After studying and working at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Verity Burgmann returned to Australia and completed a Ph D at the Australian National University in 1980. She later worked at the University of New South Wales, University of Melbourne and Deakin University. Her published works include : In Our Time : Socialism and the Rise of Labor, 1885-1905 (1985); Making Life : A People's History of Australia Since 1788 (1988); Constructing a Culture : A People's History of Australia Since 1788 (1988); A Most Valuable Acquisition (1988); Staining the Wattle (1988); Power and Protest : Movements for Change in Australian Society (1993); and Revolutionary Industrial Unionism : The Industrial Workers of the World in Australia (1995).