Cirrus@Austlit

'The life of a spy is based on lies, but both these books make an attempt to separate fact from fiction in the stories of their subjects.' 

(Introduction)

'Judicial biography is a relatively sparse field. This is hardly surprising given that most cases heard by judges, while of great importance to the parties, do not have any broader public significance.' (Introduction)

'Observers of premiers conferences, as they were then called, in Canberra in the first half of the 1970s often remarked that the outstanding participant among the federal and state politicians attending was South Australian premier Don Dunstan.' (Introduction)

'There have been at least half a dozen previous biographies of Robert Menzies, but Troy Bramston’s new life of Australia’s longest-serving prime minister is arguably the most attractive combination of research and readability.'  (Introduction)

'Michael Sexton has taken part in and recorded some of the most interesting history of Australia’s post-war years. He tells the story here of his major cases as a lawyer, many of them as Solicitor General for New South Wales, and of his long involvement with politics and public administration. He recounts the controversies surrounding some of his own books, in particular his account of the Whitlam government where he worked as a ministerial adviser and his use of secret documents to reveal how Australia forced its way into the Vietnam War in the 1960s. This is a fascinating look at some of modern Australia’s legal, political and literary history.' (Publication summary)