Cirrus@Austlit

'Stunningly designed flexibound book profiling the top 40 most famous Australian pop and rock songs. What a famous song is about and what you think it's about aren't always the same thing. National Anthems names the top 40 classic Australian songs and tells the stories behind them - many unknown. From Hunters and Collectors' Throw Your Arms Around Me to INXS's Don't Change and Red Gum's I Was Only 19, author Glen Humphries unearths hidden gems and surprising back stories about the bands. It's a celebration of great Australian music that will have you reaching for old vinyl or phone apps to give some of these classics another listen. Chances are, each song is not what you had assumed.'(Publication summary) 

'Mel Brown is an Australian Aboriginal Ngunnawal woman. This is her story.

'Growing up white, Mel always felt that there was another shade to her soul.

'Despite an early life marred by moments of sheer despair and the agony of domestic violence, somehow Mel found the strength to survive. Then, as a young mother, she unlocked her ancestry's secrets without realising the challenges that came with identifying as Aboriginal in Australia.

'Shades of Me follows Mel's journey as she redefines who she is and how she sees her place in the world. As Aboriginal families are being torn apart, this is a story of one woman's fight to keep them together – one family at a time. And in helping others, finds her true path in life.

'Mel's memoir is not just one of black or white or even a single shade in between: as she has discovered in her work for the community, everyone's story is different; hers is simply Shades of Me.' (Publication summary)

'​Fully illustrated profiles of Australia's top 12 most legendary surfers.

'The Immortals of Australian Surfing celebrates our greatest ever board-riders. It takes the Immortals concept used elsewhere in sport and applies it to the surfing, choosing the best of the best from over 50 years of the local scene and the world tour.

'Renowned surfing writer Phil Jarratt selects his top 12 riders then delves into the careers of the true greats. Legendary riders selected and profiled include pioneers Midget Farrelly, Nat Young and Layne Beachley; the world champs of the seventies and eighties such as Mark Richards; Tom Carroll and Pam Burridge; to modern era greats Mick Fanning and Stephanie Gilmore.

'The book tells the remarkable stories behind each Immortal's rise to the top and the adversity faced through their careers.' (Publication summary)

'Struggling to stay alive with a gaping wound across my back, I desperately wondered how I got to this point. My knife-wielding opponent was not the attacker...

'He'd been defending himself against an ego-driven, menacing thug who was intent on hurting him. That thug was me.

'In a hole of anxiety and depression, Luke Kennedy resorted to drugs, alcohol, graffiti and fighting in a desperate bid to silence his frantic mind. Soon he was leading a street-fighting and graffiti crew, and constantly coming close to killing others or being killed.

'Tortured by the voices in his head, Luke began looking for an out. Eventually he found it - and lost 47 kilos in the process.

'Redemption Road is the gripping and powerful story of Luke's journey from ego-driven, obese thug to fit, sober and successful business owner whose focus is on helping others turn their lives around.'  (Publication summary)

'The Immortals of Australian Soccer celebrates the greatest players from the round ball game to form a best-of-the-best XI from our country's storied past.

'It takes the Immortals concept made famous elsewhere in the sporting world and applies it to soccer.

'Football journalist Lucas Radbourne selects his team of 11 Immortals and delves into the careers of icons Johnny Warren, Craig Johnston, Tim Cahill, Sam Kerr and others. These are heroes who are not just high achievers but influential identities who set a new benchmark and changed the game forever.

'The book tells the remarkable stories behind each Immortal's rise, from the pioneers to modern-day mainstream heroes - Socceroos, Matildas and other controversial Australian footballers.

'The Immortals of Australian Soccer is the fifth instalment in Gelding Street Press's Immortals of Australian Sport series.'  (Publication summary)

'Sex, Drugs, and a Buddhist Monk is a memoir. It tells the story of a fateful (and nearly fatal) trip to Thailand, which started in debauchery but ended in enlightenment.

'A severely obese, depressed, anxious alcoholic and drug abuser, Luke Kennedy was trying to get his life together and reset his life, but he ventured over to Thailand for one last hurrah. He partied hard, overdid it, and his path collided with prostitutes, drug dealers, and violence. This story is an action-packed story of a fight to escape violence and deal with a Monk that forced him to confront his demons.' (Publication summary)