image of person or book cover 8376068585152519774.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
Issue Details: First known date: 2018... 2018 Tiberius with a Telephone : The Life and Stories of William McMahon
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'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.

'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 first Department of the Environment, 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, compelling, and colourful account of a unique politician and a vital period in Australia’s history.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Scribe , 2018 .
      image of person or book cover 8376068585152519774.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 784p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published November 2018.

      ISBN: 9781925693324, 9781925713602

Works about this Work

‘None of You Will Believe It’ : Control, Truth and Myth in the Life of Billy McMahon Patricia Mullins , 2021 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Biography and History , August no. 5 2021; (p. 147-166)
'Widely regarded as one of Australia’s worst prime ministers, William—‘Billy’— McMahon laboured in his retirement to produce an autobiography that would put forward the story of his life and laudable career as he saw it. But McMahon’s inability to reconcile that story with the archive of documents he had compiled, and the stories that his colleagues told in their own books, ensured that progress on his autobiography would be incomplete by the time of his death in 1988. This essay traces McMahon’s efforts to assert control of his story, via his archive and work with ghost-writers and publishers on his autobiography, and the effect that this had on the biography of McMahon that I published in 2018.1 I reflect on the two stories that my biography tells—of McMahon’s life, as I have understood it, and McMahon’s attempts to understand and portray his life—and the effect of each on the ontological stability and certainty of the other.' (Introduction)
[Review] Tiberius with a Telephone: The Life and Stories of William McMahon / Robert Menzies: The Art of Politics Marija Taflaga , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , vol. 51 no. 2 2020; (p. 230-232)

— Review of Tiberius with a Telephone : The Life and Stories of William McMahon Patrick Mullins , 2018 single work biography ; Robert Menzies : The Art of Politics Troy Bramston , 2019 single work biography

'In a rather storied coincidence two biographies of Liberal Prime Ministers have appeared in the Liberal Party of Australia’s seventy-fifth year. The first, on the lionised founder of the party, Sir Robert Menzies. The other is about one of the party’s least glorious – and perhaps least understood – sons, Sir William McMahon.' (Introduction)

[Review] Tiberius with a Telephone: The Life and Stories of William McMahon Frank Bongiorno , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Politics and History , March vol. 66 no. 1 2020; (p. 162-163)

— Review of Tiberius with a Telephone : The Life and Stories of William McMahon Patrick Mullins , 2018 single work biography

'William McMahon has not quite been the white whale of Australian political biography. Nevertheless, until this fine book by Patrick Mullins, he was virtually alone among Australian prime ministers in not having attracted a serious study. One problem has been lack of access to McMahon's papers, held at the National Library of Australia. But this book is so rich in detail, so penetrating in its insights, and so impressive in its research, that it is hard to imagine anyone with such access bettering Mullins.' (Introduction)

[Review] Tiberius with a Telephone : The Life and Stories of William McMahon Josh Black , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Biography and History , October no. 2 2019; (p. 187-192)

— Review of Tiberius with a Telephone : The Life and Stories of William McMahon Patrick Mullins , 2018 single work biography
A Complicated Life : The First Serious Biography of Billy McMahon James Walter , 2019 single work essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , January / February no. 408 2019; (p. 16, 18-19)

'Billy McMahon, Australia’s twentieth prime minister, held the post for less than two years (March 1971–December 1972). In surveys of both public esteem and professional opinion, he is generally ranked as our least accomplished prime minister. He is also, until now, the only prime minister for whom there has been no serious biography published. No one, perhaps, thought it worth the effort.'  (Introduction)

[Review] Tiberius with a Telephone : The Life and Stories of William McMahon Josh Black , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Biography and History , October no. 2 2019; (p. 187-192)

— Review of Tiberius with a Telephone : The Life and Stories of William McMahon Patrick Mullins , 2018 single work biography
[Review] Tiberius with a Telephone: The Life and Stories of William McMahon Frank Bongiorno , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Politics and History , March vol. 66 no. 1 2020; (p. 162-163)

— Review of Tiberius with a Telephone : The Life and Stories of William McMahon Patrick Mullins , 2018 single work biography

'William McMahon has not quite been the white whale of Australian political biography. Nevertheless, until this fine book by Patrick Mullins, he was virtually alone among Australian prime ministers in not having attracted a serious study. One problem has been lack of access to McMahon's papers, held at the National Library of Australia. But this book is so rich in detail, so penetrating in its insights, and so impressive in its research, that it is hard to imagine anyone with such access bettering Mullins.' (Introduction)

[Review] Tiberius with a Telephone: The Life and Stories of William McMahon / Robert Menzies: The Art of Politics Marija Taflaga , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , vol. 51 no. 2 2020; (p. 230-232)

— Review of Tiberius with a Telephone : The Life and Stories of William McMahon Patrick Mullins , 2018 single work biography ; Robert Menzies : The Art of Politics Troy Bramston , 2019 single work biography

'In a rather storied coincidence two biographies of Liberal Prime Ministers have appeared in the Liberal Party of Australia’s seventy-fifth year. The first, on the lionised founder of the party, Sir Robert Menzies. The other is about one of the party’s least glorious – and perhaps least understood – sons, Sir William McMahon.' (Introduction)

The True Story of Billy McMahon David Solomon , 2018 single work review
— Appears in: Inside Story , October 2018;

— Review of Tiberius with a Telephone : The Life and Stories of William McMahon Patrick Mullins , 2018 single work biography

'Tiberius meets his Tacitus in this lively biography of a less-than-glorious prime minister'

A Complicated Life : The First Serious Biography of Billy McMahon James Walter , 2019 single work essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , January / February no. 408 2019; (p. 16, 18-19)

'Billy McMahon, Australia’s twentieth prime minister, held the post for less than two years (March 1971–December 1972). In surveys of both public esteem and professional opinion, he is generally ranked as our least accomplished prime minister. He is also, until now, the only prime minister for whom there has been no serious biography published. No one, perhaps, thought it worth the effort.'  (Introduction)

‘None of You Will Believe It’ : Control, Truth and Myth in the Life of Billy McMahon Patricia Mullins , 2021 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Biography and History , August no. 5 2021; (p. 147-166)
'Widely regarded as one of Australia’s worst prime ministers, William—‘Billy’— McMahon laboured in his retirement to produce an autobiography that would put forward the story of his life and laudable career as he saw it. But McMahon’s inability to reconcile that story with the archive of documents he had compiled, and the stories that his colleagues told in their own books, ensured that progress on his autobiography would be incomplete by the time of his death in 1988. This essay traces McMahon’s efforts to assert control of his story, via his archive and work with ghost-writers and publishers on his autobiography, and the effect that this had on the biography of McMahon that I published in 2018.1 I reflect on the two stories that my biography tells—of McMahon’s life, as I have understood it, and McMahon’s attempts to understand and portray his life—and the effect of each on the ontological stability and certainty of the other.' (Introduction)
Last amended 31 Aug 2020 07:40:31
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