'Peter Timms leads us on a journey through his adopted city of Hobart, Australia's smallest, most southerly, least prosperous, but arguably most beautiful state capital. He reveals a city in transition, shaking off its dark and troubled past to claim its special place in the contemporary world: 'going boutique, nice and slow', as one overseas visitor notes.
'From Hobart's convict legacy, its spectacular natural setting, heritage architecture and climate, to crime-rates, economic hardship and the recent disfigurements of the developers, Timms brings a wealth of fresh insights, exploring the city with a mixture of affection, admiration, frustration and sadness, interviewing a wide range of residents along the way. Those who have experienced Hobart as tourists will be surprised and intrigued by the lively, complex society this book reveals. Those who live here will surely discover their city anew.' (From the publisher's website.)
Epigraph:
... gradually it dawned on me that the voyage I neded to take began in my own neighbourhood, within a few minutes' walk of my own front door. It had been there all the time, under my nose, even as I made other abortive attempts to discover a starting point.
James Attlee, Isolarion, p.xiv
