Showing results by publisher "Hachette Australia" in Biographies & Memoirs

From a childhood in London and Melbourne through to pop stardom in the 1960s, the critical success enjoyed with the release of the highest-selling Australian album of all time, Whispering Jack, and a decades-long touring career, the John Farnham story is, at first glance, one filled with remarkable highlights. It is, however, so much more than that. It is the story of the resilience John found as his stellar career stalled, record companies turned their backs, and he faced financial ruin.

When Who the Hell is Hamish? hit podcast platforms in 2019, Tracy Hall quickly became known as the last victim of one of the world's most prolific con men, Hamish McLaren. At last, Tracy is sharing the full story of how she overcame financial and emotional betrayal in this fast-paced, witty and empowering true crime memoir.

This is the eye-opening updated account of Rogerson's life of crime and how he went from hero cop to ruthless criminal, considered one of the most corrupt and evil men in Australia. Detailing the chilling murder of Jamie Gao in storage unit 803 that led to Rogerson's final incarceration, bestselling author Duncan McNab also shares the stories behind the secrets Rogerson took to his grave.

Sir Hubert Wilkins is one of the most remarkable Australians who ever lived. The son of pioneer pastoralists in South Australia, Hubert studied engineering before moving on to photography, then sailing for England and a job producing films with the Gaumont Film Co. Brave and bold, he became a polar expeditioner, a brilliant war photographer, a spy in the Soviet Union, a pioneering aviator-navigator, a death-defying submariner - all while being an explorer and chronicler of the planet and its life forms that would do Vasco da Gama and Sir David Attenborough proud.

Most of us have done our time in the retail trenches, but service stations are undoubtedly the frontline, as Melburnian David Goodwin found out when he started working the weekend graveyard shift at his local servo. From his very first night shift, David absorbed a consistent level of mind-bending lunacy, encountering everything from giant shoplifting bees and balaclava-clad goons hurling cordial-filled water bombs from the sunroof of their BMW, to anarcho-goths high on MDMA releasing large rats into the store from their matching Harry Potter backpacks.

It was a perfect Wednesday morning when Alex 'Chumpy' Pullin kissed his partner, Ellidy, goodbye to go spearfishing. Most days Ellidy would go to the beach too, but that day she didn't. Later, there was a knock at the door. A man had been found unconscious on the ocean floor. It was Chumpy. From that moment, Ellidy's world stopped. There was deep grief, disbelief and then the gradual realisation that this was real. Ellidy's partner of eight years, a World Champion snowboarder, a man of energy and music, was gone.

Tara Costigan was the woman next door. A hard worker. Quick to laugh and easy to like. She was happy, confident, strong. A woman who always looked after herself and her kids. Close with her family and her friends, she was much loved. Then, in 2013, she met Marcus Rappel. A local tradie, he was charming and sincere, they dated and fell in love. That should have been the end of a happy-ever-after story. But for Tara, it was much uglier. And for her family it would be devastating.

Adam Hills was a quiet primary school kid with a prosthetic foot, who did all his homework and only spoke when spoken to. His dad sparked in him a love of comedy, and together they'd spend hours watching and listening to the greats like Peter Sellers and Mel Brooks. So, when it was Adam's turn to speak, he made sure he was funny.

In mid-2017, whispers from Australia's most secretive and elite military unit reached Walkley Award-winning journalist Nick McKenzie. McKenzie and veteran reporter Chris Masters began an investigation that would not only reveal shocking information about Australia's most famous and revered SAS soldier but plunge the two reporters into the defamation trial of the century.

As a young girl growing up in a strict ultra-Orthodox family, Dassi's life was preordained - marry young, live a devout life and raise children within the Adass community's religious rules. This righteous path would keep her safe from the immodest, secular world just a few blocks away in suburban Melbourne. But the Adass community was not safe for Dassi. She was fifteen when her revered school principal, Malka Leifer, started to single her out. Dassi's cloistered and harsh upbringing meant she didn't have the words for what was happening to her, but she knew it was very, very wrong.

Taking us from the suburbs of Western Sydney and Australia's military army bases, to the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, this is a remarkable audiobook that reveals the as-yet untold story of the battle for Mosul and the secret involvement of Australians on both sides of the war - both our commandos and Australian ISIS fighters. Mosul details the rise of ISIS influence in Australia, the Iran and Australia allegiance to fight Daesh and shows what led up to the battle and the ramifications that are still being felt at home - by our soldiers and the victims of that war.

For all the significant moments in Adam's life, cricket was in the background - or foreground. And you don't need to be a fan of cricket to be able to relate, because we all remember where we were when something important happened, whether that's a cricket test, an album release or a TV show ending. Twelve Summers is hilarious, moving and thought-provoking. Even if you aren't a fan of cricket, you'll find a lot to love listening to this audiobook.

This is the powerful, untold story of two of the three members of Silverchair, Australia's most awarded musical act. From their beginnings in Ben Gillies' garage, this trio of high school kids from Newcastle, New South Wales, became famous with their smash-hit single 'Tomorrow', setting them on a path to domination of the Australian charts, worldwide touring and fame. So much has been written about Silverchair over the years but very little has been said by the band's members.

At 23, Qin Qin was an unhappy overachiever working for a prestigious law firm. So she quit. She didn't know what else was out there, but she wanted to find out. She changed paths, changed countries, changed her entire view of what the world could be, and who she could be - with some primal screaming and tree-hugging along the way. In the process, she discovered the person she truly was, not who she thought she should be.

Christopher Pyne has been many things and called many things throughout his long career in politics. Member for Sturt. Minister for defence. Manager of opposition business. Leader of the House. 'The Fixer'. Any Canberra story he doesn't know isn't worth telling. Now, after 26 years, the ultimate insider is outside the House and ready to burst the Canberra bubble with his trademark sharp wit.

In December 1932, as the Depression tightened its grip, the body of a woman was found in Queens Park, Sydney. It was a popular park. There were houses in plain view. Yet this woman had been violently murdered without anyone noticing. Other equally brutal and shocking murders of women in public places were to follow. Australia's first serial killer was at large.

A collection of funny personal essays from one of the writers of Superbad and Pineapple Express and one of the producers of The Disaster Artist, Neighbors, and The Boys. (All of these words have been added to help this book show up in people's searches using the wonders of algorithmic technology. Thanks for bearing with us!)

Sometimes the whole truth is the death of everything. Caroline Laner Breure was on holiday in Spain with her boyfriend when her skull was crushed. A year later, following starless months in a coma and painful rehabilitation, Caroline returned to her beachside apartment in Sydney, only to find that her home was not her home, her lover was not her lover and her friends were not her friends. Everyone and everything she'd loved had vanished. Physically broken and no longer able to trust her own mind, she painstakingly searched for clues to explain the cruel disparity between her past and present.

Have you ever bunged it on? Behaved like a drongo? Added mayo to a story? Lost your Reg Grundies? Join bestselling storyteller William McInnes as he offers his own take on our colourful and colloquial way with words. From the simpler times of childhood to today's testing (and unprecedented!) times, or when we're wasting time, enjoying sporting times or hitting the big time, Australians have a turn of phrase for every situation. Our love of plain speaking communicates the essence of the thing to our mates, to those in the know - and to those who should know better.

In 1858, 14-year-old Narcisse Pelletier sailed from Marseilles in the French trader Saint-Paul. With a cargo of Bordeaux wine, they stopped in Bombay, then Hong Kong, and from there they set sail with more than 300 Chinese prospectors bound for the goldfields of Ballarat and Bendigo. Around the eastern tip of New Guinea, however, the ship became engulfed in fog, struck reefs and ran aground.