Politics by the book

There are many others that I could read, but I will give priority to Gareth Evans’ book on his years with Hawke and Keating. Evans was an interesting character and I think his book, Inside the Hawke Keating Government, will be similar. In browsing through it, I note that it tells us a lot about how governments actually work and what must be done to successfully get any proposal past the Public Service, Ministers, Cabinet, Prime Minister and Parliament. It is a work of art for stayers only.

What staggers me is that most of the political books on sale now are written by those on the political left, with Howard being the only exception.

Why is the Right so tongue tied? Have they nothing of value to say? There is a biography of Joe Hockey on sale, but it is a lightweight job. Another is Malcolm Fraser’s book, Dangerous Allies, about our supposedly bad foreign treaties which seems to be another effort by Malcolm to be a bit nasty.

There are lots of political books on sale internationally. I am about to read Jimmy Carter and Henry Kissinger, also books about the politics of Ukraine and the Irish Rebellion of 1916. On the home scene, there is a fine one by Ian McCalman about the Barrier Reef. Perhaps more interesting is Annabel Crabb; she has written about The Wife Drought. I have a feeling that it will make old chauvinists like me feel a little uncomfortable.

All of this tells us that life is interestingly challenging, and I reckon the future is fascinating for those who are curious.