A Promised Land by Barack Obama

$54.99 AUD

$65.00 (15% off)

Category: Politics | Reading Level: near fine

In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of th e first term of his historic presidency - a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil. Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation's highest office. Reflecting on the presidency, he offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and authorises Operation Neptune Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden. A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspective — the story of one man's bet with history, the faith of a community organiser tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Black American, bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of hope and change and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is always possible. This beautifully written and powerful book captures Barack Obama's conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by day.       ...Show more

Please Explain: The Rise, Fall and Rise Again of Pauline Hanson by Anna Broinowski

$9.99 AUD

$34.99 (71% off)

Category: Politics

In 1996, Pauline Hanson gave a speech that changed Australia. Attacking Asian and Indigenous people and foreign aid, Hanson unleashed a Pandora's box of violence and division on the progressive country Prime Minister Keating had positioned as 'part of Asia'. After her famous defeat in 1998, her politica l downfall seemed assured - but she stayed firmly in the spotlight, whether she was being locked up for electoral fraud or jiving on Dancing with the Stars. Now, after almost two decades in the political wilderness, Hanson is back and more powerful than ever. Before One Nation's astonishingly successful return to Australian politics in 2016, multi-award-winning filmmaker Anna Broinowski had complete access to Hanson and her 'Fed Up' election campaign. Broinowski followed Hanson as she flew from Rockhampton to Sydney to Great Keppel Island and beyond in her Jabiru two-seater. The crazies, the madness, the division and the hatred Hanson attracts and inflames were all on show - sometimes funny, sometimes frightening, and often surreal. At the time, no one was taking Pauline Hanson and One Nation's political chances seriously, but Broinowski quickly realised that there was a movement forming behind her. Pauline Hanson's explosive political journey mirrors Australia's own- from left-leaning multiculturalism, to the divided landscape we live in now. And, alongside the shocks of Brexit and Trump's presidency, Hanson's resurrection reflects a broader global trend towards outrageous far-right outsiders. Please Explain is a compelling, intimate look at how an Ipswich fish and chip shop lady changed our nation - and how (whether we like it or not) she speaks directly to Australian society and our multicultural identity today. ...Show more

SALE - Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House by Omarosa Manigault Newman

$9.99 AUD

$32.99 (69% off)

Category: Politics

The former Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison in the Trump White House provides a jaw-dropping look into the corruption and controversy of the current administration. Few have been a member of Donald Trump's inner orbit longer than Omarosa Manigau lt Newman. Their relationship has spanned fifteen years--through four television shows, a presidential campaign, and a year by his side in the most chaotic, outrageous White House in history. But that relationship has come to a decisive and definitive end, and Omarosa is finally ready to share her side of the story in this explosive, jaw-dropping account. A stunning tell-all and takedown from a strong, intelligent woman who took every name and number, Unhinged is a must-read for any concerned citizen. ...Show more

Quarterly Essay 74: Prosperity Gospel: How Scott Morrison Won and Bill Shorten Lost (The 2019 Election) by Erik Jensen

$22.99 AUD

Category: Politics

What went wrong for Labor and how did Scott Morrison achieve his remarkable victory? In this dazzling report from the campaign trail, Erik Jensen homes in on the insecurities that drive Bill Shorten and the certainties that helped Scott Morrison win. He considers how each man reflects, challenges and co mforts the national character. Who are Morrison’s “quiet Australians”? What did Shorten Labor fail to see? And will fear always trump hope in politics? The Prosperity Gospel sheds new light on the politics of a divided nation. “Arthur Sinodinos says the election is a crapshoot. He’s in a car park in Nowra, waiting for Morrison. ‘The momentum has been with us at different times, especially in Queensland,’ he says. ‘Central Queensland, even the outer suburbs of Brisbane. It’s a narrow pathway to victory, with the odds going the other way. But it ain’t over until it’s over.’ Despite everything, Arthur Sinodinos has an honest face. He does not look confident.” ...Show more

The Brexit Chronicles - A Year of Madness by Fintan O'Toole

$9.99 AUD

$32.99 (69% off)

Category: Politics

Three years in the troubled British Isles from the bestselling author of Heroic Failure. Three Years in Hellis a mordantly funny and perceptive account of three years in our troubled islands, leading up to the aftermath of Brexit (or not, as it may prove). It includes scathing portraits of the leading c haracters, including Johnson, and of the strange twists and turns that British politics has taken and the effects on our friends and neighbours. ...Show more

Making Headlines by Chris Mitchell

$32.99 AUD

Category: Politics

As editor-in-chief of The Australian Chris Mitchell ran the largest stable of journalists with the largest editorial budget in the country for over a dozen years. In this humorous and revealing book he gives first hand details about the quirks and foibles of some of the most powerful politicians and med ia executives this country has produced. A controversial figure in media throughout his quarter of a century as a daily editor, Chris Mitchell still maintains close regular contact with past prime ministers, editors and media CEOs. His book is informed by the sorts of judgements and thought processes that govern daily newspaper journalism at the highest level and the battles his papers fought to publish tough stories about the rich and the powerful. ...Show more

Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain by Fintan O'Toole

$9.99 AUD

$19.99 (50% off)

Category: Politics

'There will not be much political writing in this or any other year that is carried off with such style' The Times. A TIMESBOOK OF THE YEAR. 'A quite brilliant dissection of the cultural roots of the Brexit narrative'David Miliband. 'Hugely entertaining and engrossing'Roddy Doyle. 'Best book about the English that I've read for ages'Billy Bragg. 'A wildly entertaining but uncomfortable read ... Pitilessly brilliant'Jonathan Coe. In exploring the answers to the question: 'why did Britain vote leave?', Fintan O'Toole finds himself discovering how trivial journalistic lies became far from trivial national obsessions; how the pose of indifference to truth and historical fact has come to define the style of an entire political elite; how a country that once had colonies is redefining itself as an oppressed nation requiring liberation; the strange gastronomic and political significance of prawn-flavoured crisps, and their role in the rise of Boris Johnson; the dreams of revolutionary deregulation and privatisation that drive Arron Banks, Nigel Farrage and Jacob Rees-Mogg; and the silent rise of English nationalism, the force that dare not speak its name. He also discusses the fatal attraction of heroic failure, once a self-deprecating cult in a hugely successful empire that could well afford the occasional disaster: the Charge of the Light Brigade, or Franklin lost in the Arctic. Now failure is no longer heroic - it is just failure, and its terrible costs will be paid by the most vulnerable of Brexit's supporters, and by those who may suffer the consequences of a hard border in Ireland and the breakdown of a fragile peace. ...Show more

The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power

$9.99 AUD

$32.99 (69% off)

Category: Politics | Reading Level: 3 Biography

Pulitzer-Prize winner Samantha Power is widely known as the moral voice of her generation. A relentless advocate for promoting human rights, she has been heralded by President Barack Obama as one of America's "foremost thinkers on foreign policy." The Education of an Idealist traces Power's extraordinar y journey, from Irish immigrant to human rights activist to United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Power began her career as a war correspondent and as a vocal critic of US foreign policy, and then put her ideals into practice while working with Obama in the Senate, on the campaign trail, and throughout his presidency. Power's perspective on government is unique, as she takes us from the streets of war-torn Bosnia to the Situation Room and out into the world of high-stakes diplomacy. In her characteristically gripping prose, Power illuminates the messy and complex worlds of politics and geopolitics while laying bare the searing battles and defining moments of her life. She also reveals what it's like to juggle the demands of a 24/7 national security job with raising two young children. And, in the face of great challenges, she shows us not just how the United States can lead, but why there is always something each of us can do to advance the cause of human dignity. The Education of an Idealist is a humorous, stirring, and ultimately unforgettable account of the world-changing power of idealism - and of one person's fierce determination to make a difference. ...Show more

Joe Biden American Dreamer by Evan Osnos

$29.99 AUD

Category: Politics

A concise, brilliant and incisive examination of Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his lifelong quest for the presidency This definitive history of Joe Biden tells the poignant story of the man – both his life in politics and the series of personal tragedies that have marked him – drawing on extensive co nversations with Biden himself from his time at the Whitehouse to his home during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as interviews with President Barack Obama, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar and some of the biggest names in American politics. Blending up-close journalism with broader context, award-winning New Yorker journalist Evan Osnos illuminates the life of Joe Biden and captures the characters and meaning of an extraordinary presidential election. In his nuanced portrait, Biden emerges as flawed, yet resolute, and tempered by the flame of tragedy – a man who just may be uncannily suited for his moment in history… ...Show more