Examining the long and turbulent relationship between Vietnam and the Soviet Union, Douglas Pike traces its political, economic, and diplomatic history from the Bolshevik Revolution to today's deep and intricate alliance. He not only explores this extraordinary relationship but also outlines its great geopolitical significance for the entire region

The 1998 second edition of this valuable study of the growth of the Australian nation. Professor Pike's main theme is the sober hard-won progress of isolated colonies struggling to increase their population and pay their way. He tells of uneven advance, of success and failure, of windfall wealth. Most of all he tells of efforts of men to make themselves secure in a land starved of capital and private investment. This edition includes developments since 1958. Pike surveys important political events in South East Asia since the mid-1950s, in particular, Australia's involvement in the defence of Malaysia and in Vietnam. The invasion of Australia's open spaces by men and machines in search of minerals was perhaps the most exciting development of the 1960s. The success of these excavations and of the remarkable urban and industrial growth and expansion of Australian agricultural production in the 1970s and 1980s are also explored.

Since 1962 the Australian Dictionary of Biography has been prepared by its staff in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University. It provides concise, informative and fascinating descriptions of prominent men and women of this country who contributed their vision and energies to a growing nation. Each entry is prepared by a leading scholar. The subjects come from all walks of lifemdash;from premiers, generals and bishops, through artists, actors and authors, farmers, engineers and schoolteachers, to prostitutes, thieves and murderers-providing a cross-section of Australian society. This magnificent cumulative work continues to be a valuable and popular reference tool for all libraries, large and small.