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y separately published work icon Robert Menzies : The Art of Politics single work   biography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2019... 2019 Robert Menzies : The Art of Politics
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'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 was 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.

'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.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Brunswick, Brunswick - Coburg area, Melbourne - North, Melbourne, Victoria,: Scribe , 2019 .
      image of person or book cover 5800570603141766116.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 384p.p.
      Reprinted: 15 Aug 2023
      Note/s:
      • Published April 2019.

      ISBN: 9781925693508, 9781925713671

Works about this Work

[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)

Ruled by Britannia James Curran , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 11 May 2019; (p. 22)

— Review of Robert Menzies : The Art of Politics Troy Bramston , 2019 single work biography

'Paul Keating’s speechwriter, Don Watson, once remarked that his boss couldn’t resist needling his opponents on the legacy of Robert Menzies. Keating never wavered, Watson said, from the view that Menzies’ “only use was the same as a bit of rag with a cat fur on it thrown to a pack of dogs”.' (Introduction)

'Considering the Company I Keep' : A Lucky and Resilient Prime Minister Michael Sexton , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June - July no. 412 2019; (p. 50-51)

— Review of Robert Menzies : The Art of Politics Troy Bramston , 2019 single work biography

'There have been at least half a dozen previous biographies of Robert Menzies, but Troy Bramston’s new life of Australia’s longest-serving prime minister is arguably the most attractive combination of research and readability.'  (Introduction)

'Considering the Company I Keep' : A Lucky and Resilient Prime Minister Michael Sexton , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June - July no. 412 2019; (p. 50-51)

— Review of Robert Menzies : The Art of Politics Troy Bramston , 2019 single work biography

'There have been at least half a dozen previous biographies of Robert Menzies, but Troy Bramston’s new life of Australia’s longest-serving prime minister is arguably the most attractive combination of research and readability.'  (Introduction)

Ruled by Britannia James Curran , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 11 May 2019; (p. 22)

— Review of Robert Menzies : The Art of Politics Troy Bramston , 2019 single work biography

'Paul Keating’s speechwriter, Don Watson, once remarked that his boss couldn’t resist needling his opponents on the legacy of Robert Menzies. Keating never wavered, Watson said, from the view that Menzies’ “only use was the same as a bit of rag with a cat fur on it thrown to a pack of dogs”.' (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)

Last amended 11 Apr 2023 10:00:49
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