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The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific

Fantasized about quitting the 9-5? Walking away from credit card debt and student loans? Think living in the South Pacific for two years sounds like a perfect solution and perhaps even a winning idea for your first novel? Maarten Troost does just that, setting up as a devil-may-care islander while his girlfriend, Sylvia, gets to work on saving the planet, or at least a little part of it on an end-of-the-world atoll, Tarawa. Life on Tarawa resembles not so much paradise as a theatre of the absurd where planes fly with the aid of masking tape, Coconut Stalinism prevails as national government and Sylvia is co-opted by the CIA to spy on the Chinese. But abandoning continental hang-ups like barbequeing the local dogs and watching on as international industrial fishing trawlers plunder the world's richest tuna supply aren't so easy.

Shaping Nations: Constitutionalism and Society in Australia and Canada

Shaping Nations brings together the work of Australian and Canadian scholars around five core themes: constitutionalism, colonialism, republicanism, national identity, and governance.

Shearing In The Riverina, New South Wales

A Short History of Tasmania

This is a concise and lively history of Tasmania from its earliest times to the late 1990s. It is also a case study of British colonization in Australia, tracing the rocky path from invasion to modernity, from the rigors of Van Dieman's Land to the Franklin Dam controversy. For this new edition, Michael Roe has added two new chapters which provide a history up to 1996.

A Shot of History: Macquarie Harbour 1822-1833 (A Shot of History #1)

The year 2022 marks the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the penal settlement at Macquarie Harbour. This convict penal settlement located on the isolated primeval rugged west coast of Van Diemen&’s Land (Tasmania) quickly gained a reputation as an &‘Earthy Hell&’. Colonial historian John West succinctly recorded in 1852: &‘The name Macquarie Harbour is associated exclusively with remembrance of inexpressible depravity, degradation, and woe. Sacred to the genius of torture, Nature concurred with the objects of its separation from the rest of the world, to exhibit some notion of a perfect misery. There, man lost the aspect and the heart of man …. This region is lashed with tempests: the sky is cloudy, and the rain falls more frequently than elsewhere. In its chill and humid climate, animal life is preserved with difficulty; half the goats died in one season, and sheep perished; vegetation, except in its coarsest and most massive forms is situated and precarious …. The passage to this dreary dwelling place was tedious and often dangerous. The prisoners, confined in a narrow space, were tossed for weeks on an agitated sea. As they approached, they beheld a narrow opening chocked with a bar of sand and crossed with peril. This they called Hell&’s Gate – not less appropriate to the place than to the character and torment of the inhabitants: beyond they saw impenetrable forests, skirted with an impervious thicket; and beyond still enormous mountains covered with snow, which rose to the clouds like walls of adamant: every object wore the air of rigour, ferocity, and sadness&’. This was just the beginning for those sentenced to Macquarie Harbour the barbaric treatment from officials and fellow convicts alike, resulted in Macquarie Harbour representing a true convict hell hole, not only resulting in murder, but in cannibalism by several men in their attempts to escape.

The Sidekicks

Ryan, Harley and Miles are very different people-the swimmer, the rebel and the nerd. All they've ever had in common is Isaac, their shared best friend. When Isaac dies unexpectedly, the three boys must come to terms with their grief and the impact Isaac had on each of their lives. In his absence, Ryan, Harley and Miles discover things about one another they never saw before, and realize there may be more tying them together than just Isaac. In this intricately woven story told in three parts, award-winning Australian author Will Kostakis makes his American debut with a heartwarming, masterfully written novel about grief, self-discovery and the connections that tie us all together.

Sideswiped: Off the Map 2 (Off the Map #2)

It was only meant to last the summer . . .Talia Stolfi has seen more than her share of loss in her twenty-one years. But then fate brought her Bran Lockhart, and her dark world was suddenly and spectacularly illuminated. So if being with Bran means leaving her colourless NorCal life for rugged and wild Australia, then that's what she'll do. But as much as Talia longs to give herself over completely to a new beginning, the fears of her past are still lurking in the shadows.Bran Lockhart knows that living without the beautiful girl who stole his heart will be torment, so he'll take whatever time with her he can. But even though she has packed up her life in California and is back in his arms for the time being, she can't stay forever. And the remaining time they have together is ticking by way too fast. Though fate seems determined to tear them apart, they won't give up without a fight-because while time may have limits, their love is infinite . . .Book #2 in the OFF THE MAP seriesPraise for Lia Riley:'Upside Down gave me all the feels. Romantic and poignant, the journey of love and acceptance lingers long after the book is closed' Jennifer L. Armentrout/J. Lynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author'Must read romance . . . refreshing and heartfelt New Adult contemporary romance' USA Today'Addictively readable' Booklist (starred review)'Riley writes a captivating story from beginning to breathtaking end' Publishers Weekly starred review'Fresh, sexy, and romantic. I cannot wait for the next book' Kristen Callihan, bestselling author'Fast paced, electric and sweetly emotional!' Tracy Wolff, New York Times bestselling author'Where to even start with this book? Beautifully written, Australia, hot surfer Bran, unique heroine Talia. Yep, it's all just a whole lot of awesome. Loved it!' Cindi Madsen, USA Today bestselling author'A rich setting and utterly romantic . . . I absolutely loved it!' Melissa West, author of Pieces of Olivia'Upside Down is a brilliantly-written New Adult romance that transported me to another country. With vivid imagery and rich characterisations, I was completely smitten with the love story of Bran and Talia. I cannot wait for the rest of their story!' Megan Erickson, author of Make it Count

The Silver Horse Switch (Horse Crazy #1)

&“Harvey&’s ink and watercolor pictures cheerily depict life in the bush and capture the personalities of the heroines and their equine friends.&” —Publishers Weekly Bonnie and Sam are best friends who love horses. They befriend the ponies and horses in their Australian town except for one, Drover, who used to be wild. All she dreams about is getting back to the mountains to be free. One evening, when a wild, mountain horse who could be Drover&’s twin comes face to face with the cantankerous, corralled Drover, both horses get their chance at a new life. Illustrated with lively watercolor throughout, this endearing tale is a sure hit. &“Lighthearted easy readers with Harvey&’s appealing watercolor illustrations, these books have instant charm . . . The horses are as vivid and complex as the deftly drawn human characters.&” —Kirkus Reviews

Sister Heart

A young Aboriginal girl is taken from the north of Australia and sent to an institution in the distant south. There, she slowly makes a new life for herself and, in the face of tragedy, finds strength in new friendships. Poignantly told from the child's perspective, Sister Heart affirms the power of family and kinship. This compelling novel about the stolen generations helps teachers sensitively introduce into the classroom one of world's most confronting histories.

Six Impossible Things

1. Kiss Estelle.2. Get a job.3. Cheer my mother up.4. Try not to be a complete nerd/loser.5. Talk to my father when he calls.6. Figure out how to be good.Nerd-boy Dan Cereill is not quite coping with a whole heap of problems, including a reversal of family fortune, moving, new-school hell, a mother with a failing wedding cake business, a just-out gay dad, and a massive crush on Estelle, the girl next door. His life is a mess, but for now he's narrowed it down to just six impossible things.... In this charming story of one guy's efforts to get it together when his life is falling apart, award-winning author Fiona Wood introduces an irresistible voice and a delightfully awkward character who is impossible to forget.

Six Paintings from Papunya: A Conversation

In the early 1970s at Papunya, a remote settlement in the Central Australian desert, a group of Indigenous artists decided to communicate the sacred power of their traditional knowledge to the wider worlds beyond their own. Their exceptional, innovative efforts led to an outburst of creative energy across the continent that gave rise to the contemporary Aboriginal art movement that continues to this day. In their new book, anthropologist Fred Myers and art critic Terry Smith discuss six Papunya paintings featured in a 2022 exhibition in New York. They draw on several discourses that have developed around First Nations art—notably anthropology, art history, and curating as practiced by Indigenous and non-Indigenous interpreters. Their focus on six key paintings enables unusually close and intense insight into the works’ content and extraordinary innovation. Six Paintings from Papunya also includes a reflection by Indigenous curator and scholar Stephen Gilchrist, who considers the nature and significance of this rare transcultural conversation.

Slipping into Paradise: Why I Live in New Zealand

In the tradition of Under the Tuscan Sun and A Year in Provence, here is Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson's ode to his personal paradise-his adopted home, New Zealand. After living in California, why did Masson settle- out of all the places on earth-in such a faraway land? It turns out that while visiting a beautiful sandy beach just fifteen minutes from bustling Auckland, Masson and his family were utterly seduced by the exotic locale. There was little deliberation. This place, surrounded by lush forest on a bay dotted with volcanic islands, would be their new home.Masson takes readers on a remarkable journey to another world, as he and his family "slip into" the paradise that is New Zealand. For anyone who has ever dreamed of finding utopia, Masson reveals a country where neighbors talk to one another and provide a sense of real community-rarely, outside of the big cities, locking their doors-and where politics are as mellow as the weather. New Zealand is also a land of spectacular scenery, made even more famous for being the shooting location for the Lord of the Rings films. The flora is plentiful. Mangroves, banana plants, papaya trees, and more than ten thousand species of ferns grow wild and freely. The fauna is benign. There are no snakes, tarantulas, or scorpions. Children can walk to school barefoot without a care- there is nothing to sting them, bite them, or give them a rash. In the blue waters near the lush coastline, dolphins and orcas abound. While describing his love affair with the country and his affinity for its citizens, Masson reflects on the meaning of home, the importance of acting on intuition, and what happens when we lose our connection to the place we live in. Responding to an impulse, Masson reveals, he realized a dream.Featuring a its glossary of phrases used by New Zealanders and important Maori words, as well as the author's recommended travel itinerary, Slipping into Paradise is ideal for anyone planning a visit to this exquisite land. Full of photographs, delightful anecdotes, and little-known facts (jogging, for example, was invented in New Zealand), Slipping into Paradise is also a book for those who fantasize about dramatically changing their lives-and who imagine something better for themselves. Jeffrey Masson's message: New Zealand awaits.From the Hardcover edition.

The Slow Evolution of Foster Care in Australia: Just Like A Family? (Palgrave Studies in the History of Childhood)

​This book draws on archival, oral history and public policy sources to tell a history of foster care in Australia from the nineteenth century to the present day. It is, primarily, a social history which places the voices of people directly touched by foster care at the centre of the story, but also within the wider social and political debates which have shaped foster care across more than a century. The book confronts foster care’s difficult past—death and abuse of foster children, family separation, and a general public apathy towards these issues—but it also acknowledges the resilience of people who have survived a childhood in foster care, and the challenges faced by those who have worked hard to provide good foster homes and to make child welfare systems better. These are themes which the book examines from an Australian perspective, but which often resonate with foster care globally.

A Small Free Kiss in the Dark

Two young boys, an old tramp, a beautiful teenage dancer, and the girl's baby--ragtag survivors of a sudden war--form a fragile family, hiding out in the ruins of an amusement park. This complex and haunting exploration of life on the edge and what it takes to triumph over adversity is a story about the indomitable nature of hope.

Snow, Fire, Sword

On the island of Jayangan, old beliefs and magic exist side by side with new pop songs and motorcycles. . . . Adi is a fisherman's son, proud to be studying with the greatest of traditional sword makers. Dewi is the daughter of a healer, curious about the world beyond her quiet village. Neither Adi nor Dewi is prepared for the sudden violence that transforms their lives. Both are propelled into an epic battle in which even the mystical spirits of Jayangan are threatened and helpless. Charged with a desperate quest to find the mysterious Snow, Fire, and Sword, Adi and Dewi know only that if they fail, their beloved homeland will fall to an evil shrouded in impenetrable darkness. Can two children of the modern world succeed where the most powerful and ancient spirits cannot? Set against the backdrop of a mythic Indonesia, Sophie Masson's gripping fantasy will leave readers breathless.

The Soft Touch

A gripping short crime story featuring Darian Richards by Australia's bestselling debut crime writer Tony Cavanaugh. Includes previews of his first two full-length novels.[Cavanaugh's debut is] 'as good as Harlan Coben' - Weekend Australian.Darian Richards is a retired homicide investigator. He was one of the best. But chasing monsters eventually took its toll and he quit the force to sit on a jetty on the Noosa River. Or so he planned.After years of service, witnessing the best and the worst of policing, Darian has made up his own mind about justice. Whenever a horrific crime is committed debate rages about the nature of punishment. As far as the law is concerned justice doesn't condone revenge, but tell that to the family of a murder victim or to the woman you can't protect. Darian Richards knows that in the real world, when your hands are tied, sometimes revenge is the only justice.The Soft Touch takes you deep into Darian's past, to the life lessons that made him who he is. He is a man you want looking out for you not looking for you.The Darian Richards SeriesPromiseDead Girl SingThe Soft Touch (Short Story)The Train RiderKingdom of the Strong

Solace + Yearning – Poetry of Dance and Belonging: A Community Arts Project from Denmark, Western Australia

‘Solace + Yearning’ layers landscape, poetry, eco-art and contemporary dance to create an immersive space for many voices: yearning to connect to country, grief for what is absent, and reaching towards an understanding of indigenous language and culture. “Along the edges, voices call softly, softly… the past speaking to the present.” This multi-arts collaboration explores ‘settler guilt’ and ‘solastalgia’—a sense of loss caused by environmental change—in a small rural community. The work unravels contradictory and complicated feelings about Australia’s stories, the assumed advantage of non-indigenous Australians, and yet our deep longing for the wisdom and connection intrinsic in indigenous cultures. “It is beneath the bark where stories are whispered and life rises to stitch together this river with this sky.” Performed in Denmark, Western Australia in 2012, and again as a solo performance by Annette Carmichael in 2014, these images and reflections portray a complex relationship between people and place. “Sometimes, sometimes I make the mistake of thinking that what has not been written down has been forgotten.” With gratitude to Joey Williams, Wayne Webb, Toni Webb, and Harley Coyne, who walked the trail with us and generously shared their Noongar culture and stories.

Solomon Time: An Unlikely Quest in the South Pacific

Who hasn't fantasized about dismantling his or her hassled, wired-up life for a simpler existence? Yet who among us has the will and opportunity to do it? The answer, of course, is very few.Will Randall, a young English schoolmaster, had such a chance -- and took it. He uprooted his conventional First World life and let himself be blown to one of the farthest and most beautiful corners of the earth, the Solomon Islands of the South Pacific. In the entertaining tradition of Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country, this is the story of Solomon Time.From the first, it's an improbable journey. In a chance encounter on a rugby field, Randall meets a doddering old man known as "the Commander," who has retired to England after running a cocoa plantation in the South Pacific for thirty years. Six months later, the Commander dies and his will is read: he wants someone to travel to his beloved, long-missed island -- where his plantation has fallen into ruin -- and devise a way for the natives to support themselves. If successful, they might avoid poverty, build a new school, and even fend off the greedy developers circling their peaceful waters.It's a mission of noblesse oblige, yet possibly a fool's errand, too. Randall agrees to go.Spread across the Tropic of Capricorn, the Solomon Islands are not so much the Pacific archipelago that time forgot as the one that forgets time. Randall's new home is Mendali, a fishing village so remote it can be reached only by motorized canoe. But the people of the village, some with cheeks engraved with a rising sun, are welcoming, for they remember the Commander kindly, and still practice a pagan Anglicanism in a church he built for them in 1956. They sleep in houses made of leaves and live on fish of every sort, mud crabs, yams, ngali nuts, even the honeycomb of termites.Randall decides that the villagers could raise chickens, and they greet the idea with enthusiasm. But finding live chicken eggs in their watery world proves wildly difficult, and Randall must chase after the eggs over shark-infested seas and through jungles where strange characters reside, including a one-eyed dwarf and a tattooed lady.One couldn't imagine a better man than Will Randall to help the people of Mendali meet the twenty-first century on their own terms. But will he succeed?Solomon Time is a moving and witty account of one man's accidental adventure in paradise and is certain to enchant explorers and armchair travelers alike.

Someone Special: The #1 bestseller! Friendship, family and love will collide …

SOMEONE SPECIAL by Sheila O'Flanagan is an enthralling novel about families, friends and finding love that should not be missed by readers of Veronica Henry and Marian Keyes.Romy Kilkenny loves her life in Australia - she has her dream job, a fun lifestyle, and best friend Keith who understands her better than anyone. Best of all, she couldn't be further from her family. But when a phone call summons her home at short notice, Romy's world is turned upside down. Romy has never fitted in, and with Keith too far away to give comfort, she feels like more of an outsider than ever. She also worries that the accidental half-kiss with Keith at the airport may have lost her the greatest friend she's ever had. What on earth has Romy let herself in for?What readers are saying about Someone Special:'So many twists and turns throughout the book as well as many other smaller stories interwoventhroughout. It is more than just a love story, and now my favourite book of [Sheila O'Flanagan's]' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars'Interesting story about an unusual and dysfunctional Irish family. You simply fall in love with them' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars'I liked thedifferences between characters, what they have gone through and how they interact when they need each other. It was my first book by Sheila O'Flanagan and I will definitely read more' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

Someone Special: The #1 bestseller! Friendship, family and love will collide …

SOMEONE SPECIAL by Sheila O'Flanagan is an enthralling novel about families, friends and finding love that should not be missed by readers of Veronica Henry and Marian Keyes.Romy Kilkenny loves her life in Australia - she has her dream job, a fun lifestyle, and best friend Keith who understands her better than anyone. Best of all, she couldn't be further from her family. But when a phone call summons her home at short notice, Romy's world is turned upside down. Romy has never fitted in, and with Keith too far away to give comfort, she feels like more of an outsider than ever. She also worries that the accidental half-kiss with Keith at the airport may have lost her the greatest friend she's ever had. What on earth has Romy let herself in for?What readers are saying about Someone Special: 'So many twists and turns throughout the book as well as many other smaller stories interwoven throughout. It is more than just a love story, and now my favourite book of [Sheila O'Flanagan's]' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars'Interesting story about an unusual and dysfunctional Irish family. You simply fall in love with them' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars'I liked the differences between characters, what they have gone through and how they interact when they need each other. It was my first book by Sheila O'Flanagan and I will definitely read more' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

Someone Special: The #1 bestseller! Friendship, family and love will collide …

SOMEONE SPECIAL by Sheila O'Flanagan is an enthralling novel about families, friends and finding love that should not be missed by readers of Emily Bleeker and Kerry Lonsdale.Romy Kilkenny loves her life in Australia - she has her dream job, a fun lifestyle, and best friend Keith who understands her better than anyone. Best of all, she couldn't be further from her family. But when a phone call summons her home at short notice, Romy's world is turned upside down. Romy has never fitted in, and with Keith too far away to give comfort, she feels like more of an outsider than ever. She also worries that the accidental half-kiss with Keith at the airport may have lost her the greatest friend she's ever had. What on earth has Romy let herself in for?(P)Oakhill Publishing Group Ltd 2014

The Songlines (Picador Bks.)

Bruce Chatwin, author of In Patagonia, ventures into the desolate land of Outback Australia to learn the meaning of the Aboriginals' ancient "Dreaming-tracks." Along these timeless paths, amongst the fortune hunters and redneck Australians, racist policemen and mysterious Aboriginal holy men, he discovers a wondrous vision of man's place in the world. A blend of travelogue, memoir, history, philosophy, science, meditation, and commonplace book... Chatwin's astonishing style captures the metamorphoses of his own 'Walkabout' He takes the travel genre beyond exoticism and the simple picturesque into the metaphysical.

Songs the People Love

At the start of World War II, Eric Liffman, a refugee from Nazi Germany, is imprisoned and transported from London to Australia on the infamous troop ship HMT Dunera. After imprisonment in Hay and Tatura, he, in a strange twist of fate, is invited to join the Australian Army, whereupon he restarts his musical career as a gifted tenor and becomes a celebrity performing to packed concert halls and raising large sums of money for the war effort. After the war, he returns to Germany to search for surviving members of his family. A unique account of wartime London, Melbourne, pre and post war Germany from a refugee/prisoner, who became the most celebrated tenor in Australia during the Second World War.

South Asian Diaspora Narratives

Some happy occasions, like the 1995 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book to Bangladeshi-Australian author Adib Khan, the 2008 Man Booker Prize to Indian born Australian writer Arvinda Adiga, and the 2013 Australian Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction to Sri Lankan-Australian author Michele de Krester, have boosted the self-confidence of South Asian-Australian writers in Australia. South Asian diasporic communities have also been the focus for relatively small, but constantly growing, studies by anthropologists and sociologists on the interrelation of gender, race, ethnicity and migration in Australia. The terms "Labels" and "Locations" capture numerous aspects that contribute in the making of a diasporic consciousness. This book critically examines the issues of identity, gender, family, class and caste, expressed in the short narratives of South Asian diaspora writers based in Australia. Taking an interdisciplinary approach--from literary, cultural, historical, anthropological, and sociological studies--this book engages chiefly with the oeuvre of postcolonial writers and academics, namely: Mena Abdullah, Adib Khan, Yasmine Gooneratne, Michelle De Kretser, Chandani Lokuge, Chitra Fernando, Satendra Nandan, Suneeta Peres da Costa, Hanifa Deen, Christopher Cyrill, Suvendrini Perera, Sunil Govinnage, Brij V. Lal, Sunil Badami, Glenn D'Cruz, Chris Raja, Manik Datar, David De Vos, Rashmere Bhatti, Kirpal Singh Chauli, Sujhatha Fernandes, Neelam Maharaj, Sushie Narayan, Madu Pasipanodya, Shrishti Sharma, Beryl T. Mitchell, and Sunitha. This book will, by calling upon the works of this much-neglected South Asian diaspora group, fill a lacuna in the broader critical rubric of diaspora studies.

The South China Sea and Asian Regionalism

This book offers an innovative approach to the analysis of the current crisis in the South China Sea. Moving beyond the spirit of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the mechanisms of which are limited to physical geography, it demonstrates how epistemological insights from the field of critical realist philosophy can reveal the importance of cultural and structural conditioning processes in social interactions, processes which shape the conditions for the emergence of crisis points along a spectrum of conflict and cooperation. The potential for conflict resolution and the emergence of new regions in Pacific Asia much depends on the nature of such interactions at many levels (political-economic, semiotic and cultural) based on perceptions of what constitutes the "common" versus a Sinicised version of "Lebensraum".