'Which politician of pre‐1914 New South Wales most merits a Life? Not, to the author under review, any of its looming figures which remain without a biography; not the five‐time Premier, John Robertson; nor the brilliant poseur B.R. Wise; nor the menacing silhouette of William Crick. Instead, Gorman’s subject is Joseph Carruthers (1856‐1932); cricketer, sometime author on Captain Cook, premier from 1904 to 1907, and effective founder of Australia’s twentieth century Liberal Party.' (Introduction)