Cirrus@Austlit

'When the news broke it was tempting to conclude swiftly that Shane Warne died as he had lived. On holiday in Thailand, nudge nudge. The tabloids, especially in Britain where he lived much of his life, had luridly chronicled his life. Many may have speculated that he died living life to the fullest.' 

'What makes Australians such brilliant inventors? Whose idea was the black box flight recorder? Who thought of spray-on skin? The Safe-n-Sound baby capsule? And the Hills Hoist clothes line? Australian inventions. You use them every day.' (Publication summary)

'So you want to be prime minister? It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, a snappy dresser or a messy eater. Australia’s prime ministers have had very different backgrounds - Paul Keating managed a rock band and Chris Watson swept up horse manure. You have a better-than-average chance if your first name is John and you were born in Victoria. Read this handbook of helpful hints and you could be the next prime minister.' (Publication summary)

'International politics is a serious business. But, as Richard Woolcott shows in these witty reminiscences, the diplomatic world has more than its fair share of absurdity, and even high comedy.

'Required not only to sacrifice a settled home and family life in the service of their country, diplomats must also heroically offer up their livers to booze, their stomachs to endless official dinners, their integrity to dangerous liaisons and the weasel art of spin, and their sanity to the pomposity and weird protocols that are part and parcel of the international scene.

'Undiplomatic Activities is filled with anecdotes and tall tales from an extraordinary career that spanned the second half of the twentieth century: from junior diplomat in Cold War Moscow to secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra, via the capitals of Europe, Africa, Asia, the USA, and the United Nations.

'From the heady negotiations of global statecraft to the petty and labyrinthine politics of ministers and mandarins, join this ultimate insider on an hilarious and insightful tour of duty in the diplomatic world. (Publisher's blurb)