Ian Buruma on Japanese culture

 

Mint condition. PB. 256pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Both panoramic and intimate, A Japanese Mirror is a rich and surprising exploration of national identity.

In this scintillating book, Ian Buruma peels away the myths that surround Japanese culture. With piercing analysis of cinema, theatre, television, art and legend, he shows the Japanese both 'as they imagine themselves to be, and as they would like themselves to be.'

A Japanese Mirror examines samurai and gangsters, transvestites and goddesses to paint an eloquent picture of life in Japan. This is a country long shrouded in enigma and in his compelling book; Buruma reveals a culture rich in with poetry, beauty and wonder.

Glenn A Baker's travel best

 

Very good condition. PB. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Glenn A Baker brings us his wry observations and sense of humour as he travels to Cuba and meets Castro, considers the moral dilemma of travelling to Burma, attends a Naadam, a festival of horse racing, archery and wrestling in Mongolia or waxes lyrical over the streets of Slovenia, to name but a few of his adventures.

SOLD Ireland in colour

 

SOLD

Ex-library. Mint condition. HB. 256pp. $35 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Glossy print. Colour photos throughout.

Amazon is also selling this book for over $100.

A misguided tour of our century

 

Ex-library. Very good condition. PB. 400pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

• Andrew Mueller doesn't consider himself a proper journalist, yet he's travelled from Afghanistan to Abkhazia, from Belfast to Belgrade and from Tirana to Tripoli in search of a good story. 'I Wouldn't Start From Here' is his random history of the 21st century so far, and all its attendant absurdities, intermittent horrors and occasional glimmers of hope. It features gunfights, car chases and gaol cells, any number of exotic locations, and a cast which includes revolutionaries, rock stars, politicians, hitmen, warmongers and peacemakers. Whether ducking for cover in Gaza, running roadblocks in Iraq, attempting to have fun in Luxembourg, or trying to buy Colonel Gadaffi T-shirts in Tripoli, Mueller is a man in search of an answer to perhaps the crucial question of our time: What is it with these people?

The Diggers who defended Malaya and Singapore during WWII

 

Ex-library. Mint condition. PB. 145pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

The Illustrated history of Australians in Malaya and Singapore, December 1941 – February 1942, with biographies of key figures.

The power of being bullied

 

Excellent condition. PB. 272pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Outstanding Australians on Hard Lessons Learned at School

edited by Fiona Scott-Norman

One of the most difficult things about being bullied is
the feeling that nobody else knows what it’s like.

Twenty-two of Australia’s most talented and successful people know exactly what it’s like.

In candid and entertaining interviews, leading lights
from across Australian life recount how they were bullied and shunned at school just for being different. Not only did they survive the ordeal but their experiences
helped shape them into the remarkable individuals they are today.

Contributors include:
Missy Higgins (musician), Hazem El Masri (NRL),Christos Tsiolkas (writer), Tiffiny Hall (TV), Alice Pung (writer), Sam Bramham (paralympian), Stella Young (disability advocate), Eddie Perfect (actor),Megan Washington (musician), Brendan Cowell(actor), Marieke Hardy (writer), Adam Goodes (AFL),Adam Boland (TV), Bindi Cole (artist), Charlie Pickering (TV), Kate Miller-Heidke (musician), Tim Ferguson (comedian), Penny Wong (politician),Benjamin Law (writer), Judith Lucy (comedian), Paul Capsis (musician) and Wendy Harmer (TV).

About the author

Fiona Scott-Norman is a Melbourne-based comedian, writer and broadcaster. She writes for The Big Issue and is a regular on ABC Radio.

An account of Australia's secret war against ISIS in Iraq

 

Mint condition. PB. 352pp. $25 including postage anywhere in Australia

A brand new book. More information here and here.

From the best-selling author of The Commando and Born to Fight comes a fascinating investigation of modern warfare that combines methodical research and the fast-paced action of battle with the personal stories of the combatants on both sides of the line.

Taking us from the suburbs of western Sydney and Australia's military army bases, to the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, this is a remarkable book that reveals the as-yet untold story of the battle for Mosul and the secret involvement of Australians on both sides of the war - both our Commandos and Australian ISIS fighters.

Mosul details the rise of ISIS influence in Australia, the Iran and Australia allegiance to fight Daesh and shows what led up to the battle and the ramifications that are still being felt at home - by our soldiers and the victims of that war.

Ben Mckelvey has extraordinary access to SOOCOMD/2COMMANDO units - the most decorated modern Australian fighting unit; ISOF - Iraq's premier fighters; Yazidis women who had been slaves of ISIS; returned Commandos and their devastated families, and explains how petty criminals in Western Sydney became some of our worst jihadists who took their families to Iraq to fight for ISIS. Focusing on the stories of key figures like 2 Commando's Ian Turner and one of Australia's most infamous Jihadist, Khaled Sharrouf, Mckelvey takes us the heart of this brutal battle and brings history to life in an honest, thoughtful and compelling examination of modern warfare.

A must-read for anyone interested in modern military history.

About the author

Ben Mckelvey is a freelance writer and editor from Sydney who has filed for Good Weekend, GQ, Voyeur, Rolling Stone, The Bulletin, Cosmo, Cleo and the Age and West Australian newspapers. Ben's previous gigs have included editing Sports&Style and Juice magazines, and working at the Sydney Morning Herald as a Senior Feature Writer. He has been embedded with the ADF in East Timor and Iraq, and has worked independently in Iran and Afghanistan.

A gorgeous book on India's history and present

 

Mint condition. HB. Colour photographs. Glossy. 336pp. $25 including postage anywhere in Australia.

In The Story of India, Michael Wood weaves a spellbinding narrative out of the 10,000-year history of the subcontinent. Home today to more than a fifth of the world's population, India gave birth to the oldest and most influential civilization on Earth, to four world religions, and to the world's largest democracy.

Now, as India bids to become a global economic giant, Michael sets out on an epic journey across this vibrant country to trace the roots of India's present in the incredible riches of her past. The Story of India is a magical mixture of history and travelogue, and an unforgettable portrait of India - past, present and future.

About the author

For more than 20 years, historian and broadcaster Michael Wood has made compelling journeys into the past, which have brought history alive for a generation of readers and viewers. He is the author of several highly praised books on English history including In Search of the Dark Ages, The Domesday Quest, In Search of England and In Search of Shakespeare. He has over 80 documentary films to his name, among them Art of the Western World, Legacy, In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great, Conquistadors and In Search of Myths and Heroes.

Michael was born in Manchester and educated at Manchester Grammar School and Oriel College Oxford, where he did post-graduate research in Anglo-Saxon history. He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

A story of the cameleers who helped early Australian explorers

 

Rare book. Mint condition. PB. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Taj and the Great Camel Trek, by award-winning author Rosanne Hawke is an inspirational, gripping adventure and a tribute to the Afghan camel drivers who helped explore Australia.

South Australia, 1875: Twelve-year-old Taj and his camel Mustara are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. They are joining explorer Ernest Giles on his second attempt to cross the Australian desert where wild dogs, scorpions, poisonous snakes and a constant shortage of water mean they are never far from disaster.

As if things weren’t tough enough, Taj, raised in the ways of the Afghan people, is struggling to find his place in this new and exciting land.

About the author

Rosanne Hawke is a South Australian author of over thirty books. She lived in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates as an aid worker for ten years. Her books include Kelsey and the Quest of the Porcelain Doll, a CBCA Notable Book, and Taj and the Great Camel Trek, winner of the 2012 Adelaide Festival Awards for Children’s Literature and shortlisted for the 2012 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. She is the 2015 recipient of the Nance Donkin Award; an Asialink, Carclew, Varuna and May Gibbs Fellow; and a Bard of Cornwall. She has taught creative writing at Tabor Adelaide and writes in an old Cornish farmhouse with underground rooms, near Kapunda.