australian non-fiction

There are some wonderful fiction reccs here, but not so many non-fiction. Can anyone suggest some good ones? Thanks in advance.

The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes, a history of the colonization of Australia.

Road to Coorain by Jill Ker Conway, a memoir of a childhood in a drought stricken property and road to success.

The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery; climate change

The Future Eaters by Tim Flannery; limits to growth.

A Fortunate Life by A. B. Facey; memoir of a life from the depression onwards.

Midnight in Sicily by Peter Robb; mafia

Patrick White: A Life by David Marr.

Leviathan: the unauthorised biography of Sydney by John Birmingham is interesting and very readable.

Sally Morgan's My Place
Am I off in calling that non-fiction? It's a big, relevant read anyway.

A history of eary Australia, scientists and even Art.

a bright and savage land

A bit old, but the images make you think about how the early "settlers" saw
Australia.

Edited for Bloody touchstones.

"Neddy" by Neddy Smith is a tremendously exciting book.

If Death Sentence: the decay of public language by Don Watson works for you, you may want to tackle his magnum opus, Recollections of a Bleeding Heart. I'm looking forward to reading his latest - American Journeys. He's a superb writer.

As a West Australian, I can't go past France Australe by the late Leslie Marchant. Prof. Marchant presents a fascinating story of the exploration of the West Australian coast by the French.

I took the literary magazine, World Literature Today, for ignoring the rest of the English-speaking world (outside the US) in their recent article on the best nature books written in English. Surely Australia has had some fabulous nature books (perhaps even classics now?) they could've included?

avaland - one of the best I have seen is Furred Animals of Australia written by Ellis Troughton and last reprinted in 1965. My copy has seen better days and there are probably more up-to-date books on the market but for description of our furred animals it is unsurpassed.

The illustrations are by Neville Cayley and this work was the basis for the later research done on the furred animals, their habitats and lifecycles.

Sadly, many of the furry creatures referred to in Troughton's book are now either extinct or on the endangered species list.

The New Nature:Winners and Losers in Wild Australia by Tim Low and Country by Tim Flannery are also very good books on the topic.

Hope you enjoyed your stay while you were here.

> 12 No matter how politely you put/tell your story, it's still spam.

Another good Maritime WA History read is Phillip Playfords 'Carpet of Silver - the Wreck of the Zuytdorp' which has run to a few editions and should be readily available.