Book review: 'The N Word' by Stephen Hagan

In The N Word you can read more than you want to know about state politics, national politics, Indigenous community politics, local government, dealing with our glorious mainstream media, the police, prisons, bureaucracies, and just generally being Indigenous. Hagan's account of doing deals during the Mundingburra by-election is a hair-raising one and a cautionary tale for all who contemplate entering into deals on politically expedient grounds.

His tortuous re-telling of his battle against the use of the "N" word - "Nigger" that is - on the football ground in Toowoomba is a tough read. Each page painfully peels back layer after layer of legal action and reaction until we are finally presented with a glimmer of light from the UN decision.

However, we are still left to ponder the "R" word - Racism that is - and how deeply ingrained it is in our national psyche. In Indigenous affairs, we regularly need to look to international human rights standards. If not, all we have left is the "Australian tradition" and we know that tradition is an unfair one; a racist one; and a politically expedient one.

Stephen Hagan's father used to say to him, "A quitter is not a winner and a winner is not a quitter". And maybe I would add that a winner is not always a winner as this book shows. But I don't want to make it sound all bad. This is a story of a resilient man that has to be told, and as such, it will enrich our national story bank and hopefully our history.

There are many sobering lessons in this book as well a few laughs. However, here is the product warning:

• if you want to know when enough is enough - don’t read this book;
• if you want to feel warm and fuzzy about our justice system and about the state of race relations in this country - don’t read this book;
• if you want to know how to win friends and influence people … don’t' read this book; and
• if you're after happy endings, this book is not for you!

But if you want to read about what it takes to uncompromisingly stand up for what you believe in - then I recommend you read The N Word.