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For many complaints and conditions, the benefits from surgery are lower, and the risks higher, than you or your surgeon think. In this book you will see how commonly performed operations can be found to be useless or even harmful when properly evaluated. That these claims come from an experienced, practising orthopaedic surgeon who performs many of these operations himself, makes the unsettling argument particularly compelling.Of course no surgeon is recommending invasive surgery in bad faith, but Ian Harris argues that the evidence for the success for many common operations, including knee arthroscopies, back fusion or cardiac stenting, become current accepted practice without full examination of the evidence. The placebo effect may be real, but is it worth the recovery time, expense and discomfort?
In Hippocrasy, two world-leading doctors - rheumatologist and epidemiologist Rachelle Buchbinder and orthopaedic surgeon Ian Harris - reveal the true state of modern medicine and how doctors are letting their patients down.
Shirley Hazzard and Elizabeth Harrower met in person for the first time in London in 1972, six years after they began a correspondence that would span four decades. They exchanged letters, cards and telegrams, and made occasional phone calls between Harrower's home in Sydney and Hazzard's apartments in New York, Naples and Capri. The two women wrote to each other of their daily lives, of impediments to writing, their reading, politics and world affairs, and in Hazzard's case, her travels. And they wrote about Hazzard's mother, for whose care Harrower took increasing - and increasingly reluctant - responsibility from the early 1970s (precisely the period when she herself virtually stopped writing).Edited by Brigitta Olubas, Hazzard's official biographer, and Susan Wyndham, who interviewed both Hazzard and Harrower, this is an extraordinary account of two literary luminaries, their complex relationship and their times.'Hazzard and Harrower is a book to keep close and return to often.' - Michelle de Kretser'Vital, compelling, terrifying, revelatory - and a literary pleasure in its own right.' - Anna Funder'Beautiful, wise and unflinching. Will we ever have a chance like this again to eavesdrop on two great writers as they talk books, people and the world for forty years?' - David Marr'An engrossing portrayal of forty years of complicated friendship between two writers, only one of whom has the steel - or is it the ruthlessness? - to put her art before everything else.' - Charlotte Wood'I read these letters with mounting excitement. There is a righteous delight in seeing female talent reclaimed: two great Australian writers finally treated with the care and rigour they deserve.' - Diana Reid
Crown Casino, the Bond Group, James Hardie, HIH Insurance, Geoffrey Edelsten's Allied Medical Group, 7 Eleven and Rio Tinto, the list goes on...Award-winning author Quentin Beresford has dissected the rise and fall of the Gunns logging company and analysed the proposed Adani mine and our greatest river system. Now he takes on Australia's rogue corporations. In a crisis of corporate culture, the unparalleled power of Australian companies has been accompanied by an unrelenting stream of scandals - bankruptcies, criminal charges, ethical misconduct and damage to the reputation of companies and their executives and boards.Beresford investigates corporate Australia's highest-profile scandals, the rise of celebrity CEOs, the role of regulators, the increased pressure on boards to abide by ethical standards and the murky links between big business, governments, banks, media and lobby groups.
The Whitlam government transformed Australia. And yet the scope and scale of the reforms for Australian women are often overlooked.The Whitlam government of 1972-75 appointed a women's advisor to national government - a world first - and reopened the equal pay case. It extended the minimum wage for women, introduced the single mother's benefit and paid maternity leave in the public service, ensured cheap and accessible contraception, funded women's refuges and women's health centres, introduced accessible, no-fault divorce and the Family Court, and much more.Women and Whitlam brings together three generations - including Elizabeth Evatt, Eva Cox, Patricia Amphlett, Elizabeth Reid, Tanya Plibersek, Heidi Norman, Blair Williams and Ranuka Tandan - to revisit the Whitlam revolution and to build on it for the future.'Political history at its best.' - Jenny Hocking'... a reminder that politics can be radical, feminist and one that we can be proud of.' - Yasmin Poole'Invaluable ... a clarion call to younger generations.' - Virginia Haussegger
Have you ever been unsure where an apostrophe should go? Do you know the difference between a regular and an irregular verb? And why should you care?The Briefest English Grammar and Punctuation Guide Ever! clearly and simply explains how language works, and makes understanding punctuation easy. Ruth Colman will help you sort out your verbs from your nouns and your adjectives from your adverbs.This easy-to-use guide will teach you all the basics of using the English language. It's a must-read for all.
'Genuine radicalism provides hope. It provokes through a scandalous insistence that life can be otherwise, that we aren't doomed to economic and environmental decline, and that we can make our future better than our past.'Why did politicians think an independent slave nation might emerge from northern Queensland? Should we clone thylacines? How did a sociopath spur the first European architecture in Australia? What was 'bicycle face' and how did it relate to feminism?Jeff Sparrow has been described as 'one of Australia's most crucial political thinkers'. With restless curiosity his writing takes us from ancient tortoises to the psychology of gun massacres, from queer bushrangers to Enid Blyton, and from atheism to vampires to dachshunds.Provocations brings together Jeff Sparrow's best writing from the last two decades, alongside important new work. Challenging, humane and inspiring.'Jeff Sparrow's writing makes me think, laugh and shake my fist at the sky with rage. He explains and critiques and illuminates our messed-up world with moral clarity and humour, allowing even a dum-dum like me to get my head around what the hell capitalism is doing to us all, and why it must be stopped.' - Tom Ballard'Jeff's writing is not always comfortable, but it's absolutely necessary, peering into the cracks too many of us pass by, and revealing them for the chasms they are. But what sets him apart is the unflinching hope he offers at the same time. Jeff shows us the world, our world, can be so much better if only we were more willing to face it as it is now and fight for what it could be. Drench yourself in his words and find your cause.' - Amy Remeikis'Jeff Sparrow has a profoundly thought-provoking way of presenting the truth.' - Thomas Mayor'Reading Jeff Sparrow is always like having a conversation with the smartest person in the room. He's essential.' - Chloe Hooper'Jeff Sparrow is a critical voice for justice in an increasingly sparse field. As mainstream journalism teeters between commercial clickbait and dreary stenography, take a moment to celebrate the determined independence that he brings to his work. This is a timely retrospective, balancing a sharp eye for domestic political dynamics with an internationalist worldview; fresh, fierce and uncompromising.' - Scott Ludlam'Sparrow is the most effective and consistent communicator of left-wing thought to a mainstream Australian audience of the past twenty years.' - Sydney Review of Books'Sparrow is one of Australia's leading public intellectuals.' - SALIFE'He's one of Australia's most crucial political thinkers.' - Saturday Paper
Australia's relationship with China is one of the dominant geopolitical stories of our times. The need to understand the tectonic forces of history moving beneath the surface of these critical events has never been more pressing.In Australia's China Odyssey, acclaimed historian James Curran explores this crucial and complicated relationship through the prism of the prime ministers who have handled relations with Beijing since Whitlam in 1972.Much recent analysis assumes that managing China has been difficult only since 2017. Yet this relationship has always been difficult. And while there have been moments of euphoria and uplift - moments, even, when some believed Australia could have a 'special relationship' with China - high anxiety and fear have often trailed closely in that slipstream. This book provides historical ballast to a debate so often mired in the parochialism of the present.The task of adjusting to China's rise is the greatest challenge Australian diplomacy has faced since Japan's revisionist attempts to remake East Asia in the 1930s. Ultimately, while China under Xi Jinping has indeed changed, and while there is justifiable alarm concerning the course of Beijing's aggressive and authoritarian nationalism, Australia's China Odyssey asks whether we have the courage to look in the mirror and see what this debate also reveals about Australia. Reflecting on the 2022 change in government in his postscript, Curran tackles an even harder question: the future of Australia's China policy.'A first-class historian who knows a good story, Curran raises the titillating question of today: Where will this lead Australia?' - Jane Perlez'Absorbing and compelling...written with flair and balance.' - Peter Varghese'A sharp analysis of contemporary events interwoven with a deep sense of the historical threads.' - Dennis Richardson'Yes, you must read this.' - John McCarthy
'Given the importance of ability, judgment, leadership and discipline to the effective performance of any military force, the nation faces a serious problem when the public begin to have doubts and politicians start to distrust, the capability of the defence force and the reliability of its members.'Tom Frame, one of Australia's most respected military affairs analysts, reveals the background to the war crimes allegedly committed by Australian Special Forces in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2013.The Brereton report - the findings of a long-running inquiry into war crimes allegations involving members of the Australian Special Forces during their deployment to Afghanistan - was publicly released on 19 November 2020.Veiled Valour explores the background to these allegations - the gradual demise of the Afghan state and society, the decision to deploy Special Forces personnel to Central Asia after 2001, the inquiries into apparent mistakes and alleged misconduct, and the shocking hearsay and rumours that led to a formal inquiry.Concluding the day before the Brereton report's public release, Veiled Valour sheds light on why the inquiry was necessary, how its investigations were conducted, where the media influenced its direction, and what the public expect to be told about its military elite.
Despite being described as 'a remarkably successful partnership' by John Howard and a 'triumph of trust' by his counterpart, Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson, the art of coalition government is a delicate (and sometimes difficult) balancing of policy, politics and personalities. The relationship between the Liberal and Nationals parties ensured the Howard Government's stability and provided a solid foundation for its legislative program between 1996 and 2007. While the Coalition partnership has been pivotal to Australian politics since the Second World War, under the Howard prime ministership - despite occasional tensions - the two parties changed key aspects of Australian life through gun control, telecommunications and taxation reform, and balancing the budget.In The Art of Coalition, Tom Frame, Zareh Ghazarian, Linda Courtenay Botterill, Paul Davey, Joel Fitzgibbon, Tony Abbott and others convey the complexities of maintaining a strong political partnership, and the importance of trust in an effective coalition.'This book is a valuable account of one of the successes of the Howard era - Coalition relations in office - with contributions from participants and commentators. It is more illuminating than ever given the more recent experience pointing to deepening difficulties between the coalition partners.' - Paul Kelly'There are few aspects of the government I led that have been more consistently overlooked in academic scholarship than the highly effective coalition between the Liberal and National parties. This collection of perspectives is a timely reminder of the importance of consensus and co-operation in the pursuit of the national interest and the public good.' - John Howard
Executioners were once a critical component of the justice system in New South Wales. In an era when judges handed down death sentences as easily as they toasted the good health of the monarch, someone had to do the dirty work of the authorities.Robert 'Nosey Bob' Howard used to be a household name. Today, the noseless hangman who sparked fear and fascination everywhere he went is largely forgotten, yet Howard is vital to understanding attitudes towards capital punishment in Australia. Howard's story is a critical chapter in the history of how generally enthusiastic spectators at early executions were overtaken by campaigners for the abolition of the death penalty.This dramatic tale of life, death and radical social change is told through the sixty-one men and one woman who met Nosey Bob, under the worst possible circumstances, when he served as a New South Wales executioner between 1876 and 1904.'Riveting, startling and brimming with powerful insights. With meticulous research and an unflinching eye, Rachel Franks brilliantly recovers the story of the most unpopular man in NSW, and the stories of the condemned people he hanged. Through this deeply human story of Robert 'Nosey Bob' Howard, and the Faustian pact he made with the authorities to make a living, she lays bare the grotesque hypocrisies of judicial hanging. "The act of hanging is an act of brutality" writes Franks. I defy anyone who reads this book to disagree.' -Emeritus Professor Grace Karskens, author of The Colony: A History of Early Sydney'Franks displays wit, writerly sensitivity and a scholar's rigour, methodically revealing modes of crime and punishment, and entire ways of living and dying, in colonial Australia. She does this via an examination of the life of a plain, simple, everyday hangman. Who happens to be without a nose. What's not to like?' - Dr Peter Doyle, author of Crooks Like Us'A bold and brutal biography of NSW's longest-serving executioner. Franks weaves a compelling and compassionate narrative of one man's life, told through the deaths of condemned criminals. Fearless in its detail, Franks' prose has a light touch on this dark subject matter. Through the man we contemplate the history of capital punishment, law and order, and colonial social mores, making this a vital contribution to death studies in Australia.' - Dr Lisa Murray, author of Sydney Cemeteries: A Field Guide
I have come to see that I am an argumentative person who is frequently convinced that my angle, my take, on a matter, is the right one. This kind of delusional self-belief is not rewarded in many other spheres of social life, so I write essays. There is a Turkish saying that one's home is not where one is born, but where one grows full - dödüun yer de¿il, doydüun yer. Exquisitely written, Root & Branch unsettles neat descriptions of inheritance, belonging and place. Eda Gunaydin's essays ask: what are the legacies of migration, apart from loss? And how do we find comfort in where we are? 'In Root & Branch, Eda Gunaydin's essays showcase the fine craft of a writer whose seemingly dispassionate observations set a wide stage for astute, deeply considered reflections on place, people, politics and power. It takes immense skill to weave personal narratives seamlessly into broader conversations and complex social commentary. To do so in an effortless manner, as Gunaydin has accomplished, is pure alchemy. This is a book I will revisit many times for both the beauty of its language and for the generous opportunities to think and learn alongside the writer. A moving, thought-provoking and truly stunning debut.' - Eileen Chong'Root & Branch is a book of autobiographical essays that pay careful attention to, in Gunaydin's words, "the materiality of living": sore feet, varicose veins, fast food and other everyday events in working-class life. It is also funny, self-deprecating, self-dramatising and hopeful: a searching and multi-faceted debut.' - Anwen Crawford'Gunaydin's work, and it is work, lands with a deceptive lightness on the page and its readers. Its weight grows on us over time - reminders of the daily inheritance of trauma, responsibility and structures over which we can only sometimes wrest control. Forget vital or necessary. Root & Branch is knowing and real. In every essay, Eda circles something much bigger than the sum of her experience and thought, as both witness and participant, in which we as readers are left guessing our place.' - Alison Whittaker'What has always struck me about Eda Gunaydin's essays is their remarkable and balanced movement, the deft way they bring together a fierce intelligence and political consciousness with a depth and complexity of feeling, as well as a wicked sense of humour and of the absurd. They are forthright and passionate, but also playful, cynical and sharp, and keenly interested in all of the ordinary ways that extraordinary historical and social forces are felt across our lives, and what it means to both bear and resist their weight.' - Fiona Wright'Gunaydin is a gifted essayist driven by an honest desire to see society transformed, "to alter the conditions of everyday existence, so that there's nothing that we need to be saved from". Gunaydin's ability to combine a searing intellect with wit and ingenuity is breathtaking.' - Books+Publishing
Since the founding of the Communist Party in China just over a century ago, there is much the country has achieved. But who does the heavy lifting in China? And who walks away with the spoils? Cadre Country places the spotlight on the nation's 40 million cadres - the managers and government officials employed by the ruling Communist Party to protect its great enterprise. This group has captured the culture and wealth of China, excluding the voices of the common citizens of this powerful and diverse country. Award-winning historian John Fitzgerald focuses on the stories the Communist Party tells about itself, exploring how China works as an authoritarian state and revealing Beijing's monumental propaganda productions as a fragile edifice built on questionable assumptions. Cadre Country is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the workings of the Chinese Communist Party and the limits of its achievements. 'It takes decades of patient observation, experience and study of China to produce a book like this. Cadre Country is a must read for specialists and the general public.' - Anita Chan, Australian National University'One of the most important books on China written since Xi Jinping assumed power, Cadre Country is a forensic and profound explication of the true nature of the Chinese Communist Party.' - John Lee, Hudson Institute and United States Studies Centre'Everyone interested in China today should read this incisive analysis that explains exactly what China's own leaders mean by describing their country as a "party-state". Avoiding shibboleths like "totalitarian" and never assuming the inevitability of the paths China has taken in the past or will take in the future, Fitzgerald gives us a much-needed clinical description of the fundamental nature of Chinese politics.' - Peter Zarrow, University of Connecticut
Written by teachers Tom Greenwell and Chris Bonnor, Waiting for Gonski examines how Australia has failed its schools and offers inspired solutions to help change education for the better.
Distinguished architect Andrew Andersons has redefined Australia's art galleries over the last five decades and his award-winning designs have extended the NSW Parliament and transformed the State Library of NSW. This landmark book draws on interviews and research over many years to illuminate Andersons' life and achievements.
An updated edition to Cooking with the Oldest Foods on Earth, including brand new bush food recipes from Indigenous chefs.
Why do stars twinkle? What's the best way to start spotting constellations and comets? Is there life beyond Earth? What's the chance of a catastrophic collision with a killer asteroid? Fred Watson's covered the big space questions for adults, now Australia's Astronomer-at-Large embarks on a grand tour of the Universe especially for children.
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