'From Rhodes Scholar to union leader to political powerhouse: how Bobbie became Bob, the iconic PM. The new biography from award-winning historian David Day sheds fresh light on the formative years of Australia's most charismatic leader, who became a political legend.
'David Day's biography of the young Bob Hawke takes readers on a journey, from his humble beginnings as the often-neglected son of religious zealots on the South Australian frontier, to his wild ways at a succession of universities, and his eventual rise as the country's most powerful union leader. Day provides a new perspective on a larrikin who was known for his overweening self-confidence and charm. A skilled negotiator with a drive to bring Australians together, he would go on to become our most popular and accomplished prime minister.
'Drawing on a decade of extensive research and interviews with those who knew Hawke best, this ground-breaking biography by an acclaimed writer reveals how Hawke's difficult childhood shaped him into someone who was known for his uncontrollable bouts of anger and notorious for his alcoholism, obsessive womanising and close links with some of Australia's more shadowy characters.
'This gripping biography is a must-read for anyone interested in the first fifty years of Bob Hawke, our last truly colourful political leader.' (Publication summary)
'It is easy to imagine book-buyers nodding with approval at the subtitle of this biography: ‘The making of a larrikin’. With ‘larrikin’ today applied to knockabout young men who are irreverent and mischievous but genuinely good-hearted, Bob Hawke seems a quintessential example. Yes, the myth goes, he used slipshod language now and then, and was quite a sight when he was in his cups, but generally Hawkie was a top bloke, a man who would call a spade a spade, a mate who could sup with princes and paupers but never forget who he was.' (Introduction)
'The childhood roots of Bob Hawke’s adult bad behaviour are carefully examined in this biography of the often lionised figure'
'The childhood roots of Bob Hawke’s adult bad behaviour are carefully examined in this biography of the often lionised figure'
'It is easy to imagine book-buyers nodding with approval at the subtitle of this biography: ‘The making of a larrikin’. With ‘larrikin’ today applied to knockabout young men who are irreverent and mischievous but genuinely good-hearted, Bob Hawke seems a quintessential example. Yes, the myth goes, he used slipshod language now and then, and was quite a sight when he was in his cups, but generally Hawkie was a top bloke, a man who would call a spade a spade, a mate who could sup with princes and paupers but never forget who he was.' (Introduction)
