Australian Memoir

‘Stop screaming, I'm scared too!' is not what you'd expect to see on the back of a loadmaster's helmet in a Chinook helicopter flying over southern Afghanistan, but for Rod Henderson it sums up his 22 years of service as a soldier in the Australian Army. This is not the story of a general or a Special Forces hero. It is the extraordinary memoir of a regular Australian soldier. Like so many others who have served their country with honour and distinction, the little-known stories of ordinary soldiers deserve to be told.

Alcohol, usually beer, is an integral part of Australian culture. Australian writers from Henry Lawson onwards praise, blame and generally celebrate the demon drink. It can develop or ruin friendships, create farcical situations, breed or shatter illusions. Broadcaster and writer Jim Haynes has collected short stories and verse from well-known Australians that place that pint of beer at the centre of things.

Over a decorated 34-year career, Commodore Scott served in 10 submarines, passed the most demanding military command course in the world and served as the Head of Profession of the Submarine Arm of the Royal Australian Navy. During that time his character was forged by the challenges of naval service, success and failure as a leader, catastrophic onboard disasters while dived, and life-threatening traumas. Along the way, he also endured personal battles with self-doubt, addiction, depression and anxiety.

I joined the Navy in 1978 and was discharged in late 2016 after almost 39 years service. I served as a medic and also a Medical Administration Officer during my time. The book contains my memories of an awesome career and covers many subjects from my attendance at car accidents; reviving people who had had heart attacks; working in disaster zones to give humanitarian aid and many other stories.

A FARMING LIFE shares the uplifting stories of women from six rural families as their resilience is tested by personal loss, illness, fractured relationships, natural disasters and the challenges that come with working in a traditionally male-dominated world. These women are all hands-on farmers - in fact, most are responsible for managing their own farms - and their defiance, tenacity and genuine humility shines through, as does their hope for the next generation of young women already lining up to follow in their footsteps.

Simon Kennedy's mother Yvonne was one of 10 Australians to die during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the only one to die outside of New York, in the attack on the Pentagon. On September 11, 2001, Yvonne boarded flight AA77 to begin her return to Australia after completing a much-planned vacation to America. All passengers on board were killed in the crash into the Pentagon.

The biography Rum & Coal, written by Chris Wright, tells Ken's story. From his humble Aussie working-class beginnings, his journey to creating a coal mining empire, the unexpected challenges along the way, and finally, the fateful flight that instantly took his and 10 other lives.

Atop the hierarchy of Australian bushrangers sits Ned Kelly–the ultimate outlaw–and just below him, the tragic figure of Ben Hall, who joined a gang led by a man whose name today is less well known, but in his time was much more famous than any other: Frank Gardiner. Mastermind of the largest gold robbery in Australia’s history, Gardiner led an extraordinary life, the full telling of which is long overdue. In a tough country and among a group of tough men, Gardiner was the toughest of them all.

When she was two years old, Brenda and her siblings were taken from their parents. For the next five years she was a much-loved daughter in a white family, a happy child in a country town on the outskirts of Sydney, unaware of the existence of her Aboriginal family or how hard her parents were fighting for her return – unaware of her Aboriginal identity. Then, suddenly, she was reunited with her birth family, the last daughter to come home.

Tribal chiefs living in remote villages high in the unreached mountains of Yemen. An ordinary Sydney doctor lacking confidence in his own abilities, yet with a message to share. What God does is exceptional. Michael Babbage’s story of being led, protected, and provided for, together with his family, in their missionary travels to Yemen and Pakistan makes gripping listening.

From prison to premiership glory: This is Marlion Pickett’s extraordinary story. It’s the third quarter in the biggest game of the season. A young man lines up for goal. The 100,000 strong crowd leaps to its feet and roars as Marlion Pickett sends the ball soaring through the goalposts for his first ever major, celebrated by every teammate....

When a nine-year-old R.A. Dalkey decided he was going to become an Outback truck driver, the poor Australia-besotted boy had no idea what he was getting into. He’d been born on the wrong continent, for a start. And even if he could make it out of Africa one day, where was an Australian work visa to come from? A sensible adult would have filed that dream away as a juvenile fantasy and gotten on with life. Especially after taking five attempts to get the most basic of car licenses. But R.A. Dalkey never claimed to be a sensible adult, did he?

At just 15-years-old, Geena had no choice but to leave home. Without an education or any real options, she found herself being lured into the sex industry by the promise of big money and the validation of strangers. She turned to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain of day to day life as a call girl and to overcome the emotional scars of her past. But even in her darkest hours, Geena refused to accept her circumstances and never stopped striving for freedom and a better life. Eventually, she found the strength to turn things around and set herself on a path to a brighter future.

Hooked on the limitless profits of the drug trade, organised crime has grown so powerful that it now poses a major threat to Australia's national security. Clive Small and Tom Gilling show how Australian crime gangs, in partnership with violent international syndicates, have exploited lax law enforcement and corruption on the nation's waterfront to import narcotics on a vast scale from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.

Michael Fomenko is familiar with adversity. But when he gets shut out of the Commonwealth Games for financial and political reasons at the ripe age of 20, he questions everything. Setting a new course for himself, he dreams of a feat that will require unimaginable determination. With no companions or guides, he will paddle a dugout canoe over 1,000 nautical kilometers from Cairns, Australia, to Dutch, New Guinea.

Within the chapters of System Exposed: Heartbeat of My Life, Julie shares her horrific childhood story; complete with child abuse, homelessness, juvenile jails, institutional care, lies and cover ups from trusted officials. The government just closed their eyes and allowed everything told within to happen to many children.

This is an audiobook about the indestructability of love. Journalist and author Karina Machado spoke to over 60 Australians with stories of postdeath contact. She shares their life-shattering experiences of loss and shows how their spiritual contact with deceased lovers, friends or family members brought peace, hope and the solace of knowing that their connections live on.

In a quiet Sydney street in 1937, a seven-year-old immigrant boy drowned in a ditch that had filled with rain after being left unfenced by council workers. How the law should deal with the trauma of the family’s loss was one of the most complex and controversial cases to reach Australia’s High Court, where it seized the imagination of its youngest and cleverest member.

Australian magazines once boasted the highest circulation per capita in the world. Former magazine editor Phil Barker follows the story from this golden age to today, showing how mismanagement, unchecked spending, and the challenge presented by the rise of the internet all combined to undermine the previously unassailable position magazines held in the Australian consciousness.

Una espectácular crónica sobre el ascenso a la cima del tenis mundial de la dupla conocida como el Colombian Power. El sábado 13 de julio de 2019, Robert Farah y Juan Sebastián Cabal se coronaron campeones de Wimbledon —el torneo más antiguo y prestigioso del tenis profesional—, luego de una batalla de titanes que duró casi cinco horas y que los llevó a levantar el trofeo más anhelado por cualquier tenista en el mundo.