'Biographies of politicians still in the game have a slippery quality, even if – as in Margaret Simons’ solidly researched, cautiously told life of Tanya Plibersek – they wear such limitations on their sleeve. Simons’ Tanya Plibersek: On Her Own Terms is not a historical verdict being rendered on some superannuated figure safely euthanised by time and the voting public. This book is inevitably entangled with the live debates and power struggles of the moment.' (Introduction)