Collection: Adult Non Fiction

After spending their early years together in conflict zones as foreign correspondents, and living in Sydney, Geraldine Brooks and Tony Horwitz settled down to raise two boys on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. The life they built was one of meaningful work, good humour, and tenderness, as they s...

For her entire life, Lucinda's mission was to look as hot as possible. She nipped, tucked, bleached, cut, plucked, plumped, shaved, lasered, tanned, crunched, squatted and starved. Then, she broke. This is a funny, provocative retrospective on the last thirty years of Western beauty standards. Fr...

Australia's own 'Minister of Defence', Mackenzie Arnold, shares the inspiring story of the winding road that led to her becoming the Matildas' top goalkeeper, including the magical World Cup run that captivated a nation, and what it takes in your heart to take on the world.

Joan Lindsay's Picnic at Hanging Rock has captivated and perplexed generations. But the woman behind the novel is as much an enigma as the disappearance of the fictitious schoolgirls and their teacher. Joan Lindsay, wife of painter, art entrepreneur and National Gallery of Victoria director Daryl...

The story of Arthur Leggett, a young man growing up in Australia's developing years, patriotically serving his country in World War II, and surviving four and a half years in the hands of the Germans as a Prisoner of War. Australian larrikanism shines throughout Arthur's journey from boyhood to m...

At the age of 31 Jamila Rizvi was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour. When she shared her diagnosis with loved ones, good friend Rosie Waterland proposed the tumour eventually be named "Jam's Jerky" and kept on display in a jar. While this sensitive proposal was politely declined, there was a rea...

The construction of the Overland Telegraph in 1870 is an extraordinary feat of engineering and a wild gamble that nearly went terribly wrong. It was the greatest feat of engineering in nineteenth century Australia, but it very nearly collapsed in the face of monumental obstacles. The year was 187...

'Fire up!' shares some of the lessons I've learned from the first twenty-five years of my life, from growing up in the bush to running across Australia. This is what fires me up every single day. I'm aware I'm just one person among billions, many of whom are far wiser than I am. While this is wha...

At sixteen years old, Lily Arthur was caught between the women's liberation movement of the 'swinging sixties and the draconian ideology that young women should be punished for deviating from society's 'moral codes'. For the 'crime' of being pregnant, Lily was forcibly taken from the man she plan...