted on the battlefields of Vietnam. Eventually, scholarly observer crossed the line into activist, advocate and defender of the clans’ effort to create a safe and healthy homeland, a seat both of traditional culture and contemporary skills and education. The enterprise meant overcoming everything from insatiable mining companies and official incompetence and neglect, to customs that were fundamental in the old way of life but dysfunctional in the transition to the new. When White began taking his old platoon mates to the homeland, two wildly different groups found in each other some of the solutions and some of the therapy they both needed. Don Watson has had his own fifty-year relationship with Neville White, since meeting him as an undergraduate in Melbourne. This book is the result: moving, enlightening, devastating and inspiring, it is a towering achievement, a profound insight into both our recent and our deep history, the coloniser and colonised – indeed into the human condition itself. 'A truly magnificent achievement' – Peter Carey ‘Remarkable, wholly unexpected and original … [by] one of Australia’s finest writers. It sounds like a lugubrious farce and sometimes it reads that way. But it is a deeply serious enquiry into questions at the heart of Australian history, politics and identity. – Tom Griffiths, Australian Book Review ‘This is the tale of two tribes – one ancient, one modern, both wounded and alienated – and how they came together. It is not, thankfully, a white saviour story: in many ways, it’s Donydji who saves the vets. But it’s also a tale far messier and more interesting than that … about tenacity, commitment, listening – and humanity itself.’ – Linda Jaivin, The Saturday Paper 'A witty and compassionate book about friendship, Indigenous self-determination and people under stress.' – The Conversation

The Question Of Palestine'A compelling call for identity and justice.' ANTHONY LEWIS A groundbreaking account of the history of Palestine by one of the world's most eloquent scholars of the Middle East, featuring a new foreword by Saree Makdisi. This original and deeply provocative book was the first to make Palestine the subject of a serious debate - one that is now more critical than ever. With the rigorous scholarship that he brought to his influential Orientalism and an exile's passion (he was Palestinian by birth and had been a member of the Palestine National Council), Edward W. Said traces the fatal collision between two peoples in the Middle East and its repercussions in the lives of both the occupier and the occupied - as well as in the conscience of the West. He updated this landmark work to portray the changed status of Palestine and its people in light of such developments as the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the intifada, the Gulf War, and the ongoing Middle East peace initiative. For anyone interested in this region and its future, The Question of Palestine remains the most useful and authoritative account available. 'Books such as Mr Said's need to be written and read in the hope that understanding will provide a better chance of survival.' New York Times Book Review 'A rguably New York's most famous public intellectual after Hannah Arendt and Susan Sontag, and America's most prominent advocate for Palestinian rights.' - Pankaj Mishra, New Yorker 'Edward Said is among the truly important intellectuals of our century.' - Nadine Gordimer 'For those of us who see the struggle between Eastern and Western descriptions of the world as both an internal and an external struggle, Edward Said has for many years been an especially important voice.' - Salman Rushdie 'In this seminal text, Edward Said stridently diagnoses western hypocrisy and makes the case for Palestinian liberation, paving the way for so many thinkers who came after him. I wish it were not so, but The Question of Palestine is just as relevant now as it was in 1979.' - Isabella Hammad, author of Enter Ghost 'This re-issue of The Question of Palestine only lends more weight and value to Edward Said's work, to his vision and analysis, to the enduring need for his core principles of justice and empathy. Principles that have perhaps never been as severely tested as they are today. Passionate and patient, the book displays all the features that made Said a great thinker and a powerful advocate, whose absence continues to be felt.' - Ahdaf Soueif, author of Cairo- My City, Our Revolution

The Science Book DK's bestselling guide to the "big ideas" of science - now fully revised and updatedDid the universe start with a Big Bang? Is light a wave, a particle - or both? Is a "Theory of Everything" possible?Explaining the key milestones in the field of science in a clear and simple way, The Science Book answers these questions and more besides, and is the perfect introduction to the subject. Untangling knotty theories and shedding light on abstract concepts, entries unpack each complex idea with a combination of easy-to-follow explanations, innovative graphics, and intriguing quotes.Discover the most important theories of history's greatest scientists, why Copernicus's ideas were so contentious, how Einstein developed the concept general and special relativity, and the reasoning behind Crick and Watson's proposed structure for DNA, and much more besides.Fully revised and updated with eight brand-new pages of content, The Science Book is a truly accessible and comprehensive route into a fascinating subject. Packed with scientific quotations, profiles of key figures and discoveries, and flowcharts and infographics that explain the most significant concepts clearly and simply, it is perfect for anyone with an interest in any of the sciences.

A tale of great enterprise and great fortitude, and of wonderful female solidarity and nobility of spirit, in the bleakest of circumstances.For decades after World War II, histories of the French Resistance were written almost exclusively by men and largely ignored the contributions of women. Many current overviews of the subject continue to underplay the extent and importance of women's participation in the Resistance, treating the subject, in the words of one historian, as 'an anonymous background element in an essentially male story'.The Sisterhood of Ravensbr ck corrects that omission, surveying the bond between four women - Germaine Tillion, Anise Girard, Genevieve de Gaulle, and Jacqueline d'Alincourt - who fought valiantly against Nazi oppression. While the women belonged to different Resistance movements and networks, they were united by a common thread- they were arrested by the Gestapo, underwent merciless interrogations and beatings, were jailed - and, most significantly, survived, if just barely, the hell of Ravensbr ck, the only concentration camp designed specifically for women. In an institution designed to dehumanise and kill, the sisterhood maintained their sense of self and joined together to face down death.Remarkably, in the aftermath of World War II, the women once again joined forces to find a way to transcend the horrors of the war and turn it into something good for themselves and the world. The Sisterhood of Ravensbr ck is an illuminating, inspiring account.'This thoroughly researched, absorbing tale incorporates the lives of many other female resistance fighters, and a key theme running through the book is that the vital role of women in the movement has been either ignored or played down. It's a story of incredible individual bravery that also emphasises the crucial importance and intensity of the lifelong bond between them that was forged in the hell-hole of Ravensbruck ... Among other things, this is an inspiring study of character, courage and grace under pressure.'-Steven Carroll, The Age/The Sydney Morning Herald'This illuminating narrative history spotlights the bravery and strength of a tight-knit group of Frenchwomen imprisoned during World War II in the all-female forced-labor concentration camp Ravensbr ck.'-The Washington Post'Agents of the French Resistance find life-lasting, soul-saving, history-changing friendships in an all-female concentration camp ... The author's portrayal of the women's postwar work, relationships, and notoriety inspires even greater awe at their widespread, ongoing positive impact. Both devastating and galvanising, an account of how the best of humanity can rise to oppose the very worst.'-Kirkus Reviews

The Tyranny Of Distance Geoffrey Blainey has been Professor of Economic History and Ernest Scott Professor of History at the University of Melbourne, and Professor of Australian Studies at Harvard. His other books include "Triumph of the Nomads", "A Land Half Won" and "Our Side of the Country". He lives in Melbourne.

The unprecedented scale and destruction of the First World War meant that hundreds of thousands of soldiers perished without being properly identified in death. Over 300,000 names were left without bodies to match; bodies, or fragments of bodies, were left without names. Three hundred thousand families waiting in vain to know what happened to their loved ones. In response to this devastation, an idea was born. A single tomb in Westminster Abbey, housing the remains of an unidentified soldier, to commemorate every one of the missing alongside the nation’s poets, artists, scientists and kings. In The Unknown Warrior, Sunday Times-bestselling author John Nichol embarks on a quest to tell the history of this idea and how it came to be realised. Along the way, he uses diaries, archives and interviews with the descendants of that lost generation to unearth the stories of some of those who died on the battlefield, and their friends who survived, often struggling with the memories of their fallen comrades and the horrors of war. He talks to contemporary experts in battle-field recovery, organising state occasions, and what it's like to lose someone you love in combat and have no body to bury. Drawing on Nichol’s own experience of combat, The Unknown Warrior is above all a search for the true meaning of camaraderie, sacrifice and remembrance.

A dramatic chronicle of America's longest and most controversial war This revised and updated guide to the Vietnam War charts the unforgettable story of America's longest and most controversial conflict, 50 years on from its end.Hundreds of insightful images and a compelling narrative combine to chronicle this catastrophic war. From 1955, the communist government of North Vietnam waged war against South Vietnam and its main ally, the USA. Over the course of two decades of hostility and warfare, the number of casualties reached an incomprehensible three million people.Detailed descriptions of every episode, including Operation Passage to Freedom and the evacuation of the American embassy in Saigon, tell the stories in iconic photographs and eyewitness accounts. Discover the real people behind the conflict, with gripping biographies of key figures, including Henry Kissinger, General Thieu, President Nixon, and Pol Pot. This incredible visual record is supported by locator maps, at-a-glance timelines, archive photography, and key quotations to ensure an all-encompassing experience.The Vietnam War is an essential historic reference to help humanity learn the lessons of suffering and sacrifice from one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 20th century.

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER *LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION* 'The beauty of The Wager unfurls like a great sail... one of the finest nonfiction books I’ve ever read' Guardian ‘The greatest sea story ever told’ Spectator 'I cannot think of anyone who would not love this book . . . It is an extraordinary true story, beautifully written' Richard Osman ‘A cracking yarn… Grann’s taste for desperate predicaments finds its fullest expression here’ Observer From the international bestselling author of KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON and THE LOST CITY OF Z, a mesmerising story of shipwreck, mutiny and murder, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. On 28th January 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty’s ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon, the Wager was wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The crew, marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing 2,500 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes. Then, six months later, another, even more decrepit, craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways and they had a very different story to tell. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes – they were mutineers. The first group responded with counter-charges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous captain and his henchmen. While stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death—for whomever the court found guilty could hang.

Tobruk 75Th Anniversary EditionThe definitive account of when Australia's famed Rats of Tobruk they took on General Erwin Rommel, The Desert Fox.The classic story of 1941's Battle of Tobruk, in which more than 15,000 Australian troops - backed by British artillery - fought in excruciating desert heat through eight long months, against Rommel's formidable Afrika Korps.During the dark heart of World War II, when Hitler turned his attention to conquering North Africa, a distracted and far-flung Allied force could not give its all to the defence of Libya. So the job was left to the roughest, toughest bunch that could be mustered: the Australian Imperial Force. The AIF's defence of the harbour city of Tobruk against the Afrika Korps' armoured division is not only the stuff of Australian legend, it is one of the great battles of all time, as against the might of General Rommel and his Panzers, the Australians relied on one factor in particular to give them the necessary strength against the enemy: mateship.Drawing on extensive source material - including diaries and letters, many never published before - this extraordinary book, written in Peter FitzSimons' highly readable style, is the definitive account of this remarkable chapter in Australia's history.

Writers' Journeys That Shaped Our World invites you to follow in the footsteps of some of the world's most famous authors on the travels that inspired their greatest works.