The happy accident that created wi-fi. The well-placed piece of coral that saved the Endeavour from sinking. The karaoke night that launched Kylie's singing career.Australia may be known as 'the lucky country', but just how accurate is that description? Turns out, very. From the Gold Rush to Stephen Bradbury, our history is full of times when lady luck made a spectacular appearance. Now, Eamon Evans dives deep to deliver the most hilarious, fascinating tales of the Australians who w...

Who stole the priceless Picasso from the NGV? Was Errol Flynn a Nazi spy? Did an Australian kill the infamous Red Baron?If you think Australia's history is straightforward, you're dead wrong. This is a land of the strange, the spooky and the unexplained. From the eerie ball of light that stalked a terrified family across the Nullabor, to the whereabouts of Victoria's parliamentary mace, to the unidentified body found propped up on an Adelaide beach, and, yes, to the whereabouts of N...

The stories behind Australia's many, many strange, inappropriate and downright hilarious place names.From Dismal Swamp to Useless Loop, Intercourse Island to Dead Mans Gully, Mount Buggery to Nowhere Else, Australia has some of the strangest, funniest, weirdest and most out-of-place names going - now described and explained in one humorous and fascinating book.Australia's vast spaces and irreverent, larrikin history have given us some of the best place name...

Who stole the priceless Picasso from the NGV?Was Errol Flynn a Nazi spy? Did an Australian killthe infamous Red Baron?If you think Australia’s history is straightforward,you’re dead wrong. This is a land of the strange,the spooky and the unexplained. From the eerieball of light that stalked a terrified family acrossthe Nullabor, to the whereabouts of Victoria’sparliamentary mace, to the unidentified bodyfound propped up on an A...

Humans just want to be happy, yes? After all, that’s what life’s all about.Well ... no.It turns out that, for a huge chunk of history, feeling good was the furthest thing from our minds. Expecting life to be fun and fulfilling (or, if all else fails, fine) is actually a very recent phenomenon. And there’s every reason to think that it’s making us sad.A playful tour of Western ‘progress’, from ancient philosophers to modern-day pop stars via pills, priests, Proust an...

Whether you are an elite athlete, ambitious professional, dedicated parent or hard-working student, all of us are at times challenged by doubts and setbacks. This collection of inspiring and oft times hilarious quotes and quips from some of Australia's leading AFL players will lighten your mood and give an insight into the lives of people truly challenged by their own thoughts. With pearls of wisdom from some of AFL's best players and sharpest minds, Wit and Wisdom of the Players

Learning Disabilities: Toward Inclusion (formerly edited by Bob Gates) is one of the leading textbooks in this field. It offers real ways to improve quality of experience for people with learning disabilities in all areas of life. This new edition brings together a comprehensive and coherent collection of material from eminent authors with a wealth of professional backgrounds and roles. Its contemporary focus reflects practice developments including the impact of changing policy and legisl...

Girt. No word could better capture the essence of Australia...In this hilarious history, David Hunt tells the real story of Australia's past from megafauna to Macquarie ... the cock-ups and curiosities, the forgotten eccentrics and Eureka moments that have made us who we are.Mark Twain wrote of Australian history: 'It does not read like history, but like the most beautiful lies ... but they are all true, they all happened.' In Girt, Hunt uncovers these beautiful li...

The often harsh and unforgiving Australian landscape was a far cry from what the early colonisers were used to, and it proved a daunting obstacle to settlement. However, a few brave and at times foolhardy men were determined to prove themselves equal to the challenge. AUSTRALIA'S GREAT EXPLORERS looks at the tragedies and triumphs of men such as Wentworth and Lawson, Hume and Hovell, Burke and Wills, Leichhardt and Strzelecki as they battled to conquer the Great Diving Range, find an elusi...

In this side-splitting sequel to his best-selling history, David Hunt takes us to the Australian frontier. This was the Wild South, home to hardy pioneers, gun-slinging bushrangers, directionally challenged explorers, nervous indigenous people, Caroline Chisholm and sheep. Lots of sheep.First there was Girt. Now comes . . . True GirtTrue Girt introduces Thomas Davey, the hard-drinking Tasmanian governor who invented the Blow My Skull cocktail, a...

'Great Australian Stories is true to its title as it wanders from bush track to spooky hollow, follows the path of yowies and bunyips, searches for Lasseter's Reef, meets Dad and Dave and, on a different path, Henny-Penny, and then rambles into the cities where just as many entertaining characters are ready to tell their stories.' - From the foreword by Warren FaheyAustralia has a rich tradition of storytelling that reflects our unique history and experie...

In this volume of a unique history of Australia where people are always centre stage, bestselling author Thomas Keneally brings to life the vast range of characters who have formed our national story.Convicts and Aborigines, settlers and soldiers, patriots and reformers, bushrangers and gold seekers, it is from their lives and their stories that he has woven a vibrant history to do full justice to the rich and colourful nature of our unique national character.The story begi...