
A Shorter History of Australia
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Buy Now for $24.99
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Narrated by:
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Humphrey Bower
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By:
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Geoffrey Blainey
About this listen
After a lifetime of research and debate on Australian and international history, Geoffrey Blainey is well placed to introduce us to the people who have played a part and to guide us through the events which have created the Australian identity: the mania for spectator sport, the suspicion of the tall poppy, the rivalries of Catholic and Protestant, Sydney and Melbourne, new and old homelands, the conflicts of war abroad and race at home, the importance of technology, the recognition of our Aboriginal past and Native Title, the successes and failures of the nation.
For this enlarged edition Blainey has rewritten or expanded on various episodes and themes, making changes to almost every page. He has described significant events and trends of the early 20th century. A final chapter summarises key factors that shaped and still shape this country's history.
©1994 Geoffrey Blainey , 2009. (P)2010 Bolinda PublishingCritic Reviews
Easy to follow summary of Australian history
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this was a perfect summary and i enjoyed learning about the highlights of this country's story. recommend it to all migrants like myself.
My fisrt book on Au history. loved the book.
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Well read and a great listen
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Outstanding - compulsory reading
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otherwise comprehensive summation
strong resource
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Before I go into the substance of the book itself there is a need to address what Aussies call "the history wars" of the early 2000s.
This was a disgusting shred of our history, the impacts of which continue into today. It was kicked off by a national inquiry into aboriginal children removed from their parents.
It was an outpouring of hatred by the southeast political left of my country, supported by state media and captured institutions. During the process, many good people were slandered unfairly and had their professional reputations destroyed. The conclusions of this movement appealed to the hate-filled and unintellectual forebears of today's "woke".
That said, it draws out the history of colonisation as well as the inevitable clashes between the new settlers and the aboriginal people. In particular, was the final acknowledgement that the convicts of this era were the last authorised slaves of the British Empire. People were treated so badly that a visiting Anglican Priest from England had two of them throw themselves on their knees in front of him begging for execution. Convict John Frost called it "
It also tracks honestly the conflict and slaughter of aboriginal people, in particular throughout the Queensland frontiers. It also goes a long way to explain the vast gulf between the two peoples. In particular, like most Australian historians, Blainey is in awe of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle that had survived for at least 37k years since separating from the Papuans.
Truth has been buried in the pursuit of Australian history, and gems like this are both hard to find and very, very valuable.
What happens when two ancient civilisations collid
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exceptional
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Should be on every modern history teacher's list
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Good summary wish I got more detail
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Positive
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