Ross Fitzgerald Ross Fitzgerald i(A27045 works by)
Born: Established: 1944 Melbourne, Victoria, ;
Gender: Male
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Works By

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1 A Trio with Brio, and Verve Ross Fitzgerald , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3-4 June 2023; (p. 15)

— Review of Love Letter to Lola Carmel Bird , 2023 selected work short story
1 Menzies before the Liberal Party Ross Fitzgerald , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: Quadrant , March vol. 67 no. 3 2023; (p. 90-92)

— Review of The Young Menzies 2022 anthology biography
'After a brilliant career at the Melbourne bar in the 1920s and a period as Victoria’s Attorney-General, Robert Gordon Menzies eventually became the most towering federal parliamentarian ever seen in Australian politics. But until now, few books, even including Allan Martin’s magisterial two-volume biography (1993, 1999), have dealt in any length or clarity with Menzies’s childhood, personality and early adulthood.' (Introduction) 
1 A Balanced Prime Minister Ross Fitzgerald , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: Quadrant , November vol. 66 no. 11 2022; (p. 79-82)

— Review of A Sense of Balance John Winston Howard , 2022 single work autobiography
1 Warts-and-all Memoir of a Wartime Hell Ross Fitzgerald , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 25 June 2022; (p. 14)

— Review of The Digger of Kokoda : The Official Biography of Reg Chard Daniel Lane , 2022 single work biography
1 Writing Political Satire in Australia Ross Fitzgerald , Ian McFadyen , 2022 single work essay
— Appears in: Quadrant , March vol. 66 no. 3 2022; (p. 103-107)

'One of my favourite stories concerns two Liberal Party politicians, both of whom were later knighted. One of them was arguably Australia's most hopeless and devious prime minister, William ("Billy") McMahon. He was in office from March 1971 until December 1972, when the coalition lost office to Labor under Gough Whitlam - who had famously described McMahon as "Tiberius with a telephone". The second was James ("Jim") Killen, who liked more than an odd beer on a hot day and had served as Minister for the Navy under John Gorton. When McMahon became PM, he dropped Killen from the ministry.' (Introduction)

1 The Eclipse of Manning Clark Ross Fitzgerald , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: Quadrant , January vol. 66 no. 1-2 2022; (p. 101-103)

— Review of History Wars : The Peter Ryan–Manning Clark Controversy Doug Munro , 2021 multi chapter work criticism
1 1 y separately published work icon The Lowest Depths Ross Fitzgerald , Ian McFadyen , Ormond : Hybrid , 2021 23412213 2021 single work novel humour

'The eighth book in the Grafton Everest series sees the hapless ex-President of the Republic of Australia, Dr Professor Grafton Everest, caught up in a web of international espionage and intrigue that he is hopelessly ill-equipped to handle.
'Abandoned to his own inadequate devices when his wife Janet departs on a world tour, with his home invaded by his now broke daughter and son-in-law, Grafton accepts an assignment with the United Nations to investigate electoral fraud in Russia. The reason is not only to get out of the house; an old letter from his mother, addressed to someone in the Soviet Union fifty years ago, suggests that Grafton may not be the only child that he always thought he was.
'Grafton’s mission to Moscow and his search for this mysterious sibling take him far from the Russian capital, deep into the icy wastes of Siberia and even deeper in a tangled conspiracy whose roots extend back to the Cold War and even as far back as the Russian Revolution.' (Publication summary)

1 The Defeat of Literary Censorship Ross Fitzgerald , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: Quadrant , June vol. 64 no. 6 2020; (p. 85-87)

— Review of The Trials of Portnoy : How Penguin Brought down Australia's Censorship System Patrick Mullins , 2020 single work criticism
'It took a book about masturbation to bring down Australia’s repressive regime of literary censorship. Philip Roth’s hugely controversial, highly sexualised novel Portnoy’s Complaint is a book about the habit that in the 1960s scarcely dared speak its name.' (Introduction)
1 Sending a Strong Signal Ross Fitzgerald , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 19 September 2020; (p. 16)

— Review of Radio Girl David Dufty , 2020 single work biography

'Florence Violet McKenzie (1890-1982), known as Mrs Mac, is someone who, up to now, I’d not heard of. But thanks to David Dufty, an expert in Australia’s military intelligence during World War II, I now realise how crucial she was in training our first women signallers and code breakers.' (Introduction)

1 y separately published work icon Fifty Years Sober : An Alcoholic's Journey Ross Fitzgerald , Murrumbeena : Hybrid , 2020 18305282 2020 single work autobiography

 'To celebrate 40 years of sobriety, Ross Fitzgerald published "My Name Is Ross" (2010) - the story of his battle with alcoholism. Although he has now succeeded in not drinking alcohol or using drugs for 50 years, in this revised and updated edition the author still calls himself an alcoholic, and pays extended tribute to the role of Alcoholics Anonymous in keeping him on the wagon. Ross Fitzgerald has been a successful academic, writer, reviewer, and commentator in the media, and acknowledges that it remains a daily battle to remain sober.' (Publication summary)

1 Professor Geoffrey Blainey Remembers His First Four Decades Ross Fitzgerald , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Institute Review , July no. 11 2019;

— Review of Before I Forget : An Early Memoir Geoffrey Blainey , 2019 single work autobiography
1 Tales from under Joh’s Bloody Boot Ross Fitzgerald , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 9 November 2019; (p. 22)

— Review of Bjelke Blues : Stories of Repression and Resistance in Joh Bjelke-Petersen's Queensland 1968-1987 2019 anthology autobiography prose

'They say you should never forget where you came from. Maybe add this: never forget what happened there. Those of us who lived through the regime of a certain Queensland premier have those years indelibly printed not only on our memory but on our psyche.' (Introduction)

1 Grounds for a Success Story Ross Fitzgerald , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 23 March 2019; (p. 22)

'The person who mows your lawn probably does a fine job, but is there a book in that? And who would imagine an enticing story behind the franchises of Jim’s Mowing, Jim’s Cleaning and Jim’s Fencing?'  (Introduction)

1 1 y separately published work icon The Dizzying Heights Ross Fitzgerald , Ian McFadyen , Murrumbeena : Hybrid , 2019 17287129 2019 single work novel humour

'In this 7th book of the highly acclaimed Grafton Everest Series, our indolent hero, Professor Dr Everest, former lecturer in Lifestyles and Wellbeing at the University of Mangoland, is surprised to find himself President of the newly minted Republic of Australia. He is also concerned when he learns that, due to a drafting error, it is to be an American-style executive presidency. Luckily he manages to avoid any actual work or duties, save heading the newly created Department of Wellbeing, and leaves on a goodwill tour of the United States.

'Here, to his further surprise, he is hailed as a political guru and even a messiah by a population still reeling from the incumbency and assassination of president Ronald Thump. Adulation for his even most off-the-cuff comments leads to Grafton being courted by both Democrats and Republicans as a possible US Presidential candidate, something which seems impossible until he discovers a well-kept secret about his true citizenship. After further discoveries, including a secret society of retired spies and bionic clones, he returns to Australia to find that the Department of Wellbeing has become a ruthless dictatorship that has brought the nation to a stop. It is now up to Professor Dr Everest to save the country …'  (Publication summary)

1 1 y separately published work icon So Far, So Good Ross Fitzgerald , Antony Funnell , Ormond : Hybrid , 2018 17287233 2018 single work novel humour 'Professor Dr Grafton Everest's latest outrageous entertainment takes us to London and New York after a series of hilarious meanderings in the land of Oz.

'So Far, So Good centres on our hapless professor's obsession with food and fame; his relationship with his increasingly independent wife Janet; their wayward (and soon to be married) daughter Lee-Anne; and his much-loved terrier Maddie. This cleverly plotted satire exposes the sad state of universities and of what now passes for politics in the West. Our obsession with technology, our fear of outsiders and our distrust of elites also come in for a pasting.

'Caught in a series of concentric conspiracies, Grafton manages to save the day, save the world and even launch Australia on the road to a republic.'  (Publication summary)
1 Outstanding Pair of Soldiers Ross Fitzgerald , 2017 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 9 December 2017; (p. 24)

— Review of Monash and Chauvel : How Australia's Two Greatest Generals Changed the Course of World History Roland Perry , 2017 single work biography

'The legend of Gallipoli may never be eclipsed but recent celebrations have accentuated the heroes of the Western Front and the Middle East. The gallantry and sacrifice of our Diggers is legendary but we should also honour two of World War I’s most outstanding field commanders, both Australians: John Monash and Harry Chauvel.' (Introduction)

1 Ups and Downs of Persistent Pauline Ross Fitzgerald , 2017 single work review essay
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 16 September 2017; (p. 21)

'Anna Broinowski’s revealing documentary Pauline Hanson: Please Explain! ran on SBS television a year ago. Throughout 2015 the award-winning filmmaker had unfettered access to Hanson and her Fed Up campaign, as Hanson attempted to win a Queensland Senate seat at the 2016 federal election.' (Introduction)

1 Sky Was No Limit for Extragalactic Observer Ross Fitzgerald , 2017 single work essay review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 2 September 2017; (p. 22)

'The moon landing was an American-led space adventure but it also shone a spotlight on an Australian scientific success story.

'The Parkes radio telescope in rural NSW became world famous when, in July 1969, it relayed Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon.

'Science writer Peter Robertson is known for his 1992 book on the telescope, Beyond Southern Skies. He spent much of his working life with the CSIRO Publishing group in Melbourne. Now he has written a fine biography of one of the Western world’s leading radio astronomers, John Gatenby Bolton.' (Introduction)

1 High above the Game Ross Fitzgerald , 2017 single work review
— Appears in: TSIR , July no. 6 2017;

— Review of Cazaly : The Legend Robert Allen , 2017 single work biography
1 Heysen Put into Perspective, by Gum Ross Fitzgerald , 2017 single work essay
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 8 July 2017; (p. 21)
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