Cirrus@Austlit

'On the publisher’s website this achingly honest book is tagged under “Memoirs,” a genre its author despises. Gideon Haigh, one of our most versatile and prolific writers, sees memoir as a form of attention seeking, a spotlight for “humblebraggarts.” His new book is deliberately “pruned of memoir’s usual self-pardonings and self-protections.”'  (Introduction)

'"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free ..." How has Australia risen to Emma Lazarus' great challenge? 
'This overview of the historical, social and political contexts that have shaped Australia's recent treatment of asylum seekers offers a clear-eyed view of the many dimensions of the asylum seeker predicament, including its psychological and humanitarian consequences, and lays out an agenda for change in policy. 
'Sir Gustav Nossal, the Rt Hon. Malcolm Fraser, Senator Lyn Allison, Phillip Adams, Professor Stuart MacIntyre, and Lindsay Tanner MP introduce the six sections. Julian Burnside QC, Dr Carmen Lawrence, Peter Mares, Pamela Curr, Michael Clyne, Linda Briskman, Derrick Silove, Michael Gordon, Arnold Zable and David Manne are among the contributors to the 20 chapters. 
'Yearning to Breathe Free is a passionate but informed work that is multi-faceted, thought-provoking, and ultimately hopeful. '  (Publication summary)