'From the bush of Baradine to the corridors of Canberra, this is Craig Emerson’s story of triumph and courage over adversity.
'In the mid-1960s, in the small town of Baradine in north-western New South Wales, the Emerson family was in continual crisis. The mother suffered from deep depression, and the father was exhausted by their constant fights. The two sons — Craig and Lance — were traumatised by their mother’s mental struggles and inexplicable outbursts of violence against them.
'Yet both parents worked hard for meagre wages to give Craig a good education, and he vindicated their sacrifice. After gaining a PhD in economics, he was invited to join Bob Hawke’s staff to help design and implement the Labor government’s economic and environmental program. Craig became like a son to the prime minister; he and Bob worked hard, but also relished time out for betting, joking, and singing.
During Craig’s own roller-coaster journey as a politician, factional powerbrokers exiled him to the backbench, but his perseverance and abilities earned him the honour of becoming Australia’s minister for trade and higher education.
'The Boy from Baradine is an unusual ex-politician’s memoir. It is a deeply human tale of trauma and triumph, of fear and fun, of character overcoming adversity. It will also inspire young people that it is possible to succeed from the most unlikely of personal circumstances. ' (Publication summary)
'Genres of written communication do not take place in a vacuum; rather they are fundamentally influenced by historical context and socio-political circumstance. In recent years, the political memoir genre in Australia has moved away from its tradition of personalised narrative towards a more assertive mode of historical representation. Drawing on empirical and oral history research, this article examines recent alterations in the genre as manifest in six political memoirs produced by senior members of the Rudd–Gillard Labor government. I conclude that Australia's embittered and combative political culture has driven changes in the aesthetic and epistemological features of the genre itself. This research demonstrates that the “trust deficit” embedded in contemporary democracies is manifest not only in the daily ephemera of public discourse, but also in long-form modes and genres of political communication.' (Publication abstract)
'What do Labor memoirs reveal about the 2010 leadership change?'
'The Boy from Baradine is one of the latest Australian political memoirs to hit the shelves. Craig Emerson, a prominent minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments between 2007 and 2013, has some interesting stories to tell about life as a political adviser, a pragmatic supporter of the environment, and an ambitious Labor politician. Emerson comes across as genuine and down to earth. He appears not to have carried a grudge towards those who at times obstructed his political career. Indeed, one of the saddest implications of the book is the sense that political ambition tends to make political and personal friendships difficult to maintain.' (Introduction)
'The Boy from Baradine is one of the latest Australian political memoirs to hit the shelves. Craig Emerson, a prominent minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments between 2007 and 2013, has some interesting stories to tell about life as a political adviser, a pragmatic supporter of the environment, and an ambitious Labor politician. Emerson comes across as genuine and down to earth. He appears not to have carried a grudge towards those who at times obstructed his political career. Indeed, one of the saddest implications of the book is the sense that political ambition tends to make political and personal friendships difficult to maintain.' (Introduction)
'Genres of written communication do not take place in a vacuum; rather they are fundamentally influenced by historical context and socio-political circumstance. In recent years, the political memoir genre in Australia has moved away from its tradition of personalised narrative towards a more assertive mode of historical representation. Drawing on empirical and oral history research, this article examines recent alterations in the genre as manifest in six political memoirs produced by senior members of the Rudd–Gillard Labor government. I conclude that Australia's embittered and combative political culture has driven changes in the aesthetic and epistemological features of the genre itself. This research demonstrates that the “trust deficit” embedded in contemporary democracies is manifest not only in the daily ephemera of public discourse, but also in long-form modes and genres of political communication.' (Publication abstract)
'What do Labor memoirs reveal about the 2010 leadership change?'
