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Australian orders, 1 book $5.50, 2 or more $10
Overseas orders, 1 book $12, 2 books $18, 3 books or more $20.
In Adelaide, Ginninderra Press books are available at East Avenue Books, 53 East Avenue, Clarence Park 5034.
Pacita Alexander & Elizabeth Perkins
A Love Affair with Australian Literature
The story of Tom Inglis Moore, controversial crusader for Australian writers. The book traces Moore's life and influence from the farming country of Camden south of Sydney, thence to England and the United States and, via the Philippines and New Guinea, to Canberra.
'More than a litany of Moore's achievements and by no means a hagiography...includes a balanced assessment of Moore's own creative and critical writing.' - Canberra Times
'Written in an engaging manner that wears its research lightly...a lively, affectionate, yet clear-eyed celebration of its subject's life...' - Australian Book Review
'This humane and revealing work makes the reader feel literature in a direct way.' - Reviews in Australian Studies 1 74027 255 2, 286pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Ruth Bayne
Scooting Through
The adventures of two ignorant innocents, both old enough to know better, travelling from London through countries as uncharted as Turkey, Persia and Iraq to Calcutta by Lambretta scooter in 1959.
1 74027 214 5, 206pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Gary Bell
Historic Pubs Around Sydney
This is the third sketchbook Gary Bell has produced to record the history of Australian pubs. This book concentrates more on the early pubs around the fringe of the city in settlements established when the colony was first expanding beyond Sydney Town and Parramatta. These settlements (now towns) are within a days drive from Sydney city at some of our nation’s most historic locations. They are located in the areas we now know as the Southern Highlands, the Blue Mountains, the South Coast (down to Kiama area) and north to Newcastle and the southern Hunter Valley. Where possible, the originals or early versions of the public houses have been illustrated. These illustrations are accompanied by the history of the pubs as well as photographs of them in their present state.
'...a class act and a must for the pub enthusiast...' - www.gdaypubs.com.au
978 1 74027 445 6, 167pp, $37.50 BUY NOW
Wal Bird
Me No Go Mallybulla: Recruiting & Blackbirding in the Queensland Labour Trade 1863-1906
An account of one aspect of the trade; the recruiting and blackbirding of the Islanders. It tells of kidnappings, murders and massacres and the bloody reprisals carried out by both sides.
1 74027 289 7, 162pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Dale Blair
No Quarter: Unlawful Killing and Surrender in the Australian War Experience 1915-18
One of the rarely discussed aspects of the experience of soldiers in the First World War was the refusal to take prisoners during battle and in some cases the killing of prisoners in the front line. No Quarter investigates the degree to which Australian soldiers were participants in this practice both as victims and perpetrators.
'...exceptionally well-researched, objective and well-written...an essential work for any student of the Great War...' - Military History
1 74027 291 9, 76pp, $18.00 BUY NOW
Allison Blom
Magic Dragons: My Fight Against & Triumph Over Cancer
'It is refreshing to read of one remarkable woman's journey with breast cancer and the way in which she summoned her mental and emotional strengths to beat it.' - Dr Stuart B. Renwick
1 74027 035 5, 55pp, $15.00 BUY NOW
Dorothy Braxton, Rick Swindell & Elizabth MacKinlay (editors)
A Voice Worth Listening To
An inspiring book packed with personal accounts and up-to-date information proving that age need not be a barrier to an active and fulfilling life.
978 1 74027 422 7, 166pp, $20.00 BUY NOW
Olwyn Broder, Moira Collins, Venie Holmgren & Anabel Macdonald (editors)
And They're Still Falling
'Like any trail worth following, this collection of women's stories from the campaign to save the south-east forest of New South Wales in the 1980s and 1990s is made exhilarating by its unexpected twists and turns - swooping choppers, singing cops - and by its voices as diverse as the forest itself. Arresting reading!' - Dr Tim Metcalf
Highly commended, Non-fiction, ACT Writing & Publishing Awards 2007
978 1 74027 399 2, 144pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Fred Brown
Fred Brown’s Schooldays
'Fred Brown's Schooldays gives an unsparing, affectionate account of Canterbury Boys' High School, Sydney, where he was a pupil from 1940 to 1945. Fred’s story is of a school keeping the flag of learning flying through the darkest days of war, when students dug trenches and practised with machine guns as the enemy came ever closer to Australia, meanwhile collecting transfers, ogling girls and telling smutty jokes as schoolboys have done down the ages. Fred Brown’s Schooldays is full of funny stories and larger-than-life characters, teachers and students. It will enthral former pupils, their wives, friends and relations, children and grandchildren. But it is also a timeless story of boys growing up in a country at war, and a classical style of education from which there is still much to learn.' - Phillip Knightley, Murray Sayle
Print edition sold out but PDF version now available on CD, $10.00 BUY NOW
Kylie Ciampa
Living with Dyslexia
Written by a teacher who herself lives with dyslexia, this informative book takes a personal and positive approach towards this surprisingly common learning difficulty.
1 74027 368 0, 56pp, $17.50 BUY NOW
Ray Clift
It's a Fine Line
Anecdotes about some of the humorous events, and some of the dangerous incidents, Ray Clift encountered during his thirty-two-year career as an officer in the South Australian Police. His fresh and challenging memories highlight the differences between policing then and now. It's a Fine Line shows how we all walk a fine line between success and destruction. Ray and his peers are survivors with scars yet they still retain their sense of humour. Their eyes fixed on justice and common sense, they have walked along a rocky path, fallen in potholes and regained their toehold. He and his colleagues emerge as modern-day angels with dirty faces.
978 1 74027 571 2, 76pp, $18.00 BUY NOW
Pam Cole
Candlefire
It took a Caribbean cyclone, an Irish grandmother's hundredth wedding anniversary, an email from Puerto Rico, and a fireside visit from her great-great-grandfather’s cantankerous lady love to make the author realise their Hunter Valley farm lay close to land settled by her colonial forebears. Dreams and discoveries about her female ancestors mingle in this entertaining patchwork of tales told by candle light. Can the strength and courage of past lives enable us to cope with ageing, change, and loss?
'A strong sense of place and historical connectedness permeates the book.' - Grass Roots
978 1 74027 448 7, 144pp, $22.50 BUY NOW
Pam Cole
A Drop of the Asp
Pam Cole's magical word skills and memory for detail have cast their spell, and we are with her in a world of woodstove cookery and mustering on horseback, of bucketing bathwater from the wash-house copper at lamplit day's end, the chilly mountain air perfumed with lucerne hay and spicy apples, while firelight flickers on revived poddies snuggled on the hearth and the telephone jingles on the wall as the postmistress connects the party line...
978 1 74027 504 0, 90pp, $20.00 BUY NOW
John Cope
Boer War Men of the Queanbeyan-Braidwood Region: Adventurers or Patriots?
Drawing on contemporary wartime letters, John Cope tells the stories of 190 men from the region who joined British troops in the Boer War.
'Cope is to be congratulated for pursuing these elusive local men so indefatigably and so faithfully...' - Canberra Times
1 74027 301 X, 280pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
John Cope
Pioneer Parson of Early Canberra
Rev. Pierce Galliard Smith MA ThL was a significant figure in the lives of so many people who lived in the sparsely populated Canberra district in the second half of the nineteenth century. This book, based on thirty years of his diaries and many letters, provides a window on the families of his day and the inconveniences and tragedies that they frequently experienced.
'...a valuable contribution to local history. The production of the book is a credit to this excellent local publisher. John Cope has given Canberra’s clerical pioneer a worthy tribute.' - Canberra Times
978 1 74027 397 8, 308pp, $30.00 BUY NOW
John Cottee
Stations on the Track
An evocative insight into the history of a selection of country railway stations and the development of the lines leading to them. The book is generously illustrated with early drawings of the stations (and some of the stationmasters' residences) as well as archival and contemporary photos.
1 74027 258 7, 236pp, $50.00 BUY NOW<
Steve Davis
Rise Like Lions
Shows that our economic development has been nurtured by a unique social arrangement - the Australian System - that has the potential to be a model for the global economy.
'...Davis writes with courage, compassion and little regard for fallout...' - Sydney Morning Herald
1 74027 050 9, 140pp, $20.00 BUY NOW
Marty Dodd
They liked me, the horses, straightaway
Marty Dodd, taken from his parents when he was a boy, grew up to be a successful stockman, horse trainer and opal miner.
'Highly recommended...a delight from start to finish.' - Magpies
1 74027 067 3, 104pp, $22.00 BUY NOW
Martha Unganpari Edwards (illustrated by Kunyi June-Anne McInerney)
Daisy Bates & the Watjala Kids
Born of an Aboriginal mother of the Antikirinya language group and a white father, Martha Unganpari Edwards was therefore a ‘watjala kid’. In her long years with the people at Ooldea siding and later at Wynbring on the East-West railway line, Daisy Bates made it clear that such liaisons, and the children resulting from them, were offensive to her. As her story shows, however, Martha was one child who didn’t let Mrs Bates's resultant behaviour go unchallenged.
'This marvellous book has its own warm, humorous voice and a unique value in giving us real community responses to the extraordinary phenomenon of Daisy Bates, remembered from childhood by Aboriginal people who were actually there. The vivid combination of words and images makes that world come to life in ways that will educate and delight any reader, young or old.' - Nicholas Jose
978 1 74027 575 0, 40pp, colour illustrations, $16.00 BUY NOW
Glenda Ellis
Our Soldiers: Bungendore & the Great War
The people of Bungendore, New South Wales, shared the experiences of World War I with the Australian population of the time. The village was in no way more or less remarkable than any other. This book is an attempt to fix in the memory of that town now what life and death in the service of one's country could mean then. It reminds us of the life of another time and recalls the characters of the men who were willing to die to maintain that life for those who survived.
'...a detailed and sensitive tribute to the fallen of one typical Australian town.' - Canberra Times
978 1 74027 487 6, 198pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Ulrich Ellis
Pen in Politics
'These memoirs will be of particular interest to many specialist audiences. They include aficionados of the history of journalism, the early years and growth of Canberra as the national capital, the Country Party and the New England New State Movement. But there are many others, including all students of political life in general, particularly of those behind-the-scenes operators who grease the wheels of politics in so many ways.' - Professor John Warhurst, ANU
'...the time lapse before the appearance of these memoirs, covering another era in politics, has in no way diminished their value or importance. They are as fresh as ever – alive with acute observations and facts...' - Canberra Times
'...a rich vein of material on the behind-the-scenes operators and how they go about greasing the wheels of politics. For any political aficionado it is all compelling stuff.' - Northern Daily Leader
'...well-written and witty...' - Overland
978 1 74027 406 7, 271pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Alan Fewster
Capital Correspondent
The edited letters of Edwin Charles, written while he was a resident at Canberra’s Gorman House in the 1930s.
'...a goldmine of amusing social history.' - Canberra Times
'...wonderful collection...difficult to stop reading...' - Canberra Historical Journal
'...a valuable social history of early developing Canberra...' - History
'...skilfully edited and generously illustrated.' - Reviews in Australian Studies
1 74027 133 5, 172pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Joy Ford
A Very Normal Family
It is a horrendous act to violate a child - more outrageous when that child must learn to 'survive'... Joy is one of those children who went on to do more than just 'survive' the traumas of child abuse. Her determination to come out on top has paid off and she is a living example of healing. Take a moment to be inspired and encouraged by her story.
'...a brief and useful insight for professionals into the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse...' - Women Against Violence
1 74027 300 1, 63pp, $16.00 BUY NOW
Kenneth Hague
Dear Alice: Wartime letters from a soldier to his wife
Kenneth Hague served in the British army in the Boer War and World War I. His poignant letters to his wife are collected here.
1 74027 308 7, 68pp, $18.00 BUY NOW
Dorothy Hansen
Minus One
This moving memoir details the first 12 months after a mastectomy and how one woman has dealt with it. Facing cancer focuses the mind sharply on both the past and the future: the present has simply to be got through. The author’s hope is that her struggle to make sense of her situation may help others and their intimates.
978 1 74027 469 2, 165pp, $22.00 BUY NOW
Venie Holmgren
A Sense of Direction
'From Tuart trees to Towamba, with a black woollen sock capping the yoghurt, Venie Holmgren dips her fingers into the contrasting culrures of 1970s Australia. The landscape and the language are laid out for us in her own mixture of irreverent humour, anti-authoritarian notions of freedom and plain tenacity...as she battles solitude, the viicissitudes of life and outback roads for almost three bumpy years in a campervan.' - Tim Metcalf
978 1 74027 481 4, 184pp, $20.00 BUY NOW
Jennifer Horsfield
Mary Cunningham
Mary Cunningham lived in the Canberra region from the late 1800s. Her life was bound up with some of the great stories of early nationhood: the prosperity brought by wool, the arrival of Federation, the imperial enthusiasms of the Edwardian era, the creation of the national capital, and the sorrows and losses of the Great War.
'Anyone who enjoys reading about the minutiae of lives caught up in the sweep of history will appreciate this biography.' - Canberra Times
'...both a deeply affecting personal story and a record of rural life...a valuable addition to the local history of Canberra and district.' - Canberra Historical Journal
'...fine biography...' - Weekend Australian
'...a valuable insight into the history of the ACT and the life of women on outlying properties.' - Reviews in Australian Studies
978 1 74027 267 4, 268pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Jennifer Horsfield
Rainbow: the story of Rania MacPhillamy
The beautiful and accomplished daughter of a wealthy squatter, Rania MacPhillamy left Australia in 1915 to work in a Cairo hospital treating the wounded from Gallipoli. After the death of her soldier sweetheart she stayed on in Egypt and together with an older woman, Alice Chisholm, she set up a series of canteens for the men of the Light Horse.
'...laced with excerpts from letters, diaries, journals and official papers, but is not overwhelmed by its research. It is always human and colourful.' - SAM (Sydney Alumni Magazine)
Winner, Non-fiction, ACT Writing & Publishing Awards 2008
978 1 74027 423 4, 254pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Rosemary Howden
Episodes from a Fractured Childhood
Early in her life, the author’s maternal grandparents and her parents share a house and she feels loved and secure. Her grandparents suddenly move away to live. Without their influence, her parents rush headlong into self-destruction, sinking to such a level that all respect for them is lost and they become social outcasts.
978 1 74027 479 1, 248pp, $30.00 BUY NOW
George Huitker
Not Just Footy
This third edition of George Huitker’s tragicomic reflection on junior sporting experiences – as both a player and a coach – comes with a new foreword by former Joeys’ captain, Kaz Patafta, and some extra photographs from the stage play.
978 1 74027 085 4, 232pp, $22.00 BUY NOW
George Huitker
How To Succeed Without Really Winning
Huitker reflects on thirty years of experience as a player, coach and administrator.
'...in its gently didactic style, the book is reminiscent of Alain de Botton’s The Consolations of Philosophy set in a sporting context.' - Canberra Times
'Funny, tragic and richly sourced, it is not just a must-read for anyone like Uday Hussein, but all of us who've been temporarily unhinged by our sporting passions.' - Inside Sport
'...there is so much practical wisdom in this book that it should be required reading for all those involved in the vital task of coaching and supervising children’s sport.' - Sporting Traditions
'...should be required reading for everyone involved in junior sport...' - Sports Coach
'...this valuable book...would assist any parent or coach to reflect on their approach to junior sport.' - Reviews in Australian Studies
Winner, Memoir, ACT Writing & Publishing Awards 2006
1 74027 309 5, 282pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Madeleine Huxtable
The Flight of the Scorpion
On Saturday 7 March 1942, 12 RAF and RAAF personnel set sail from Tjilatjap, Java, in a 30-foot wooden lifeboat. Their mission: to reach Roebourne on the northern coast of West Australia, some 950 nautical miles away, and bring rescue to the remaining airmen trapped on the island who were in danger of being captured by the enemy. Written in memory of the author's father, RAAF Flight Sergeant William Nicholas Pax Cosgrove (1918-1943) of Richmond, Victoria, who was a member of that crew. The names, dates and some events are true. The rest is fiction.
1 74027 294 3, 72pp, $18.00 BUY NOW
Beverley Johnson
A Few Precious Moments at Brindabella
Brindabella – my mother used to say the word was probably associated with the Italian 'bella', which means beautiful, so...'beautiful valley'. Digging into archives I realised what a wealth of information was available. Letters once carefully tied with string and placed in a chest or library to be discovered years later are really valued by me now. Because this history is in danger of slipping away, I have recorded what I can for those who are unable to return.
'...some beautiful memories of the pioneering days of the Brindabella district.' - Canberra Times
978 1 74027 454 8, $26.00 BUY NOW
Brian H. Jones
The President
A reworking in modern idiom of Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince, with the original text rearranged, updated and supplemented to illuminate contemporary political practices. As with Machiavelli's work, The President advises politicians about how to access, exercise, and - above all - keep power, by whatever means the situation allows.
978 1 74027 500 2, 68pp, $18.00 BUY NOW
Eileen Jones
The Accidental Poet
'Eileen Jones doesn't readily stand out in a crowd. By temperament and habit she avoids self-promotion. Like many quiet achievers, she is candid, down to earth and even forthright when asked for information, but she has no great wish to impress. It's only when you talk with her and start reading between the lines, that you come to appreciate just how remarkable she is.' - Max Cornwell
'...an inspiring story of unfailing courage, persistence and unshakeable self-belief...' - The Write Angle
'...offers up gems and insights into the history of Australia, as well as the life of the author.' - Synapse
978 1 74027 417 3, 214pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Eileen Jones
A Potpourri of Prose
A varied collection of essays by an author who sustained multiple injuries including significant brain damage and was told it was most unlikely that she would ever recover her verbal skills. In spite of that warning, she now writes constantly, both prose and poetry.
978 1 74027 5555 2, 62pp, $17.50 BUY NOW
Edna Keir
Catharine with an A
A moving personal account of bringing up a child with Down syndrome.
1 74027 222 6, 134pp, $20.00 BUY NOW
Heather Kerridge
But what can I say?
When someone you love experiences the death of their child, and you want to know how you can help them, many questions may arise:
- is there anything practical that I can do?
- what can I say that might be supportive?
- what things might not be helpful?
But what can I say? deals with these questions and many more. The suggestions come from the first-hand experience of bereaved parents themselves.
978 1 74027 446 3, 92pp, $20.00 BUY NOW
Claire Laishley
Did You Know We Had a Screen Door?
Due to a short but sad history of car travel in her youth, Claire Laishley is less than enthusiastic when her husband suggests a road trip for their next holiday. Naïve to the pitfalls of driving something the size of a removalist van around the countryside, these two ‘virgin vanners’ take the plunge and hire a Winnebago, the Rolls Royce of mobile homes. This is a hilarious account of their travel experience, full of anecdotes covering everything from formulating a take-off checklist the RAAF would be proud of, and working out the ablution solution of the on-board toilet affectionately called Winnie the Poo, to managing her husband’s evolving fetish for brown signs. There are also plenty of colourful characters encountered during their trip, including the magical mystery massager in the mountains and the asthmatic astronomer on the plains.
978 1 74027, 202pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Robert Lehane
Forever Carnival
The founding Rector of St John's College, Sydney, Very Rev. Dr John Forrest, is the central character in this book, which tells a story of hopes dashed as grand dreams for St John’s succumbed to the reality of a divided Catholic Church and low student numbers.
'Lehane...tells an entertaining and rather sad story in exceptional detail, using an impressive array of contemporary sources.' - University of Sydney Gazette
'Lehane is a good writer who knows how to walk the tightrope between populism and rigorous history. His quotes are always ahort and essential; his ability to tell a story is so well honed that the narrative never flags.' - Sydney Morning Herald
'...a story full of interest and intrigue.' - Irish Echo
'...gives much insight into the Byzantine, often secretive and power-hungry ecclesiastical hierarchy...a moving story at a human level.' - Tain
'...provided great enjoyment and satisfaction...' - Irish Roots
'...deserves to be read by all those with an interest in the Irish diaspora, the history of New South Wales or the study of modern Catholicism.' - Australasian Journal of Irish Studies
1 74027 268 4, 330pp, $30.00 BUY NOW
Robert Lehane
William Bede Dalley
Draws on a wide range of sources to reveal an unconventional, perennially popular character who made major contributions to the political, legal and literary life of NSW. While the despatch of colonial troops to Sudan in 1885 is the act he is most often remembered for today, contemporaries admired him for much more - not least the use of his remarkable oratorical power, honed in memorable court cases, to champion causes such as religious and racial harmony and a gentler form of parliamentary politics.
'...much more than the account of a fascinating and full public life. It brings to life the colony of New South Wales in the 30 years after the grant of responsible government.' - Bar News (journal of the NSW Bar Association)
'...fascinating for the insights it provides of the parliamentary system in its infancy.' - Tintain
'Lehane's biography has done ample justice to a remarkable Australian patriot who deserves to be remembered for the significant role he played...' - Sabretache
'...a very readabe, ably researched and interesting account of a figure who fully deserves the focus of a biography.' - Australian Historical Studies
'...very readable... Solidly researched and well illustrated...' - Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society
'Those who read William Bede Dalley will rejoice in a rich and meaningful life and will learn about an aspect of Sydney and colonial society that better-known historians have barely glimpsed.' - Canberra Historical Journal
'Lehane...paints a rounded portrait of his subject through the vivid accumulation of detail, leaving readers to form their own impressions of Dalley. It is a very effective biographical technique... This remarkable book, with its text delightfully leavened by contemporary portraits and prints, is a colourful account, not only of the torturous permutations of colonial factional politics in NSW, but of the social history of Sydney and its environs. Robert Lehane has captured the very flavour of late-colonial society, from the bushranging days to the 1888 Centennial.' - Reviews in Australian Studies
'...a great insight into colonial Sydney...a fine biography...' - Australasian Journal of Irish Studies
'...full, readable, well-researched...' - Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society
978 1 74027 437 1, 423pp, $35.00 BUY NOW
Marina Lutz
Somers Commonwealth Immigration Camp
'I met Marina Lutz when she came to join the Barossa Writers in 2002. Soon after her arrival, Marina read to us a short account of her first year teaching. She had been appointed to a migrant camp, to teach English to the children. She was a living piece of Australia’s history and I told her that it was important that she write more fully about that camp. She smiled and confided that she already had. She showed me her manuscript...' - Alice Shore
978 1 74017 426 5, 54pp, $17.50 BUY NOW
John Maneschi
Giovinezza
A memoir of growing up in World War II Italy.
'An outstanding quality of John Maneschi's memoir is the subtle balance between time levels and between adult and childish points of view. The child's perspective constantly lightens the tone, finding enjoyment and fun in events which are acutely troubling to the adults. Written with verve, sensitivity and humour, Giovinezza will delight its readers.' - Joy Hooton
978 1 74027 431 9, 168pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Jennifer Martin
Mental Health Practice
This important book provides information on the latest developments in policy and service planning and delivery in mental health services; and gives a range of practical information and strategies for early intervention and working with people who are suicidal or self-harming and those who are using alcohol and other drugs as well as legal and justice issues.
1 74027 349 4, 236pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Jennifer Martin
Conflict Management and Mediation
This book provides important foundation knowledge for mediation practice, including
• effective communication
• management of difficult behaviours
• models of mediation tailored to different areas of practice
• theories, processes and skills for mediation and conflict management
• ethical considerations and practice standards.
978 1 74027 428 9, 136pp, $20.00 BUY NOW
Freya Mathews
Journey to the Source of the Merri
An ecological philosopher's account of three friends' journey to the source of their local creek.
1 74027 197 1, 55pp, $17.50 BUY NOW
Stephen Matthews (editor)
'How Did the Fire Know We Lived Here?'
In words and photographs (many in colour), more than 100 Canberrans reveal the stories of courage, loss and optimism behind the disastrous January 2003 bushfires.
'...an object lesson to all Australians to respect the forces of nature while enjoying the lifestyle afforded to them as they live within their unique environment.' - Reviews in Australian Studies
Highly commended, ACT Publishing Awards 2004
1 74027 202 1, 192pp, $22.00 BUY NOW
Deb Matthews-Zott (editor)
Gifts of Life
'Courage and inspiration are what you feel when you read these exceptional stories of everyday families coping with what life has dealt them! The harsh reality of organ and tissue donation is that we are dealing with life and death!' - Robyn Hookes
978 1 74027 410 4, $18.00 BUY NOW
Ian McFarlane
Of Cheese and Chutney
Essays, selected from Voice magazine, on a diverse range of issues, from the human rights of refugees, Indigenous reconciliation and the environment, to global conflict and economic rationalism. The elegantly expressed passion of the twenty-one pieces attacks the moral vacuum of right-wing arrogance with a search for humanity.
978 1 74027 583 5, 72pp, $18.00 BUY NOW
Humphrey McQueen
Framework of Flesh
McQueen uses labourers' own words to retell their battles around scaffolding and shithouses, for the safe removal of asbestos, prompt and adequate compensation, and a decent burial. The stories start in convict times and cover the six states and the ACT. The labourers' struggle for health and safety is followed into their dismantling of the framework of fear erected by the Building and Construction Commission. By tracking on-the-job experiences of demolishers, dog-men, hod-carriers and navvies, McQueen confirms the conviction of an early official of the BLF, Ben Mulvogue: 'A union constitutes a school for the working class, wherein they learn self-reliance, learn their rights, privileges, opportunities, as well as their possibilities. Every new demand for better physical protection of the workers ensures a great ideal development for a future generation.'
'...lively and impressively researched... It is the mixture of historical narrative with theory that grounds and enlivens this book...' - Journal of Occupational Health and Safety
978 1 74027 545 3, 338pp, $30.00 BUY NOW
Kerry O’Regan
The Things My Best Friends Told Me
A woman sets out to walk the Camino, the ancient pilgrimage across the north of Spain. No longer young, she walks alone, leaving family and friends behind. But she also carries them with her, in the messages they’ve written on her stick. Each day she walks and each day she reads the messages, and muses on them. These are her musings, on the places she sees, the people she meets, the events she lives. They’re whimsical, witty, and wise.
978 1 74027 546 0, 76pp, $18.00 BUY NOW
Peter Reddy
Torture: what you need to know
Why do people torture? For how long, and where, has this been happening? How do we think and talk about it? Probably more importantly, who is tortured and who does the torturing? This book provides readers with background knowledge, essential facts and plenty of answers.
'...a timely reminder of the dangers the world faces in its response to terrorism.' - Canberra Times
'...goes a long way to show the clear and present danger represented by the ongoing existence and use of torture, the suspension of habeas corpus (such as for the inmates held at Guantanamo Bay) and the US’s pick-and-choose approach to the Geneva Convention...' - Reviews in Australian Studies
'...makes an important contribution to understanding the impulses which impel people to torture and how torture affects its victims and our civilisation.' - Law Society Journal
Runner-up, History, ACT Writing & Publishing Awards 2006
1 74027 322 2, 204pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Leann Richards
Houdini's Tour of Australia
When escapologist Harry Houdini toured Australia in 1910 he brought magic, mystique, his wife and an aeroplane. Houdini conquered crowds and nearly caused riots, he escaped straitjackets and shackles and flew through the air. Some said he was supernatural, to others he was a fraud, but Houdini confounded them all.
'A well researched book of great interest...' - History Magazine
978 1 74027 396 1, 60pp, $17.50 BUY NOW
Sue Roman
Soft Neglect: What's happening in our schools?
There have been many changes to the way children are taught in schools in the past thirty years. A teacher for nearly 30 years, Sue Roman argues that, despite the rhetoric of modern educators, we may be making some serious mistakes, and it is time that we had a good hard look at what is happening in our schools.
1 74027 358 3, 60pp, $17.50 BUY NOW
John Sabine
Around the World in Eighty Ways
A book for travellers rather than a travel book. The author makes no attempt to extol the virtues of different and far-flung places, nor how to get there, nor what to do when you are there, nor – and what is usually worse – any mention of how much of a small fortune all of that would cost. By contrast we have here a veritable salmagundi of travel adventures – for both the armchair voyageur and the inveterate wanderer. You will accompany the author to places both near and far, sometimes with his family and sometimes not, to experience with him the ups and downs of his travels at home and abroad. And always with a smile on your face.
978 1 74027 553 8, 256pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Ben Smith
No Time for the Smiths
A true account, constructed from journals, of the first year of a marriage fifty years ago. In 1959, Sydney was a kinder, slower place. In outer suburbs you could see koalas in the trees. Bandicoots still hunted through rubbish bins, black snakes basked on the lawn and kookaburras laughed at sun-up two days before it rained. The sea was clean, buildings smaller, cars rudimentary, freeways unknown. We had pounds and shillings, inches, yards, believed in cooking with lots of lovely fat and were able to travel to England restfully by sea. Labour-saving devices were the clothes prop, the mechanised ringer and the barrel lawnmower. The welfare state hadn't replaced the need to work and young couples getting married found things tough.
978 1 74027 527 9, 212pp, $28.00 BUY NOW
Debra Smith
In Prison
'The Bridge Foundation is unique...because it serves an important issue that most of society, including governments, would rather avoid: the provision of services for those released from custody. Why is it that we think custody is a solution and an end in itself? I have never met a more gutsy and generous group of people than those who serve The Bridge Foundation. Debra Smith has led the way but, oh boy, they have all brought their distinctive ethical passions to focus on those who need help. Abandonment is not their style and it is a pity that we cannot all recognise the worth and beauty of a local response to a worldwide problem.' - His Honour Peter Gebhardt
978 1 74027 521 7, 130pp, $22.00 BUY NOW
Stephany Evans Steggall
Bruce Dawe: Life Cycle
Acknowledges one of Australia's best known poets and one of his best known poems. His life cycles have been poverty, perseverance and personal happiness; the rhythms of his being are the rhythms of his poetry - persistently fearless in speaking out on social and political issues; consistently sensitive and lyrical about painful concerns; insistently witty and satirical on just about anything. His range of poetry resists wrong and reveals a great love of his fellow man and a deep understanding of life. This biography is the first time that Dawe's life has been interpreted in full through his poetry, and the poems take on new significance when read in this context. The subject is telling some of the story in his own words - in poems.
'...estimable and intriguing...sympathetic, carefully researched and fluently written...' - Canberra Times
'...a warm portrait of one of our greatest living writers.' - Brisbane News
978 1 74027 567 5, 368pp, $30.00 BUY NOW
Richard Teese
Seven Halfpennies
Seven Halfpennies is a collection of autobiographical tales of the childhood and youth of a working-class boy who grew up in a poor Housing Commission estate in the south-east of Melbourne in the 1950s. From broken home and failure at school, the compelling theme of Seven Halfpennies is 'making yourself' through music, poetry, love, but above all through the liberating medium of words and ideas.
978 1 74027 496 8, 110pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Peter Walters
The Perfumed Curriculum
This is a story about love and loss and the choices that are made in their name. As Peter Walters recovers from the painful treatment of a virulent cancer, he remembers a time when, as a young teacher, he experienced a series of hilarious, traumatic, magical and fateful episodes of love and loss. Flying in the face of conventional teaching practices of the sixties and seventies, Peter’s accounts of romantic involvement with fellow teachers and mothers of his students are intense, sensuous, funny and tragic and in stark contrast to the term of trial which he is undergoing.
978 1 74027 578 1, 194pp, $30.00 BUY NOW
Stephen Matthews Ginninderra Press PO Box 3461 Port Adelaide 5015
stephen@ginninderrapress.com.au
www.ginninderrapress.com.au
ABN 42 447 290 724
All prices are in Australian dollars and include Australian Goods & Services Tax (GST). GST is deducted from overseas orders.
Postage & handling will be added to your order:
Australian orders, 1 book $5.50, 2 or more $10
Overseas orders, 1 book $12, 2 books $18, 3 books or more $20.
In Adelaide, Ginninderra Press books are available at East Avenue Books, 53 East Avenue, Clarence Park 5034.
Pacita Alexander & Elizabeth Perkins
A Love Affair with Australian Literature
The story of Tom Inglis Moore, controversial crusader for Australian writers. The book traces Moore's life and influence from the farming country of Camden south of Sydney, thence to England and the United States and, via the Philippines and New Guinea, to Canberra.
'More than a litany of Moore's achievements and by no means a hagiography...includes a balanced assessment of Moore's own creative and critical writing.' - Canberra Times
'Written in an engaging manner that wears its research lightly...a lively, affectionate, yet clear-eyed celebration of its subject's life...' - Australian Book Review
'This humane and revealing work makes the reader feel literature in a direct way.' - Reviews in Australian Studies 1 74027 255 2, 286pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Ruth Bayne
Scooting Through
The adventures of two ignorant innocents, both old enough to know better, travelling from London through countries as uncharted as Turkey, Persia and Iraq to Calcutta by Lambretta scooter in 1959.
1 74027 214 5, 206pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Gary Bell
Historic Pubs Around Sydney
This is the third sketchbook Gary Bell has produced to record the history of Australian pubs. This book concentrates more on the early pubs around the fringe of the city in settlements established when the colony was first expanding beyond Sydney Town and Parramatta. These settlements (now towns) are within a days drive from Sydney city at some of our nation’s most historic locations. They are located in the areas we now know as the Southern Highlands, the Blue Mountains, the South Coast (down to Kiama area) and north to Newcastle and the southern Hunter Valley. Where possible, the originals or early versions of the public houses have been illustrated. These illustrations are accompanied by the history of the pubs as well as photographs of them in their present state.
'...a class act and a must for the pub enthusiast...' - www.gdaypubs.com.au
978 1 74027 445 6, 167pp, $37.50 BUY NOW
Wal Bird
Me No Go Mallybulla: Recruiting & Blackbirding in the Queensland Labour Trade 1863-1906
An account of one aspect of the trade; the recruiting and blackbirding of the Islanders. It tells of kidnappings, murders and massacres and the bloody reprisals carried out by both sides.
1 74027 289 7, 162pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Dale Blair
No Quarter: Unlawful Killing and Surrender in the Australian War Experience 1915-18
One of the rarely discussed aspects of the experience of soldiers in the First World War was the refusal to take prisoners during battle and in some cases the killing of prisoners in the front line. No Quarter investigates the degree to which Australian soldiers were participants in this practice both as victims and perpetrators.
'...exceptionally well-researched, objective and well-written...an essential work for any student of the Great War...' - Military History
1 74027 291 9, 76pp, $18.00 BUY NOW
Allison Blom
Magic Dragons: My Fight Against & Triumph Over Cancer
'It is refreshing to read of one remarkable woman's journey with breast cancer and the way in which she summoned her mental and emotional strengths to beat it.' - Dr Stuart B. Renwick
1 74027 035 5, 55pp, $15.00 BUY NOW
Dorothy Braxton, Rick Swindell & Elizabth MacKinlay (editors)
A Voice Worth Listening To
An inspiring book packed with personal accounts and up-to-date information proving that age need not be a barrier to an active and fulfilling life.
978 1 74027 422 7, 166pp, $20.00 BUY NOW
Olwyn Broder, Moira Collins, Venie Holmgren & Anabel Macdonald (editors)
And They're Still Falling
'Like any trail worth following, this collection of women's stories from the campaign to save the south-east forest of New South Wales in the 1980s and 1990s is made exhilarating by its unexpected twists and turns - swooping choppers, singing cops - and by its voices as diverse as the forest itself. Arresting reading!' - Dr Tim Metcalf
Highly commended, Non-fiction, ACT Writing & Publishing Awards 2007
978 1 74027 399 2, 144pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Fred Brown
Fred Brown’s Schooldays
'Fred Brown's Schooldays gives an unsparing, affectionate account of Canterbury Boys' High School, Sydney, where he was a pupil from 1940 to 1945. Fred’s story is of a school keeping the flag of learning flying through the darkest days of war, when students dug trenches and practised with machine guns as the enemy came ever closer to Australia, meanwhile collecting transfers, ogling girls and telling smutty jokes as schoolboys have done down the ages. Fred Brown’s Schooldays is full of funny stories and larger-than-life characters, teachers and students. It will enthral former pupils, their wives, friends and relations, children and grandchildren. But it is also a timeless story of boys growing up in a country at war, and a classical style of education from which there is still much to learn.' - Phillip Knightley, Murray Sayle
Print edition sold out but PDF version now available on CD, $10.00 BUY NOW
Kylie Ciampa
Living with Dyslexia
Written by a teacher who herself lives with dyslexia, this informative book takes a personal and positive approach towards this surprisingly common learning difficulty.
1 74027 368 0, 56pp, $17.50 BUY NOW
Ray Clift
It's a Fine Line
Anecdotes about some of the humorous events, and some of the dangerous incidents, Ray Clift encountered during his thirty-two-year career as an officer in the South Australian Police. His fresh and challenging memories highlight the differences between policing then and now. It's a Fine Line shows how we all walk a fine line between success and destruction. Ray and his peers are survivors with scars yet they still retain their sense of humour. Their eyes fixed on justice and common sense, they have walked along a rocky path, fallen in potholes and regained their toehold. He and his colleagues emerge as modern-day angels with dirty faces.
978 1 74027 571 2, 76pp, $18.00 BUY NOW
Pam Cole
Candlefire
It took a Caribbean cyclone, an Irish grandmother's hundredth wedding anniversary, an email from Puerto Rico, and a fireside visit from her great-great-grandfather’s cantankerous lady love to make the author realise their Hunter Valley farm lay close to land settled by her colonial forebears. Dreams and discoveries about her female ancestors mingle in this entertaining patchwork of tales told by candle light. Can the strength and courage of past lives enable us to cope with ageing, change, and loss?
'A strong sense of place and historical connectedness permeates the book.' - Grass Roots
978 1 74027 448 7, 144pp, $22.50 BUY NOW
Pam Cole
A Drop of the Asp
Pam Cole's magical word skills and memory for detail have cast their spell, and we are with her in a world of woodstove cookery and mustering on horseback, of bucketing bathwater from the wash-house copper at lamplit day's end, the chilly mountain air perfumed with lucerne hay and spicy apples, while firelight flickers on revived poddies snuggled on the hearth and the telephone jingles on the wall as the postmistress connects the party line...
978 1 74027 504 0, 90pp, $20.00 BUY NOW
John Cope
Boer War Men of the Queanbeyan-Braidwood Region: Adventurers or Patriots?
Drawing on contemporary wartime letters, John Cope tells the stories of 190 men from the region who joined British troops in the Boer War.
'Cope is to be congratulated for pursuing these elusive local men so indefatigably and so faithfully...' - Canberra Times
1 74027 301 X, 280pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
John Cope
Pioneer Parson of Early Canberra
Rev. Pierce Galliard Smith MA ThL was a significant figure in the lives of so many people who lived in the sparsely populated Canberra district in the second half of the nineteenth century. This book, based on thirty years of his diaries and many letters, provides a window on the families of his day and the inconveniences and tragedies that they frequently experienced.
'...a valuable contribution to local history. The production of the book is a credit to this excellent local publisher. John Cope has given Canberra’s clerical pioneer a worthy tribute.' - Canberra Times
978 1 74027 397 8, 308pp, $30.00 BUY NOW
John Cottee
Stations on the Track
An evocative insight into the history of a selection of country railway stations and the development of the lines leading to them. The book is generously illustrated with early drawings of the stations (and some of the stationmasters' residences) as well as archival and contemporary photos.
1 74027 258 7, 236pp, $50.00 BUY NOW<
Steve Davis
Rise Like Lions
Shows that our economic development has been nurtured by a unique social arrangement - the Australian System - that has the potential to be a model for the global economy.
'...Davis writes with courage, compassion and little regard for fallout...' - Sydney Morning Herald
1 74027 050 9, 140pp, $20.00 BUY NOW
Marty Dodd
They liked me, the horses, straightaway
Marty Dodd, taken from his parents when he was a boy, grew up to be a successful stockman, horse trainer and opal miner.
'Highly recommended...a delight from start to finish.' - Magpies
1 74027 067 3, 104pp, $22.00 BUY NOW
Martha Unganpari Edwards (illustrated by Kunyi June-Anne McInerney)
Daisy Bates & the Watjala Kids
Born of an Aboriginal mother of the Antikirinya language group and a white father, Martha Unganpari Edwards was therefore a ‘watjala kid’. In her long years with the people at Ooldea siding and later at Wynbring on the East-West railway line, Daisy Bates made it clear that such liaisons, and the children resulting from them, were offensive to her. As her story shows, however, Martha was one child who didn’t let Mrs Bates's resultant behaviour go unchallenged.
'This marvellous book has its own warm, humorous voice and a unique value in giving us real community responses to the extraordinary phenomenon of Daisy Bates, remembered from childhood by Aboriginal people who were actually there. The vivid combination of words and images makes that world come to life in ways that will educate and delight any reader, young or old.' - Nicholas Jose
978 1 74027 575 0, 40pp, colour illustrations, $16.00 BUY NOW
Glenda Ellis
Our Soldiers: Bungendore & the Great War
The people of Bungendore, New South Wales, shared the experiences of World War I with the Australian population of the time. The village was in no way more or less remarkable than any other. This book is an attempt to fix in the memory of that town now what life and death in the service of one's country could mean then. It reminds us of the life of another time and recalls the characters of the men who were willing to die to maintain that life for those who survived.
'...a detailed and sensitive tribute to the fallen of one typical Australian town.' - Canberra Times
978 1 74027 487 6, 198pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Ulrich Ellis
Pen in Politics
'These memoirs will be of particular interest to many specialist audiences. They include aficionados of the history of journalism, the early years and growth of Canberra as the national capital, the Country Party and the New England New State Movement. But there are many others, including all students of political life in general, particularly of those behind-the-scenes operators who grease the wheels of politics in so many ways.' - Professor John Warhurst, ANU
'...the time lapse before the appearance of these memoirs, covering another era in politics, has in no way diminished their value or importance. They are as fresh as ever – alive with acute observations and facts...' - Canberra Times
'...a rich vein of material on the behind-the-scenes operators and how they go about greasing the wheels of politics. For any political aficionado it is all compelling stuff.' - Northern Daily Leader
'...well-written and witty...' - Overland
978 1 74027 406 7, 271pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Alan Fewster
Capital Correspondent
The edited letters of Edwin Charles, written while he was a resident at Canberra’s Gorman House in the 1930s.
'...a goldmine of amusing social history.' - Canberra Times
'...wonderful collection...difficult to stop reading...' - Canberra Historical Journal
'...a valuable social history of early developing Canberra...' - History
'...skilfully edited and generously illustrated.' - Reviews in Australian Studies
1 74027 133 5, 172pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Joy Ford
A Very Normal Family
It is a horrendous act to violate a child - more outrageous when that child must learn to 'survive'... Joy is one of those children who went on to do more than just 'survive' the traumas of child abuse. Her determination to come out on top has paid off and she is a living example of healing. Take a moment to be inspired and encouraged by her story.
'...a brief and useful insight for professionals into the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse...' - Women Against Violence
1 74027 300 1, 63pp, $16.00 BUY NOW
Kenneth Hague
Dear Alice: Wartime letters from a soldier to his wife
Kenneth Hague served in the British army in the Boer War and World War I. His poignant letters to his wife are collected here.
1 74027 308 7, 68pp, $18.00 BUY NOW
Dorothy Hansen
Minus One
This moving memoir details the first 12 months after a mastectomy and how one woman has dealt with it. Facing cancer focuses the mind sharply on both the past and the future: the present has simply to be got through. The author’s hope is that her struggle to make sense of her situation may help others and their intimates.
978 1 74027 469 2, 165pp, $22.00 BUY NOW
Venie Holmgren
A Sense of Direction
'From Tuart trees to Towamba, with a black woollen sock capping the yoghurt, Venie Holmgren dips her fingers into the contrasting culrures of 1970s Australia. The landscape and the language are laid out for us in her own mixture of irreverent humour, anti-authoritarian notions of freedom and plain tenacity...as she battles solitude, the viicissitudes of life and outback roads for almost three bumpy years in a campervan.' - Tim Metcalf
978 1 74027 481 4, 184pp, $20.00 BUY NOW
Jennifer Horsfield
Mary Cunningham
Mary Cunningham lived in the Canberra region from the late 1800s. Her life was bound up with some of the great stories of early nationhood: the prosperity brought by wool, the arrival of Federation, the imperial enthusiasms of the Edwardian era, the creation of the national capital, and the sorrows and losses of the Great War.
'Anyone who enjoys reading about the minutiae of lives caught up in the sweep of history will appreciate this biography.' - Canberra Times
'...both a deeply affecting personal story and a record of rural life...a valuable addition to the local history of Canberra and district.' - Canberra Historical Journal
'...fine biography...' - Weekend Australian
'...a valuable insight into the history of the ACT and the life of women on outlying properties.' - Reviews in Australian Studies
978 1 74027 267 4, 268pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Jennifer Horsfield
Rainbow: the story of Rania MacPhillamy
The beautiful and accomplished daughter of a wealthy squatter, Rania MacPhillamy left Australia in 1915 to work in a Cairo hospital treating the wounded from Gallipoli. After the death of her soldier sweetheart she stayed on in Egypt and together with an older woman, Alice Chisholm, she set up a series of canteens for the men of the Light Horse.
'...laced with excerpts from letters, diaries, journals and official papers, but is not overwhelmed by its research. It is always human and colourful.' - SAM (Sydney Alumni Magazine)
Winner, Non-fiction, ACT Writing & Publishing Awards 2008
978 1 74027 423 4, 254pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Rosemary Howden
Episodes from a Fractured Childhood
Early in her life, the author’s maternal grandparents and her parents share a house and she feels loved and secure. Her grandparents suddenly move away to live. Without their influence, her parents rush headlong into self-destruction, sinking to such a level that all respect for them is lost and they become social outcasts.
978 1 74027 479 1, 248pp, $30.00 BUY NOW
George Huitker
Not Just Footy
This third edition of George Huitker’s tragicomic reflection on junior sporting experiences – as both a player and a coach – comes with a new foreword by former Joeys’ captain, Kaz Patafta, and some extra photographs from the stage play.
978 1 74027 085 4, 232pp, $22.00 BUY NOW
George Huitker
How To Succeed Without Really Winning
Huitker reflects on thirty years of experience as a player, coach and administrator.
'...in its gently didactic style, the book is reminiscent of Alain de Botton’s The Consolations of Philosophy set in a sporting context.' - Canberra Times
'Funny, tragic and richly sourced, it is not just a must-read for anyone like Uday Hussein, but all of us who've been temporarily unhinged by our sporting passions.' - Inside Sport
'...there is so much practical wisdom in this book that it should be required reading for all those involved in the vital task of coaching and supervising children’s sport.' - Sporting Traditions
'...should be required reading for everyone involved in junior sport...' - Sports Coach
'...this valuable book...would assist any parent or coach to reflect on their approach to junior sport.' - Reviews in Australian Studies
Winner, Memoir, ACT Writing & Publishing Awards 2006
1 74027 309 5, 282pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Madeleine Huxtable
The Flight of the Scorpion
On Saturday 7 March 1942, 12 RAF and RAAF personnel set sail from Tjilatjap, Java, in a 30-foot wooden lifeboat. Their mission: to reach Roebourne on the northern coast of West Australia, some 950 nautical miles away, and bring rescue to the remaining airmen trapped on the island who were in danger of being captured by the enemy. Written in memory of the author's father, RAAF Flight Sergeant William Nicholas Pax Cosgrove (1918-1943) of Richmond, Victoria, who was a member of that crew. The names, dates and some events are true. The rest is fiction.
1 74027 294 3, 72pp, $18.00 BUY NOW
Beverley Johnson
A Few Precious Moments at Brindabella
Brindabella – my mother used to say the word was probably associated with the Italian 'bella', which means beautiful, so...'beautiful valley'. Digging into archives I realised what a wealth of information was available. Letters once carefully tied with string and placed in a chest or library to be discovered years later are really valued by me now. Because this history is in danger of slipping away, I have recorded what I can for those who are unable to return.
'...some beautiful memories of the pioneering days of the Brindabella district.' - Canberra Times
978 1 74027 454 8, $26.00 BUY NOW
Brian H. Jones
The President
A reworking in modern idiom of Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince, with the original text rearranged, updated and supplemented to illuminate contemporary political practices. As with Machiavelli's work, The President advises politicians about how to access, exercise, and - above all - keep power, by whatever means the situation allows.
978 1 74027 500 2, 68pp, $18.00 BUY NOW
Eileen Jones
The Accidental Poet
'Eileen Jones doesn't readily stand out in a crowd. By temperament and habit she avoids self-promotion. Like many quiet achievers, she is candid, down to earth and even forthright when asked for information, but she has no great wish to impress. It's only when you talk with her and start reading between the lines, that you come to appreciate just how remarkable she is.' - Max Cornwell
'...an inspiring story of unfailing courage, persistence and unshakeable self-belief...' - The Write Angle
'...offers up gems and insights into the history of Australia, as well as the life of the author.' - Synapse
978 1 74027 417 3, 214pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Eileen Jones
A Potpourri of Prose
A varied collection of essays by an author who sustained multiple injuries including significant brain damage and was told it was most unlikely that she would ever recover her verbal skills. In spite of that warning, she now writes constantly, both prose and poetry.
978 1 74027 5555 2, 62pp, $17.50 BUY NOW
Edna Keir
Catharine with an A
A moving personal account of bringing up a child with Down syndrome.
1 74027 222 6, 134pp, $20.00 BUY NOW
Heather Kerridge
But what can I say?
When someone you love experiences the death of their child, and you want to know how you can help them, many questions may arise:
- is there anything practical that I can do?
- what can I say that might be supportive?
- what things might not be helpful?
But what can I say? deals with these questions and many more. The suggestions come from the first-hand experience of bereaved parents themselves.
978 1 74027 446 3, 92pp, $20.00 BUY NOW
Claire Laishley
Did You Know We Had a Screen Door?
Due to a short but sad history of car travel in her youth, Claire Laishley is less than enthusiastic when her husband suggests a road trip for their next holiday. Naïve to the pitfalls of driving something the size of a removalist van around the countryside, these two ‘virgin vanners’ take the plunge and hire a Winnebago, the Rolls Royce of mobile homes. This is a hilarious account of their travel experience, full of anecdotes covering everything from formulating a take-off checklist the RAAF would be proud of, and working out the ablution solution of the on-board toilet affectionately called Winnie the Poo, to managing her husband’s evolving fetish for brown signs. There are also plenty of colourful characters encountered during their trip, including the magical mystery massager in the mountains and the asthmatic astronomer on the plains.
978 1 74027, 202pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Robert Lehane
Forever Carnival
The founding Rector of St John's College, Sydney, Very Rev. Dr John Forrest, is the central character in this book, which tells a story of hopes dashed as grand dreams for St John’s succumbed to the reality of a divided Catholic Church and low student numbers.
'Lehane...tells an entertaining and rather sad story in exceptional detail, using an impressive array of contemporary sources.' - University of Sydney Gazette
'Lehane is a good writer who knows how to walk the tightrope between populism and rigorous history. His quotes are always ahort and essential; his ability to tell a story is so well honed that the narrative never flags.' - Sydney Morning Herald
'...a story full of interest and intrigue.' - Irish Echo
'...gives much insight into the Byzantine, often secretive and power-hungry ecclesiastical hierarchy...a moving story at a human level.' - Tain
'...provided great enjoyment and satisfaction...' - Irish Roots
'...deserves to be read by all those with an interest in the Irish diaspora, the history of New South Wales or the study of modern Catholicism.' - Australasian Journal of Irish Studies
1 74027 268 4, 330pp, $30.00 BUY NOW
Robert Lehane
William Bede Dalley
Draws on a wide range of sources to reveal an unconventional, perennially popular character who made major contributions to the political, legal and literary life of NSW. While the despatch of colonial troops to Sudan in 1885 is the act he is most often remembered for today, contemporaries admired him for much more - not least the use of his remarkable oratorical power, honed in memorable court cases, to champion causes such as religious and racial harmony and a gentler form of parliamentary politics.
'...much more than the account of a fascinating and full public life. It brings to life the colony of New South Wales in the 30 years after the grant of responsible government.' - Bar News (journal of the NSW Bar Association)
'...fascinating for the insights it provides of the parliamentary system in its infancy.' - Tintain
'Lehane's biography has done ample justice to a remarkable Australian patriot who deserves to be remembered for the significant role he played...' - Sabretache
'...a very readabe, ably researched and interesting account of a figure who fully deserves the focus of a biography.' - Australian Historical Studies
'...very readable... Solidly researched and well illustrated...' - Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society
'Those who read William Bede Dalley will rejoice in a rich and meaningful life and will learn about an aspect of Sydney and colonial society that better-known historians have barely glimpsed.' - Canberra Historical Journal
'Lehane...paints a rounded portrait of his subject through the vivid accumulation of detail, leaving readers to form their own impressions of Dalley. It is a very effective biographical technique... This remarkable book, with its text delightfully leavened by contemporary portraits and prints, is a colourful account, not only of the torturous permutations of colonial factional politics in NSW, but of the social history of Sydney and its environs. Robert Lehane has captured the very flavour of late-colonial society, from the bushranging days to the 1888 Centennial.' - Reviews in Australian Studies
'...a great insight into colonial Sydney...a fine biography...' - Australasian Journal of Irish Studies
'...full, readable, well-researched...' - Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society
978 1 74027 437 1, 423pp, $35.00 BUY NOW
Marina Lutz
Somers Commonwealth Immigration Camp
'I met Marina Lutz when she came to join the Barossa Writers in 2002. Soon after her arrival, Marina read to us a short account of her first year teaching. She had been appointed to a migrant camp, to teach English to the children. She was a living piece of Australia’s history and I told her that it was important that she write more fully about that camp. She smiled and confided that she already had. She showed me her manuscript...' - Alice Shore
978 1 74017 426 5, 54pp, $17.50 BUY NOW
John Maneschi
Giovinezza
A memoir of growing up in World War II Italy.
'An outstanding quality of John Maneschi's memoir is the subtle balance between time levels and between adult and childish points of view. The child's perspective constantly lightens the tone, finding enjoyment and fun in events which are acutely troubling to the adults. Written with verve, sensitivity and humour, Giovinezza will delight its readers.' - Joy Hooton
978 1 74027 431 9, 168pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Jennifer Martin
Mental Health Practice
This important book provides information on the latest developments in policy and service planning and delivery in mental health services; and gives a range of practical information and strategies for early intervention and working with people who are suicidal or self-harming and those who are using alcohol and other drugs as well as legal and justice issues.
1 74027 349 4, 236pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Jennifer Martin
Conflict Management and Mediation
This book provides important foundation knowledge for mediation practice, including
• effective communication
• management of difficult behaviours
• models of mediation tailored to different areas of practice
• theories, processes and skills for mediation and conflict management
• ethical considerations and practice standards.
978 1 74027 428 9, 136pp, $20.00 BUY NOW
Freya Mathews
Journey to the Source of the Merri
An ecological philosopher's account of three friends' journey to the source of their local creek.
1 74027 197 1, 55pp, $17.50 BUY NOW
Stephen Matthews (editor)
'How Did the Fire Know We Lived Here?'
In words and photographs (many in colour), more than 100 Canberrans reveal the stories of courage, loss and optimism behind the disastrous January 2003 bushfires.
'...an object lesson to all Australians to respect the forces of nature while enjoying the lifestyle afforded to them as they live within their unique environment.' - Reviews in Australian Studies
Highly commended, ACT Publishing Awards 2004
1 74027 202 1, 192pp, $22.00 BUY NOW
Deb Matthews-Zott (editor)
Gifts of Life
'Courage and inspiration are what you feel when you read these exceptional stories of everyday families coping with what life has dealt them! The harsh reality of organ and tissue donation is that we are dealing with life and death!' - Robyn Hookes
978 1 74027 410 4, $18.00 BUY NOW
Ian McFarlane
Of Cheese and Chutney
Essays, selected from Voice magazine, on a diverse range of issues, from the human rights of refugees, Indigenous reconciliation and the environment, to global conflict and economic rationalism. The elegantly expressed passion of the twenty-one pieces attacks the moral vacuum of right-wing arrogance with a search for humanity.
978 1 74027 583 5, 72pp, $18.00 BUY NOW
Humphrey McQueen
Framework of Flesh
McQueen uses labourers' own words to retell their battles around scaffolding and shithouses, for the safe removal of asbestos, prompt and adequate compensation, and a decent burial. The stories start in convict times and cover the six states and the ACT. The labourers' struggle for health and safety is followed into their dismantling of the framework of fear erected by the Building and Construction Commission. By tracking on-the-job experiences of demolishers, dog-men, hod-carriers and navvies, McQueen confirms the conviction of an early official of the BLF, Ben Mulvogue: 'A union constitutes a school for the working class, wherein they learn self-reliance, learn their rights, privileges, opportunities, as well as their possibilities. Every new demand for better physical protection of the workers ensures a great ideal development for a future generation.'
'...lively and impressively researched... It is the mixture of historical narrative with theory that grounds and enlivens this book...' - Journal of Occupational Health and Safety
978 1 74027 545 3, 338pp, $30.00 BUY NOW
Kerry O’Regan
The Things My Best Friends Told Me
A woman sets out to walk the Camino, the ancient pilgrimage across the north of Spain. No longer young, she walks alone, leaving family and friends behind. But she also carries them with her, in the messages they’ve written on her stick. Each day she walks and each day she reads the messages, and muses on them. These are her musings, on the places she sees, the people she meets, the events she lives. They’re whimsical, witty, and wise.
978 1 74027 546 0, 76pp, $18.00 BUY NOW
Peter Reddy
Torture: what you need to know
Why do people torture? For how long, and where, has this been happening? How do we think and talk about it? Probably more importantly, who is tortured and who does the torturing? This book provides readers with background knowledge, essential facts and plenty of answers.
'...a timely reminder of the dangers the world faces in its response to terrorism.' - Canberra Times
'...goes a long way to show the clear and present danger represented by the ongoing existence and use of torture, the suspension of habeas corpus (such as for the inmates held at Guantanamo Bay) and the US’s pick-and-choose approach to the Geneva Convention...' - Reviews in Australian Studies
'...makes an important contribution to understanding the impulses which impel people to torture and how torture affects its victims and our civilisation.' - Law Society Journal
Runner-up, History, ACT Writing & Publishing Awards 2006
1 74027 322 2, 204pp, $25.00 BUY NOW
Leann Richards
Houdini's Tour of Australia
When escapologist Harry Houdini toured Australia in 1910 he brought magic, mystique, his wife and an aeroplane. Houdini conquered crowds and nearly caused riots, he escaped straitjackets and shackles and flew through the air. Some said he was supernatural, to others he was a fraud, but Houdini confounded them all.
'A well researched book of great interest...' - History Magazine
978 1 74027 396 1, 60pp, $17.50 BUY NOW
Sue Roman
Soft Neglect: What's happening in our schools?
There have been many changes to the way children are taught in schools in the past thirty years. A teacher for nearly 30 years, Sue Roman argues that, despite the rhetoric of modern educators, we may be making some serious mistakes, and it is time that we had a good hard look at what is happening in our schools.
1 74027 358 3, 60pp, $17.50 BUY NOW
John Sabine
Around the World in Eighty Ways
A book for travellers rather than a travel book. The author makes no attempt to extol the virtues of different and far-flung places, nor how to get there, nor what to do when you are there, nor – and what is usually worse – any mention of how much of a small fortune all of that would cost. By contrast we have here a veritable salmagundi of travel adventures – for both the armchair voyageur and the inveterate wanderer. You will accompany the author to places both near and far, sometimes with his family and sometimes not, to experience with him the ups and downs of his travels at home and abroad. And always with a smile on your face.
978 1 74027 553 8, 256pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Ben Smith
No Time for the Smiths
A true account, constructed from journals, of the first year of a marriage fifty years ago. In 1959, Sydney was a kinder, slower place. In outer suburbs you could see koalas in the trees. Bandicoots still hunted through rubbish bins, black snakes basked on the lawn and kookaburras laughed at sun-up two days before it rained. The sea was clean, buildings smaller, cars rudimentary, freeways unknown. We had pounds and shillings, inches, yards, believed in cooking with lots of lovely fat and were able to travel to England restfully by sea. Labour-saving devices were the clothes prop, the mechanised ringer and the barrel lawnmower. The welfare state hadn't replaced the need to work and young couples getting married found things tough.
978 1 74027 527 9, 212pp, $28.00 BUY NOW
Debra Smith
In Prison
'The Bridge Foundation is unique...because it serves an important issue that most of society, including governments, would rather avoid: the provision of services for those released from custody. Why is it that we think custody is a solution and an end in itself? I have never met a more gutsy and generous group of people than those who serve The Bridge Foundation. Debra Smith has led the way but, oh boy, they have all brought their distinctive ethical passions to focus on those who need help. Abandonment is not their style and it is a pity that we cannot all recognise the worth and beauty of a local response to a worldwide problem.' - His Honour Peter Gebhardt
978 1 74027 521 7, 130pp, $22.00 BUY NOW
Stephany Evans Steggall
Bruce Dawe: Life Cycle
Acknowledges one of Australia's best known poets and one of his best known poems. His life cycles have been poverty, perseverance and personal happiness; the rhythms of his being are the rhythms of his poetry - persistently fearless in speaking out on social and political issues; consistently sensitive and lyrical about painful concerns; insistently witty and satirical on just about anything. His range of poetry resists wrong and reveals a great love of his fellow man and a deep understanding of life. This biography is the first time that Dawe's life has been interpreted in full through his poetry, and the poems take on new significance when read in this context. The subject is telling some of the story in his own words - in poems.
'...estimable and intriguing...sympathetic, carefully researched and fluently written...' - Canberra Times
'...a warm portrait of one of our greatest living writers.' - Brisbane News
978 1 74027 567 5, 368pp, $30.00 BUY NOW
Richard Teese
Seven Halfpennies
Seven Halfpennies is a collection of autobiographical tales of the childhood and youth of a working-class boy who grew up in a poor Housing Commission estate in the south-east of Melbourne in the 1950s. From broken home and failure at school, the compelling theme of Seven Halfpennies is 'making yourself' through music, poetry, love, but above all through the liberating medium of words and ideas.
978 1 74027 496 8, 110pp, $27.50 BUY NOW
Peter Walters
The Perfumed Curriculum
This is a story about love and loss and the choices that are made in their name. As Peter Walters recovers from the painful treatment of a virulent cancer, he remembers a time when, as a young teacher, he experienced a series of hilarious, traumatic, magical and fateful episodes of love and loss. Flying in the face of conventional teaching practices of the sixties and seventies, Peter’s accounts of romantic involvement with fellow teachers and mothers of his students are intense, sensuous, funny and tragic and in stark contrast to the term of trial which he is undergoing.
978 1 74027 578 1, 194pp, $30.00 BUY NOW
Stephen Matthews Ginninderra Press PO Box 3461 Port Adelaide 5015
stephen@ginninderrapress.com.au
www.ginninderrapress.com.au
ABN 42 447 290 724