Australia is different—a vast island-continent with distances so great that the capital of Western Australia is closer to Singapore than it is to Sydney. The landscape embraces magnificent tropical rainforests and deserts the size of several European states; temperate areas that sustain a flourishing wine industry, making Australia the world's fourth largest wine exporter; a sixteen-thousand-mile coastline of breathtaking beaches; and its unique fauna is testament to the country's "down-un...

Barry Penney attended Adelaide University reading Education. He spent the early part of his career working as a primary school teacher before leaving education to take up a job in sales and marketing. He eventually rose to general sales manager of Ciba-Geigy, a major pharmaceutical company. He went on to attend the Australian Administrative Staff College in Victoria and serves as an associate fellow at the Australian Institute of Management.Again a change of career: Barry,...

Australia is different-a vast island-continent with distances so great that the capital of Western Australia is closer to Singapore than it is to Sydney. The landscape embraces magnificent tropical rainforests and deserts the size of several European states; temperate areas that sustain a flourishing wine industry, making Australia the world's fourth largest wine exporter; a sixteen-thousand-mile coastline of breathtaking beaches; and its unique fauna is testament to the country's down-und...

We like beer in Canada. We really, really like it. And it’s not just a fly-by-night, sordid little affair. We’re in it long term. We spend something like $8 billion a year on beer. From barley growers to label designers, more than 170,000 Canadians owe their full-time jobs directly or indirectly to beer. The rest of us just do what we can to help.In the long-awaited follow up to Notes on a Beermat, Pashley explores beer in Canada, covering many salient points, including ch...

At twenty-something, Alice is eager for the milestones of adulthood- leaving home, choosing a career, finding friendship and love on her own terms. But with each step she takes she feels the sharp tug of invisible threads- the love and worry of her parents, who want more than anything to keep her from harm. Her father fears for her safety to an extraordinary degree - but why?As she digs further into her father's story, Alice embarks on a journey of painful discovery- of memories lo...

Denis Gregory takes us on an unforgettable and hilarious journey through the history of Australia and what it means to be an Australian. Full of quirky observations and little-known facts, this book is a vivid commentary on the life and culture of ' the lucky country'.

The authorities on all things bogan and authors of THINGS BOGANS LIKE are back with an historical, sociological, geographic and cultural study that traces bogan culture back to society's very foundation.Identifying prototypical and stereotypical bogans through time, they examine the bogan of the 19th century and their pre-war descendants, before moving onto the speciman often considered the quintessential bogan, identified by a love of '80s metal, flannelette and Victoria Bitter. T...

First published in 2001 to national acclaim, Notes on a Beermat is Nicholas Pashley’s ode to the amber nectar of the gods, a witty meditation on beer and everything that goes with it—from socializing to the solitary pleasures of a beer and a book, to the qualities necessary in a good pub.Most books about beer focus on the beverage itself, how to make it and how to buy it. Notes on a Beermat, the only Canadian book of its kind, explains how to drink beer and why it...

“There are those who think that Paul Theroux is the finest travel writer working in English. This collection can only enhance that reputation.”—The New York Times Book ReviewAuthor and travel writer Paul Theroux does what no one else can: he travels to the isolated, unusual, and fascinating spots of the world, and creates an elegy to them that makes readers feel they are traveling with him. Evocative, breathtaking, intriguing, here is the armchair traveler...

'A terrific account of a great nation cursed by ordinary leaders' - George Megalogenis'There's sharpness and insight in Bryant's book' - Sydney Morning HeraldNever before has Australia enjoyed such economic, commercial, diplomatic and cultural clout. Its recession-proof economy is the envy of the world. It’s the planet’s great lifestyle superpower. But its politics have never been so brutal, narrow and facile, as well as such a glob...

Michael Palin's terrific account of his journey through 18 countries bordering the Pacific Ocean, published by Phoenix for the first time.For almost a year, Michael Palin travelled through 18 countries on the perimeter of the world's largest ocean, in a spectacular journey of contrasts, drama and beauty.From head-hunters in Borneo to a meal of maggots in Mexico, his route takes him to some of the most politically volatile and physically demanding places on ...

Robert Long and his family - wife Catherine, and children Christan (17) and Robin (14) - live in complete isolation, in a hut two days' walk south of Haast in South Westland. Robert has lived there for nearly 30 years; Catherine for 20 and the kids all their lives. Their only contact with the outside world is a helicopter or plane once a month, and two trips a year to the 'outside world'. This is the story of how and why Robert - known locally as 'Beansprout' - came to live at Gorge River,...