Cirrus@Austlit

'The N Word ' by Stephen Hagan exposes the passion and courage of the man behind the public face and reveals how a childhood growing up in a fringe camp and the town of Cunnamulla in southern Queensland, fired his determination to fight for human rights.

From his foray into bureaucracy in the early eighties as a naive young foreign affairs attache posted to Sri Lanka, through to calculated career moves as government bureaucrat, businessman and academic, Hagan has stuck close to his Aboriginal roots and the lessons imparted from his family and cultural advisors. On a journey marked by controversy and the inside of courtrooms, he has advanced from one legal battle to another.

In the 1990s Hagan's fortunes went from enjoying the heady company of Queensland political powerbrokers to a spectacular fall from grace and desperate attempts to clear his name of legal charges. He later defended wrongful dismissal charges and came up against his own people while championing the cause for transparency and accountability in publicly-funded organisations.

'The N Word ' is a riveting account of "one man's stand" and an uncompromising insight into Indigenous politics by one of Australia's most sought-after political commentators on race relations.' Source: http://www.stephenhagan.net/ (Sighted: 04/06/2009).