A revelatory biography of Australia’s longest-serving prime minister. Robert Menzies claimed the prime ministership in 1939 and led the nation during the early years of the war, but resigned two years later when he lost the confidence of his party. His political career seemed over, and yet he staged one of the great comebacks to forge a new political party, devise a new governing philosophy, and craft a winning electoral approach that as to make him Australia’s longest-serving prime minister. The lessons Menzies learned — and the way he applied them — made him a model that every Liberal leader since has looked to for inspiration. But debate over Menzies’ life and legacy has never settled. Who was Robert Menzies, what did he stand for, what did he achieve? Troy Bramston has not only researched the official record and published accounts, but has also interviewed members of Menzies’ family, and his former advisers and ministers. He has also been given exclusive access to family letters, as well as to a series of interviews that Menzies gave that have never been revealed before. They are a major historical find, in which Menzies talks about his life, reflects on political events and personalities, offers political lessons, and candidly assesses his successors. Now with a new preface, Robert Menzies is the first biography in 20 years of the Liberal icon — and it contains important contemporary lessons for those who want to understand, and master, the art and science of politics.
An assessment of Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, by John Howard, Australia's second-longest serving Prime Minister, this is a significant, unique and fascinating history of the Menzies era - a time that laid the foundations for modern Australia. 'Engaging and revealing ... like a torchlight shone from an unexpected angle' Geoffrey Blainey, Weekend Australian Fresh from the success of his phenomenal bestselling memoir, LAZARUS RISING, which has sold over 100,000 copies, John Howard now turns his attention to one of the most extraordinary periods in Australian history, the Menzies era, canvassing the longest unbroken period of government for one side of politics in Australia's history. The monumental Sir Robert Menzies held power for a total of over 18 years, making him the longest-serving Australian Prime Minister. During his second term as Prime Minister, a term of over sixteen years - by far the longest unbroken tenure in that office - Menzies dominated Australian politics like no one else has ever done before or since, and these years laid the foundations for modern Australia. The Menzies era saw huge economic growth, social change and considerable political turmoil. Covering the impact of the great Labor split of 1955 as well as the recovery of the Labor Party under Whitlam's leadership in the late 1960s and the impact of the Vietnam War on Australian politics, this magisterial book offers a comprehensive assessment of the importance of the Menzies era in Australian life, history and politics. John Howard, only ten when Menzies rose to power, and in young adulthood when the Menzies era came to an end, saw Menzies as an inspiration and a role model. His unique insights and thoughtful analysis into Menzies the man, the politician, and his legacy make this a fascinating, highly significant book. 'This important book' Clive James, Times Literary Supplement
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies was the founder of the Liberal Party of Australia. As well as being Australia’s longest-serving prime minister, Menzies was the most thoughtful. Menzies’ world picture was one where Britishness was the overriding normative principle, and in which cultural puritanism and philosophical idealism were pervasive. Unless we remember this cultural background of Menzies’ thought then we will seriously misunderstand what he meant by the very project of liberalism. The Forgotten Menzies argues that Menzies’ greatest aspiration was to protect the ideals of cultural puritanism Australia from two kinds of materialism: communism; and the mindset encouraged by affluence and technological progress. Central to Menzies’ project of cultural and civilisational preservation was the university, an institution he spent much of his career extolling and expanding. The Forgotten Menzies makes an important contribution to the history of political thought and ideology in Australia, as to understanding the largely forgotten but rich intellectual origins of the Liberal Party.
Dark and Hurrying Days is the text of a diary kept by Robert Menzies, then Prime Minister of Australia, of his experiences during a wartime trip to England in 1941. It was a grim time when British cities were enduring heavy bombing and German invasion seemed imminent. Menzies' Diary reveals the shifting feelings and fears which these experiences engendered in him, and is of prime importance in capturing the brooding spirit of this grim time.
Longlisted for the 2022 Indie Book Awards. Longlisted for the Australian Political Book of the Year Award. Chosen as a ‘Book of the Year’ in The Australian, The Australian Financial Review and The Australian Book Review. 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. These days, ‘Doc’ Evatt is remembered mainly as the hapless and divisive opposition leader during the long ascendancy of his great rival Sir Robert Menzies. Yet long before we spoke of ‘public intellectuals’, Evatt was one: a dashing advocate, an inspired jurist, an outspoken opinion maker, one of our first popular historians and the nation’s foremost champion of modern art. Through Evatt’s innovative and empathic decision in Chester v the Council of Waverley Municipality, which argued for the law to acknowledge inner suffering as it did physical injury, Gideon Haigh rediscovers the most brilliant Australian of his day, a patriot with a vision of his country charting its own path and being its own example – the same attitude he brought to being the only Australian president of the UN General Assembly, and instrumental in the foundation of Israel. A feat of remarkable historical perception, deep research and masterful storytelling, The Brilliant Boy confirms Gideon Haigh as one of our finest writers of non-fiction. It shows Australia in a rare light, as a genuinely clever country prepared to contest big ideas and face the future confidently. 'Gideon Haigh has always been an exquisite wordsmith, and he proves here that he is also an intuitive historian and acute biographer with a masterful control of the broad sweep and telling detail’ AFR Books of the Year 'Here is a master craftsman delivering one of his most finely honed works. Meticulous in its research, humane in its storytelling, The Brilliant Boy is Gideon Haigh at his lush, luminous best. Haigh shines a light on person, place and era with the sheer force of his intellect and the generosity of his words. The Brilliant Boy is simply a brilliant book.' Clare Wright, Stella-Prize winning author of The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka ‘Gideon Haigh has a nose for Australian stories that light up the past from new angles, and he tells this one with verve, grace and lightly worn erudition. I couldn’t put it down.’ Judith Brett, The Saturday Paper ‘An absolutely remarkable, moving and elegant re-reading of the early life of an extraordinary Australian. Gideon Haigh is one of Australia's finest writers and thinkers … mesmerizing … one of the best Australian biographies I have read for a long time.' Michael McKernan, Canberra Times
Winner of the 2020 Australian National Biography Award and the 2020 NSW Premier’s Non-Fiction Award. The oddly compelling story of a man regarded as Australia’s worst prime minister. William McMahon was a significant, if widely derided and disliked, figure in Australian politics in the second half of the twentieth century. This biography tells the story of his life, his career, and his doomed attempts to recast views of his much-maligned time as Australia’s prime minister. After a long ministerial career under Menzies, McMahon became treasurer under Harold Holt, and fought a fierce, bitter war over protectionism with John McEwen. Following Holt’s death in 1967, McEwen had his revenge by vetoing McMahon’s candidature for the Liberal Party’s leadership, and thus paved the way for John Gorton to become prime minister. But almost three years later, amid acrimony and division, McMahon would topple Gorton and fulfill his life’s ambition to become Australia’s prime minister. In office, McMahon worked furiously to enact an agenda that grappled with the profound changes reshaping Australia. He withdrew combat forces from Vietnam, legislated for Commonwealth government involvement in childcare, established the National Urban and Regional Development Authority and the first Department of the Environment, began phasing out the means test on pensions, sought to control foreign investments, and accelerated the timetable for the independence of Papua New Guinea. But his failures would overshadow his successes, and by the time of the 1972 election McMahon would lead a divided, tired, and rancorous party to defeat. A man whose life was coloured by tragedy, comedy, persistence, courage, farce, and failure, McMahon’s story has never been told at length. Tiberius with a Telephone fills that gap, using deep archival research and extensive interviews with McMahon’s contemporaries and colleagues. It is a tour de force — an authoritative and colourful account of a unique politician and a vital period in Australia’s history.
Robert Gordon Menzies, later Sir Robert, was Australia's longest-serving prime minister, leading the party that he founded, the Liberal Party into Government, from 1949 to 1966 winning seven successful elections in a row. More than this, he had been prime minister from 1939-41 though less successfully, but from which he learnt much about governing, people and himself. Menzies also has the distinction of being one of few Australian prime ministers who retired while still firmly in office at a time of his own choosing. There was never anyone like before him, and there will never be anyone like him again. Universally respected, but almost until recently, almost universally forgotten, even by his own party, Menzies suffered for a time neglect, blame for presiding not governing, being too oriented to Britain and even being lazy. Moreover, his successes both politically and across areas like Australia's economic growth were snubbed as being easily achieved given the nature of his opponents, and the post World War Two boom. Such views belie the difficulties of the times, Menzies' numerous achievements, his own skills, foresights and his enduring integrity. This volume explores Menzies many attributes, while acknowledging his frailties.
Alfred Deakin—scholar, spiritualist, prime minister—was instrumental in creating modern Australia. In the first biography of Deakin in more than half a century, the acclaimed political historian Judith Brett deftly weaves together his public, private and family lives. She brings out from behind the image of a worthy, bearded father of federation the principled and passionate, gifted and eccentric figure whose legacy continues to shape the contours of the nation’s politics. Judith Brett is the award-winning author of Robert Menzies’ Forgotten People, emeritus professor of politics at La Trobe University and one of Australia’s leading political thinkers. She contributes regularly to the Monthly and has written three Quarterly Essays. ‘This is the first book to bring together the spiritual, political and personal life of one of Australia's most significant politicians – Alfred Deakin. As Brett deftly explores and weaves these strands together we begin to understand Alfred Deakin, his motivations and indeed his enigmatic qualities. This is a psychological study of Australia's former Prime Minister. Beginning with his Melburnian upbringing Brett shows how his social and familial context shaped him. The city of Melbourne of the period is revealed as crucial to how we are to comprehend and understand Deakin. Brett is a fine writer, and the text displays her curiosity and her depth of knowledge. This is a comprehensive work which will stand as a definitive source on Alfred Deakin.’ Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2018, Judges’ comments ‘Truly one of the great political biographies of our time, a delicately nuanced, warm and insight account of—my personal misgiving aside—one of the most noteworthy political figures in Australian history.’ Inside Story ‘The Enigmatic Mr Deakin stands as the culmination of her work on the history, politics and philosophy of Australian liberals, and it is the one biography of Deakin to which we will repeatedly return. Brett’s writing is capable of extraordinary clarity, insight and compassion.’ Monthly ‘Judith Brett has proven the perfect biographer...’ Jason Steger on National Biography Award win, Sydney Morning Herald ‘A significant contribution to biography and political history that is beautifully written and full of interest.’ Royal Victorian Historical Society ‘Accessible and informative, this style of biography layers facts over questions that draw in readers curious about what makes human beings do the things we do. This is biography for our times.’ Daily Review ‘The Enigmatic Mr Deakin explores our second prime minister’s career with full attention to his intense inner life and family relationships. Her title points to the puzzles, but Brett doesn’t simplify; she ponders, suggests, dramatises. Closely observed and psychologically persuasive, this is more than a life-and-times; it is a life.’ Australian Book Review ‘This excellent biography will appeal to general readers, students and anyone interested in historical biography.’ Books+Publishing ‘A woman’s eye on a powerful man has never felt so penetrating, perceptive and, surprisingly, loving.’ Clare Wright, Sydney Morning Herald’s Year in Reading ‘Alfred Deakin, long my favourite Victorian, was truly the full package: polymath, progressive, idealist, spiritualist, man of action. And he had a fantastic beard. All he lacked was a good biography—but not anymore.’ Saturday Paper, Best Books of 2017 ‘In this engrossing and quietly profound biography, Judith Brett brings Deakin back into Australia’s contemporary political imagination, so we can better understand how he shaped the country we live in today...In this age of increasingly polarised politics, Brett’s book is at once a warm portrait of a great politician and a sharp provocation to today’s leaders to forge a better way.’ John Daley, CEO Grattan Institute, Prime Minister’s Summer Reading List 2017 A richly rewarding excursion into the private mind and emotions but also into the public life and times of a remarkable individual, full of surprising detail and profound observations about the Australian polity...Among the very best political biographies written in Australia.’ Judges’ Comments, National Biography Award, 2018
Revised and updated version of the bestselling political biography of 2010. This edition contains some completely new content from Mr Howard, including his thoughts on the 2013 election campaigns. John Howard's autobiography, Lazarus Rising, is the biggest-selling political memoir Australia has seen. In it he talks about his love for his family, his rollercoaster ride to the Lodge and how - as prime minister - he managed a strongly growing Australian economy and led Australia's war on terrorism. Drawing on his deep interest in history, he paints a fascinating picture of a changing Australia. In this edition, fully updated to take into account the return of the Liberal National Party to government after the 2013 election, Howard analyses the crucial years between the 2010 election which gave rise to the minority government of Julia Gillard, and the consequent unprecedented and destabilising leadership struggles within the Labor party. He discusses the significance of tony Abbott's achievements in defeating the Labor Government in 2013, and provides a masterful summary of legacy of the Rudd/Gillard years for Australia. Lazarus Rising is essential reading for all followers of politics. PRAISE FOR LAZARUS RISING: 'John Howard has written a magisterial autobiography, compulsively readable in its way' the Weekend Australian 'Underneath Howard's plain political style lies an excellent communicator. His capacity to express his thoughts clearly, calmly and simply shines through' Sydney Morning Herald
