In the year of the Sydney Olympics it is hardly surprising that
publishers are releasing books about the host country. Knightley's
boigraphy takes us on an exploration of Australia, past and
present, weaving historical facts with the intimacy of personal
stories. He gives the reader an insight into how this young
country, with a track record of appalling race discrimination and
human rights abuses, has begun to redress past wrongs and turn
itself into a working multi-cultural society. Focus is placed on
the (now declining) relationship with Great Britain and clearly
defines the differences between Australian and British attitudes to
life. The book's first chapter moves from dusk to dawn in an
Australian day with extraordinary 'real life' stories and
fascinating facts. The book then plots the history from the first
white settlers to today's 'fair dinkum' Aussie dude. Initial
confrontations between Catholics and Protestants are examined,
through the world wars, the depression, the threat of Communism and
Australia's relationships with Asia, America and the UK. The
mistreatment of the Aboriginals and their place in Australian
history is covered with attention placed on the present-day
attempts to redress the balance with the Native Title Bill and its
subsequent problems. Beyond the historical, this book also attempts
to explain the nature and personality of the modern day Australian.
Knightley writes in a thrilling and exciting style whilst
presenting the reader with his perspective on the country. He gives
a precise account of the political climate and resulting social
changes and as the title suggests, personifies the nation,
depicting its struggle to find its own identity. (Kirkus UK)
Australia celebrates one hundred years as a nation in 2001.
This book - part history, part travelogue, part memoir - tells the inspiring story of how a one-time British colony of convicts turned itself into a prosperous and confident country.
Through the eyes of ordinary people, Phillip Knightley describes Australia's journey, from federation and the trauma of the First World War, the desperate poverty of the Depression, with its attendant spectres of secret armies and near-civil war, the threat of invasion in the Second World War and the immigration that followed it, and the slow but steady decline in the relationship with Britain, the 'Mother Country', as Australia forged its own unique identity.
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