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'There are many good reasons to welcome this life of Race Mathews. It is mainly written by his wife Iola, an accomplished journalist, author, feminist, unionist and recent memoirist,1 but with the first four chapters a moving account by Race himself on his early life. As the work of a spouse, Race Mathews: A Life in Politics has an intimacy that is impossible to achieve at a greater distance: it comes as no surprise to learn that one of the books Iola read for inspiration was Susan Crosland’s biography of her husband, the British author and politician Anthony Crosland.2 Iola Mathews’ book captures otherwise obscured aspects of personal, family and emotional life but it also does an excellent job of telling the story of the public career of an impressive Australian politician and intellectual – and they don’t often go together in this country.' (Introduction)
