Books & arts
The matriarch
Sara Dowse
16 August 2016
Books | Was Kate Leigh a bad woman, the worst in Sydney?
Essays & reportage
Golden disobedience: the history of Eric Rolls
Tom Griffiths
9 August 2016
For Eric Rolls, historical writing needed to serve the future, writes Tom Griffiths
Books & arts
The book of the film of the book
Brian McFarlane
3 August 2016
Brian McFarlane reviews Whit Stillman’s Love and Friendship
Essays & reportage
Distance and destiny
Graeme Davison
28 July 2016
Published fifty years ago, The Tyranny of Distance changed the way we see Australia, writes Graeme Davison
Books & arts
The fax of life for film-makers
Brian McFarlane
22 July 2016
Books | This collaborative account shows how films, almost miraculously, get to the screen, writes Brian McFarlane
Books & arts
Contradictory counsel
Tony Blackshield
1 July 2016
Books | A new biography of Sydney lawyer and sometime politician Tom Hughes details a remarkable career, writes Tony Blackshield
From the archive
The myth of Keith Murdoch’s Gallipoli letter
Mark Baker
27 June 2016
How the legendary dispatch failed its first test
Books & arts
Judge by the hands, not by the eyes
Brett Evans
24 June 2016
Books | Maurizio Viroli wants us to take a fresh look at the political philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli, writes Brett Evans
Books & arts
Thrillingly alive while history was made
Evan Williams
24 June 2016
Books | Thornton McCamish’s unconventional biography of writer Alan Moorehead succeeds beautifully, writes Evan Williams
Books & arts
Cartoonists go back to class
Robert Phiddian
7 June 2016
Books | A new collection of cartoons reveals a struggle to find the comic essence of Malcolm Turnbull, writes Robert Phiddian
Books & arts
Is this such a man?
Peter Crowley
2 June 2016
Books | Angus McMillan’s name has become attached to at least one massacre in Victoria’s Gippsland region, writes Peter Crowley. But does the…
Essays & reportage
Burying Margaret Mead
Felicity Wade
2 June 2016
Labor seemed the obvious place to mobilise broader support for strong climate change policies, writes former Wilderness Society staffer Felicity Wade
Books & arts
On literary awards
Susan Lever
30 May 2016
Australia’s array of awards shows there are good and bad ways of recognising great writing, argues Susan Lever
Books & arts
Uncommonly good?
Frank Bongiorno
23 May 2016
Books | He’s level-headed, dogged and hard-working, writes Frank Bongiorno. And maybe that’s enough, whether Labor wins or not
Books & arts
The battle for India’s soul
Bob Smith
20 May 2016
Books | Two new books throw light on the social and religious forces swirling around Narendra Modi’s Indian government, writes Bob Smith
Books & arts
The baritone’s party piece
Andrew Ford
10 May 2016
Music | Each singer must find his own voice for Peter Maxwell Davies’s best-known work, writes Andrew Ford
Books & arts
Believers, doubters and disbelievers
Janna Thompson
20 April 2016
Books | Transcendence, meaning, social purpose: religion has gripped a remarkable range of thinkers, says Janna Thompson
Books & arts
On the brink of war
Brian McFarlane
20 April 2016
Books | Helen Simonson offers a panoramic yet finely detailed view of a society heading for upheaval, writes Brian McFarlane
Books & arts
Untangling a new era for land rights
Michael Dillon
15 April 2016
Books | The land rights debate has entered a new era, writes Michael Dillon, and Leon Terrill is an informed and engaging guide
Books & arts
How they invented the prime minister
Norman Abjorensen
8 April 2016
Books | The Australian prime ministership was created out of almost nothing during the first five decades of the twentieth century, writes Norman Abjorensen
Books & arts
An “ordinary guy” in extraordinary times
Tom Hyland
1 April 2016
Books | David Kilcullen helps us make sense of the madness unleashed by Islamic State, writes Tom Hyland. But he’s less convincing about what we should do next
Books & arts
Pride and Prejudice in the warzone
Jane Goodall
24 March 2016
Television | It’s War and Peace’s turn for another BBC adaptation, writes Jane Goodall. But perhaps some temptations should be resisted
Books & arts
Intimate histories
Carolyn Holbrook
21 March 2016
Books | Anna Clark gives academic historians plenty to think about, writes Carolyn Holbrook
Books & arts
The legends of John le Carré
Peter Love
17 March 2016
Adam Sisman’s biography of the prolific writer highlights the fine line between stories and lies, writes Peter Love
Essays & reportage
Victims and suspects: the catch-22 of being a Muslim woman in Australia
Shakira Hussein
10 March 2016
Muslim women are urged to break free of patriarchical domestic lives yet viewed with suspicion if they display signs of their religion in…
Essays & reportage
The wicked problem of alcohol management
Mark Moran
10 March 2016
As the experience of the Queensland community of Kowanyama shows, implementation – rather than the media, politicians or the public service – is the engine room of Indigenous…
From the archive
Who’s counting?
Bronwyn Carlson
8 March 2016
Identifying and acknowledging an Aboriginal lineage can be a complex and challenging process
Books & arts
A father, a son, and two wars
Meg Gurry
1 March 2016
Books | Meg Gurry reviews Michael McKernan’s account of one family in war and peace
Books & arts
Hindesight, 2016
Sylvia Lawson
29 February 2016
Cinema | Sylvia Lawson views Looking for Grace through the lens of John Hinde’s classic analysis of Australian film
From the archive
Revolutionary idling
Janna Thompson
2 February 2016
Bertrand Russell’s classic raises old questions about new problems
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