Cirrus@Austlit

'For all its many positive qualities, this is a difficult book with which to fully engage. The font size is small and there are no maps or pictures to guide the reader. The text is weighed down with ornate phrases such as 'pervasive discursive dichotomy' (p. 165), which contrast sharply with the relatively straightforward, message-focused quotes from her primary sources. Further, the bulk of the book's narrative revolves around government-commissioned inquiries and elite opinion, with only limited discussion of the 'real world' significance and impact of these ideas. To give the author her due, the text does cite a range of citizen views, including farmers, graziers, medical officers and spokespersons for women's organisations. Nevertheless, too little attention to the outcomes of all this talk and writing on the urban-rural divide means that the reader is left with little appreciation of the undoubted importance of the themes explored to Australian history.' (Introduction)