Warrior Elite: Australia's Special Forces - From Z Force and the SAS to the Wars of the Future by Robert Macklin

$9.95 AUD

Category: Military

WARRIOR ELITE is a unique and compelling account of Australia's special forces and intelligence operations - ranging from the early special forces of World War II to the establishment and development of the SAS and Commando Regiments as the elite fighters of today, and from the Australian Security Intel ligence Service to the Australian Signals Directorate and ASIO. It is an authoritative, gripping and thoroughly up-to-date account of both the history and current state of our special forces and intelligence bodies - and gives a unique glimpse into the warfare of the future. Our future. ROBERT MACKLIN has conducted dozens of exclusive interviews and uncovered incredible, daring and sometimes heartbreaking stories of the elite troops that guard our nation and engage in secret operations around the world. He has had significant cooperation from numerous sources within the special forces and the various intelligence agencies. Both thoroughly researched and colourfully written, WARRIOR ELITE will attract the reader of action memoirs as well as those interested in broader military history and espionage. ...Show more

King Charles II by Antonia Fraser

$12.00 AUD

Category: General History

The story of King Charles II is one of enduring fascination. The golden childhood of the boy Prince in the Van Dyck pictures gave way to an adventurous youth in Civil War England and abroad, ending traumatically when his father was executed in 1649. Charles II, King at eighteen, succeeded to `nothing bu t the name'. After his valiant attempt to regain the throne was defeated by Cromwell at Worcester, the King made his epic escape - to years of exile, poverty and humiliation in Europe. The `miraculous' Restoration ushered in a reign coloured by a series of equally dramatic events: the Great Plague, the Fire of London, two Dutch Wars, the bizarre Popish Plot, and finally the efforts of the Whigs to exclude his Catholic brother James from the succession, culminating in the King's unexpected triumph over them at the Oxford Parliament of 1681. A lover of women, passionate planner of parks and palaces and friend of the arts, this was the man who was to overcome the many problems of his reign and die not only in control of his country but in the affection of his countrymen. In this meticulously researched biography, Antonia Fraser offers important judgements and reassessments on central questions of the reign, such as Charles's relationships, his attitude to Kingship, his patriotism and his religious beliefs. Above all she has succeeded in writing a totally compelling narrative, both moving and exciting, and showing all the skills and insights which have secured her place as one of the foremost biographers of our time. `A rich feast of instruction, drama and entertainment' TLS `The fullest and most sophisticated account of the most charming and approachable of English Kings' OBSERVER ...Show more

Ingenious Mr. Fairchild by Michael Leapman

$6.50 AUD

Category: General History

By the early eighteenth century botanists were inching towards the shocking truth that plants had male and female organs and reproduced sexually. The first person to realize the practical implications of this was London nurseryman and author Thomas Fairchild. By transferring the pollen of a sweet Willia m into the pistil of a carnation, he created a new plant that became known as 'Fairchild's Mule': the first man-made hybrid in Europe. But this primitive form of genetic engineering aroused a scientific and religious furore.Michael Leapman offers fascinating and colourful detail about the life and times of Fairchild, a troubled, gentle soul whose pioneering work changed the course of horticulture and paved the way for the growth of gardening as a cultural obsession.'A beguiling perambulation around the Georgian nursery trade.' Sir Roy Strong, "Daily Mail" ...Show more

Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel

$12.00 AUD

Category: General History

From the international best-selling author of Longitude, Galileo's Daughter is the fascinating story of the relationship between the great Italian scientist Galileo and his daughter, Virginia. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was the foremost scientist of his day, 'the father of modern physics - indeed of mo dern science altogether' in the words of Albert Einstein. Though he never left the Italy of his birth, his inventions and discoveries were heralded around the world. His telescopes allowed him to reveal a new reality in the heavens and to defend the astounding proposition that the Earth actually moves around the Sun. For this belief he faced the Holy Office of the Inquisition and was subsequently tried for heresy and threatened with torture. Galileo is brought to life here as never before - a man boldly compelled to explain the truths he discovered, human in his frailties and faith, devoted to family and, especially, to his daughter. Since there could be no hope of marriage for his illegitimate daughter Galileo placed her, aged thirteen, in a convent near him in Florence. She proved to be his greatest source of strength through his most difficult years. Through letters, contemporary writings, their voices are brought to vivid life and woven into Dava Sobel's compelling narrative. Galileo's Daughter tells the story of the most dramatic collision in history between science and religion. Dava Sobel illuminates an entire era, when the flamboyant Medici Grand Dukes became Galileo's patrons, when the Bubonic plague destroyed a generation and prayer was the most effective medicine, when one man fought to reconcile the Heaven he revered as a good Catholic with the heavens he revealed through his telescope. Galileo's Daughter is a rich and unforgettable story. ...Show more

Krakatoa: the Day the World Exploded by Simon Winchester

$12.00 AUD

Category: General History

On 27 August 1883 the most terrifying volcanic eruption occurred on the island of Krakatoa, five miles off the western tip of Java. The island was destroyed and almost 40,000 people were killed. The impact was truly global: ships sailing in the Red Sea were covered in ash; barometers went haywire in Was hington; the seas were disturbed in Devon; stunning sunsets burned over London; immense rafts of pumice floated to Africa. In his wonderfully engaging and inimitable style, Simon Winchester brings to life the drama, the people and the science behind this iconic event. He explains how Krakatoa is the key to answering our questions about why mountains explode, how life begins and what happens beneath the earth's surface; and hence why the word 'Krakatoa' has become embedded in the consciousness of the modern world. Simon Winchester's book is the first to truly explain the eruption of Krakatoa. Simon Winchester was born and educated in England, has lived in Africa, India and Asia, and now lives in New York. Having reported from almost everywhere during an award-winning twenty-year career as a Guardian foreign correspondent, he is currently the Asia-Pacific editor for Cond ...Show more

Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir

$7.95 AUD

Category: General History

Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, was one of the leading personalities of the Middle Ages, and also one of the most controversial. Having inherited a vast feudal domain stretching from the Loire to the Pyrenees, she was one of the greatest heiresses in history; yet in her own day, she was famous not only f or who she was, but also for what she did. In an age when women were treated as mere chattels, she made her own choices, wielded power and won widespread respect. Circumstances, however, dictated that her memory would be sullied by calumny and misunderstanding. Eleanor was no saint. She was beautiful, intelligent and wilful, and in her lifetime there were rumours about her that were not without substance. Her contemporaries were sometimes scandalised by her behaviour. She had been reared in a relaxed and licentious court where the arts of the troubadours flourished, and was even said to have presided over the fabled Courts of Love. Eleanor married in turn Louis VII of France and Henry II of England, and was the mother of Richard the Lionheart and King John. She lived to be 82, but it was only in old age that she triumphed over the adversities and tragedies of her earlier years and became virtual ruler of England. Eleanor has exerted a fascination over writers and biographers for 800 years, but the prevailing myths and legends that attach to her name still tend to obscure the truth. By careful research, Alison Weir has produced a vivid biography with a fresh and provocative perspective on this extraordinary woman. ...Show more

The World of Henry Lawson

$12.00 AUD

Category: Australiana

The Girl from Botany Bay by Carolly Erickson

$9.95 AUD

Category: Australiana

Acclaim for Carolly Erickson"Carolly Erickson is one of the most accomplished and successful historical biographers writing in English."-The Times Literary SupplementThe First Elizabeth"Even more readable and absorbing than the justly praised works of Tuchman and Fraser. A vivid and eminently readable p ortrait of history's favorite Tudor."-The New York Times Book Review"A masterpiece of narrative, a story so absorbing it is as hard to put down as a fine novel."-Los Angeles Times Book ReviewAlexandra"Gifted . . . breathless . . . heartbreaking . . . Erickson excels."-Chicago TribuneJosephine"An intimate, richly detailed, and candid portrait . . . Erickson's] scholarly insights combine superbly with a mastery of period manners more often found in the best historical fiction."-Kirkus ReviewsMistress Anne"Carolly Erickson is a most admirable biographer, and this book is highly enjoyable as well as being reliable and acute; indeed, it is popular historical biography at its best."--The Times (London) ...Show more

Ion Idriess's Greatest Stories : Of Miners and Soldiers by Ion L. Idriess

$19.95 AUD

Category: Australiana

Lords' Dreaming - The 1868 Aboriginal Tour of England and Beyond by Ashley Mallett

$12.00 AUD

Category: Australiana

Charles Lawrence, an Englishman living in Australia, led a team of Aboriginals in a cricket tour of England in 1868 where they played 47 matches; 14 won, 14 lost and 19 drawn. It was the first Australian tour of England and the only time when an all Aboriginal team has represented Australia. This book d etails the culture clash between the Aboriginals and Lawrence's English roots. The Aboriginal team learnt cricket only for the tour and had never played before. Playing against the Aboriginal team was the young W.G. Grace, while today in Lords there are numerous mementos of that tour: including a boomerang that depicts the life of Dick-a-Dick, one of the players on the tour. ...Show more

Frill-Necked Frenzy by Kenneth Cook

$7.95 AUD

Category: Australiana

A collection of short stories, mostly humorous, mostly autobiographical, uniquely Australian.

" A VERY GOOD BUSINESS" : ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES LIMITED 1888-1988 by BRIAN CARROLL

$19.95 AUD

Category: Australiana