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Elsie Levy was born in the Jewish East End of London, came to Sydney with her family when she was 14, and joined the Communist Party of Australia when she was a young woman. In this book, her son explores her disaporic Jewish identity, both English and Australian, and in the process journeys into Jewish cultural histories. We meet important cultural figures such as Leonard Woolf, Freud, Schnitzler, Veza Canetti and Ida Rubinstein. This journey leads also to English anti-Semitism, including, shockingly, Bloomsbury. In turning to Communism and marrying out, Elsie Levy became one of history's undutiful daughters.

Elsie Levy was born in the Jewish East End of London, came to Sydney with her family when she was 14, and joined the Communist Party of Australia when she was a young woman. In this book, her son explores her disaporic Jewish identity, both English and Australian, and in the process journeys into Jewish cultural histories. We meet important cultural figures such as Leonard Woolf, Freud, Schnitzler, Veza Canetti and Ida Rubinstein. This journey leads also to English anti-Semitism, including, shockingly, Bloomsbury. In turning to Communism and marrying out, Elsie Levy became one of history's undutiful daughters.

John Docker grew up in Bondi, the son of Communist parents, his mother Jewish from the East End of London and his father of Irish descent. His Bondi is not the site of sunny mindlessness but rather a place of intense immigrant and political life. This book traces his often comic experiences at Bondi Wellington Primary School and Randwick Boys High School. At the University of Sydney from 1963, he became a teenage Leavisite and participated in the anarchistic New Left. With Ann Curthoys he travelled on the Hippie Trail through Asia to London, which became for both the scene of what Gorky referred to as the University of Life.

John Docker grew up in Bondi, the son of Communist parents, his mother Jewish from the East End of London and his father of Irish descent. His Bondi is not the site of sunny mindlessness but rather a place of intense immigrant and political life. This book traces his often comic experiences at Bondi Wellington Primary School and Randwick Boys High School. At the University of Sydney from 1963, he became a teenage Leavisite and participated in the anarchistic New Left. With Ann Curthoys he travelled on the Hippie Trail through Asia to London, which became for both the scene of what Gorky referred to as the University of Life.

From life in small New South Wales country towns to the glitter of Sydney, this memoir explores life in a changing Australia, from age 7 to 17. Especially written and recorded for ABC radio, this book evokes an innocent Australia through a quietly comic delivery, where we witness again holidays in quiet seaside villages, the days when newspapers were king, Decimal Currency Day was a big thing and Beatles haircuts were all the rage. When teenagers were inspired by pop music to a fresh idealism, protest and groovy gear. When man walked on the moon. A journey through the drama and excitement of an Australia now known only by memory. This is the first publication of Growing Up in the 60s as broadcast on ABC's Nightlife several times, and on many ABC regional stations including Broken Hill, Wagga Wagga, Camberra, Upper Hunter, Tamworth and Darwin.

 

- Jane Cadzow, The Australian

This is the graphic, authentic and often humorous autobiography of a young man's journey into Melbourne's underworld and nightclub scene in the recent past.

'The Hammer' was a feared enforcer capable of inflicting indescribable pain on anyone that stood in has way. Supreme violence and a manipulative calculating streak were tools of the trade.

This story gives the reader a rare insight into addiction, the dark art of violence and ego involved in the world of a drug dealer, debt collector and stand over man in Melbourne's underworld scene.

An embracing family background and unwavering ability to believe he was destined for redemption allowed 'The Hammer' to claw his way back from the darkness and use his hard-earned experience to assist men to break the cycle of addiction and crime and re-discover their own power and spirit.

Nice work mate! Proud of you and glad to call you my friend. - Trevor Hendy AM

Fresh out of school and emerging as one of Australia's future distance running stars, Emma Carney discovered the sport of triathlon. The sport was never the same again. With an unmatched record, she devastated the international circuit. Defined by a relentless pursuit of sporting excellence, Emma was known to detest losing more than she loved to win.

At home in the cutthroat world of professional sport, Emma didn't expect a welcoming party waiting for her when she reached the pinnacle of triathlon. A fiercely independent athlete, fitting in and conforming was never her style. Rules annoyed her. Authority irritated her. And that complicated things…

Emma's is a life publicly defined by winning. But like sport, nothing is predictable. Success is fickle, life is fragile.

Emma's story reveals that international sporting success is about much more than winning. Courage is a constant. Hard work and dedication are vital, as are unwavering passion, belief, and desire. But there is more. Emma's story also raises questions: who is truly there when things go wrong, when the system fails? Who cares when you find yourself dying on the roadside, saving yourself only to then lose your sister, identity, self-belief and hope in everything you once believed in...?

The Waters family amazed and inspired their neighbour Margaret Wentworth. She'd never met a man with bigger dreams than Ces, the charismatic father, nor one from such unpromising beginnings.

He'd bashed, thieved and pimped in Manchester slums, did time and migrated to Australia. There he planned an assault on some of the world of sport's most glittering prizes. Sons Dean, Guy and Troy rose to dizzying heights. Troy came close to a world title in a San Diego boxing ring. On results, Ces Waters ranks among Australia's greatest trainers and motivators.

They saved doomed dogs, made winning horses out of old nags, ate no meat, drank no alcohol, never swore and focused single-mindedly on reaching the top.

She co-produced a documentary, 'Rebels with a Cause', about him, and began a biography, the basis for this book.

But when Ces' rival was murdered, Margaret realise the man she was writing about was a lie. To silence her, Ces threatened the biographer's life. She was trapped. His laughter, jokes, yarns and 'honesty' hid his sick obsessiveness and psychopathic ruthlessness. This manipulator operated at a level your office control freak only dreams of.

'Hellbent' is a radical biography which shows how Ces used truth and lies to gain the author's trust and cloud her eyes, and how she began to see again.

Why was Ces Waters compared to Charles Manson in court?

Why did he threaten his biographer's life?

How did his three sons rise so high in boxing?

Why was Allen Hall shot dead one night?

Why was Dean Waters acquitted?

Was Ces Waters a pimp?

Was the Waters clan's clean living a total fraud?

How did Ces Waters exercise the steely control he did?

This book's introduction is clear about where culturally diverse women stand in the 2020s: 'while we have made some meaningful inroads towards equality, we are nowhere near enough to where we need to be.' Such women face the glass ceiling of their gender, and a cultural ceiling as well.

 

It assembles the voices of over 40 women from many walks of life, many of them high achievers, who detail the difficulties and the triumphs they have met within their lives. Their stories, strength and resilience inspire.

 

Her Voice arose from the Food for Thought network, founded 20 years ago in Melbourne, made up of Greek Australian women originally, but quickly drawing in other migrant women and daughters of migrants through friendship, love and the recognition of how much they had in common.

 

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"...a beautiful book! it's such a triumph - the content, the design, the intent." - Maggie Hamilton, Sydney

"...A monumental book, a gift not only to Greek women but to multicultural Australia, a historical reference point for future generations ... it should be read by all men and women ... Touching, and inspiring" - Bill Papastergiadis OAM, Melbourne 

"...Narrated with an authentic voice, this book is a treasure trove of life journeys." - Zografina Kopanidis, Melbourne 

"Varvara's story and her book is beautiful and inspiring, a true display of intelligence, determination and empowerment ... These small windows into other womens choices reminds me how important relatable role models and mentors are for our girls." - Dora Kordakis, Melbourne

"I couldn't put the book down because literally and metaphorically I heard their voices. I cried. I giggled. I rejoiced. I connected with all of them. A brilliant book of historic importance." - Maria Makris, Melbourne 

"Many thanks to Varvara for introducing me to so many wonderful and inspirational women. In particular, I found the key events that shaped and assisted each woman in her journey, to be very interesting! There is certainly valuable advice for younger women who read "Her Voice: Greek Women and their friends". - Sandra Keown

"...Amazing book ... a valuable resource for anyone who seeks to understand the role of women within our community and beyond and Varvara Ioannou deserves our heartfelt gratitude ... she is a national treasure ... many of the achievements of women are glossed over, effaced or obscured. This volume allows Greek women of all ages and others connected to our community to speak for themselves. What they choose to say about themselves and their worldview is significant." - Dean Kalimniou, Melbourne

"It is a wonderful book with a lot to offer and Varvara should be very proud of having brought it all to us women from all backgrounds but especially for women of Greek origin." - Marina Marangos, Brisbane

Alister Kershaw was a member of the lively crew of poets, painters, musicians and marginal madcaps who made up Melbourne's artistic avant-garde in the Thirties and Forties. In this book he recalls some of the people he knew in those distant heydays.

Here are Albert Tucker and James Gleeson, who were savaged by Kershaw in a notorious satirical poem but who later became good friends of his. The youthful Max Harris is depicted with affectionate irony although his fellow publisher John Reed gets thoroughly roughed up, as does the Marxist critic Bernard Smith. Sir Sidney Nolan's admirers will be scandalised by Kershaw's disrespectful attitude, in marked contrast to his admiration for Adrian Lawlor - writer, painter and sublime eccentric.

'The true story of Horrie the Wog-Dog who was adopted by the Australian Signal Platoon of the M/G Battalion, in spite of all rules against keeping pets, and how Horrie not only won his stripes as a valuable addition to the group but had the further distinction of being smuggled into Australia on their return. The Wog-Dog was sneaked into Greece, went through the evacuation, carried messages as well as proving a dependable warning against air attacks. He went to Syria and Palestine, never learning to tolerate Arabs - he suffered cold and sickness, he fell in love with Ishmi, he was bombed off his ship and he never once was found during all necessary cover-up travelling. A story for all dog lovers, in spite of heavy Australian slang and style, of a dinkum Aussie who was kept, protected and loved by dinkum Aussies. Sentimentality over canines seldom misses fire.' - Kirkus Review (USA)

I Got the Shit Car: On Father's Day in Australia in 2005, Robert Farquharson drove his car and three sons in a dam in country Victoria. The estranged husband and loving father was the only one to survive.

Welcome to Crime Shots - short, sharp, true crime stories from Australia's past and present.

Since the suicide of Maris, his beloved wife of forty-two years, Noel Braun struggled to find himself. All his life assumptions were overturned and he lost his sense of identity. Endeavouring to find some anchorage, he embarked on a spiritual quest of self-discovery. He decided to walk the most popular routes of the Camino; the ancient pilgrimage route that lead across France and Spain to Santiago de Compostela in the north-west of Spain. This journey is described in his earlier book The Day was Made for Walking.

 

The journey was far from over. Noel felt compelled to resume his quest. At the age of eighty, he returned to France to pursue a less popular Camino route that took him across France and into Spain. Two years later, the urgent need to continue has him walking through Portugal into Spain. Despite his ageing body and his many doubts, he has a confidence and faith in himself to face the arduous physical demands and reach Santiago de Compostela. Woven into his spiritual and emotional journey are fascinating stories of the people he meets.

 

I Guess I'll Just Keep on Walking is a sequel. The physical and the spiritual merge with the ancient and modern. It delves into history and, at the same time, is a memoir and travel guide.

I'll Be Gone is not just the story of an accidental masterpiece, a song written by Mike Rudd and recorded by his seminal Australian band 'Spectrum' in 1969. It is also the story of a time of unprecedented political and cultural upheaval and promise both in Australia and the Western world.

Most of all, I'll Be Gone is the story of a unique artist and his unerring artistic vision, often in the face of immense personal hardship and sorrow.

In Crocodile Land is principally the story of travels by lugger through northern waters and into slimy creeks where the huge crocodiles abound. The author took part in many hunting expeditions and enlightens us on the various methods adopted for catching these fearsome creatures. The party had more than a little success, to the great glee of the blackfellows who accompanied them.

 

We journey next into the country of the buffaloes. Here on sunlit clearings through thickets of pandanus palms the buffaloes were to be found in hundreds... There is plenty of risk in hunting the buffalo... Once the shooting starts, the horse must continue his gallop, faster than the buffaloes and alongside them, keeping them going. One stumble and the end is near for horse and rider. - Western Mail, Perth 1946

 

Although it has the thrill of crocodile shooting and trapping as its central theme, the book also affords a sympathetic and fascinating study of the aborigines and their tribal customs, slants on the dangerous sport of buffalo hunting, and vivid pen pictures of Wyndham, Darwin and other far northern towns. - Adelaide Advertiser, 1946

 

Introduced by Tony McKenna