Item category 1: Society & Culture

Discover the story of Dr. Martens, from its beginnings in 1901 as a producer of sturdy work boots to its position as a cultural icon synonymous with individuality and self-expression. Packed with photographs and information covering the company's entire history, you'll discover the cushioned desi...

A provocative pop history that explores the witches -- and witch hunts -- in the untold story of abortion, from the days of Socrates through the Salem Witch Trials and the 1980s Satanic Panic, all the way to our fraught present. For millennia, across cultures and continents, both providers and re...

This indefinitive collection brings together under one cover the very best comic writing - parody, poetry, prose, plays, philosophy and political treatise - by Australia's greatest living television host. From 'I Was Scott Morrison's Schnoodle' and 'Around the World in One Pair of Underpants' to ...

Inspiring, revealing and deeply personal, Tested is an exploration of the remarkable place where challenge, crisis and opportunity meet, and how it's only in the moments when we are tested that we discover what we are made of.When Pat Cummins unexpectedly became Australia's 47th Test captain at a...

Could Australia become a full-employment, renewable-energy superpower? Ross Garnaut says yes, and it starts with taxing carbon. A levy on the big polluters will help fund Australia to become a carbon-free energy giant, lower the cost of living and assist the world to cut emissions. In this path-b...

As a spiritual icon who continually explores the intersection of cutting-edge science and personal growth, Deepak Chopra, M.D., tackles the little-discussed spiritual benefits of AI and its vast potential to solve the greatest mystery confronting us: consciousness itself. By navigating the intric...

We all have our list of things we want to have "someday." Whether it's for a better job, a stronger marriage, a happier home, more gratifying relationships with friends, or simply accomplishing more and leaving a lasting legacy, we think that tomorrow is the day to start our journey towards our g...

One evening in 2009, April Balascio was searching online, as she had been every night, for unsolved murders in the towns her family had lived growing up, when she stumbled across the latest investigations into the "Sweetheart Murders" cold case. All at once, the buried memories of her father's da...

When it comes to queer British history, London has stolen the limelight. But what about the millions of queer lives lived elsewhere? In Queer beyond London, two leading LGBTQ historians take you on a journey through four English cities from the sixties to the noughties, exploring the northern pos...

A close exploration of the vibrant world of cosplay, showing how cosplayers build a strong connection to the characters and stories they treasure, and ultimately how they are constructing their own identities.

So many people have felt a shift towards prioritising a more authentic life in recent years, and nowhere exemplifies that life better than the bush. Rural Australians navigate isolation, the weather, and a huge responsibility to the land and their animals, but from these pressures have gleaned po...

A "San Francisco Chronicle" reporter provides an account of the series of unsolved murders committed in California from 1968 to the early seventies in which letters were sent to the "Chronicle," announcing the crimes and signed with a symbol from the Zodiac.

Propaganda, pulp fiction, spies and censorship: the fascinating and action-packed story of books in wartime. Chairman Mao was a librarian. Stalin was a published poet. Evelyn Waugh served as a commando - before leaving to write Brideshead Revisited. Since the advent of modern warfare, books have ...

Welcome back to Clarkson's Farm. The spring crop failed. Just like the oilseed rape. And the durum wheat. Then the oats turned the colour of a hearing aid and the mushrooms went mouldy. Farming sheep, pigs and cows was hardly more lucrative. Jeremy would be better off trying to breed ostriches. B...

In his newest revolutionary offering, world-renowned clinical psychologist and bestselling author Jordan Peterson guides us through the ancient accounts of rebellion, sacrifice, suffering and triumph that have formed the foundations of the Western world. Drawing on the psychology of religion, myt...

In Crimes Against Humanity, Geoffrey Robertson KC explains why we must hold political and military leaders accountable for genocide, torture and mass murder. He shows how human rights standards can be enforced against cruel governments, armies and multi-national corporations. This seminal work co...

A myth-busting book about how the world produces and consumes its food and how to do so without killing the planet. In this ambitious, myth-busting book, leading scientist and internationally bestselling author Vaclav Smil investigates many of the burning questions facing the world today: Why are...

In this fascinating & profoundly chilling account, Detective Kim Mager, a real-life version of Clarice Starling, reveals how she closed in on-and broke-one of Ohio's most infamous serial killers. On September 13, 2016, in the small town of Ashland, Ohio, emergency dispatchers received a 911 call ...

In 1959, Australians thrilled to every move made by a new criminal underdog, a Ned Kelly for the rock 'n' roll era. Kevin John Simmonds was a charismatic crook whose brazen crime spree had scored him a lengthy prison sentence. But as he was led from court, he boasted, 'They'll never hold me.' Two...

Love, Bruises & Bullsh!t is a touching compilation of true stories of survival. Over twenty women pour their hearts onto paper to share their experience with family and domestic violence. Some stories are shared from the survivors' perspectives, some from the children who grew up in homes filled ...

Why is a heart not heart-shaped? Will I ever understand cryptocurrency? What am I doing when I apricate? And is everything getting worse? Finding the time to appreciate the bounty of our world can be tricky amid the demands of work, family and scrolling our phones. Happily, E. Foley and B. Coates...

For over half a century, Banco Popular was one of the most profitable banks in the world, until one day in 2017, when the Spanish bank suddenly collapsed overnight. When investigative journalist Gareth Gore was dispatched to report on the story, he expected to find yet another case of unbridled c...

Carnaby’s cockatoos are a part of the fabric of Perth. Their loud calls, messy feeding habits and endearing personalities make them easily recognisable to anyone living or visiting the suburbs of Perth. But their numbers are declining as their habitats are lost to development and other threats. T...

"This is a comprehensive history of Jewish religion and philosophy, its traditions and practices, magnificently illustrated with over 500 photographs and paintings. It is an in-depth introduction to the religion and its rich cultural and spiritual heritage. It describes the different aspects of O...

How do people turn listening into a musical performance? Through a series of compelling case studies, author Byrd McDaniel offers "spectacular listening" as a concept that explains the pervasive appeal of translating music consumption into a public practice, in a book that encompasses air guitar ...

Both a translation and critique of an early 20th century seminal French text on the physical effects of corseting, The Bad Corset explores contemporary anti-woman bias to challenge the commonly accepted assertions about corsetry's contribution to disease, disfigurement, and disorders of the femal...

The story that bonds Ernest Rutherford and Marcus Oliphant is as extraordinary as it is unlikely. They were kindred souls whose restless intellect and tireless conviction fused in the crucible of discovery at Cambridge University's celebrated Cavendish Laboratory. Their brilliance illuminated the...

When Bridget Hustwaite blew out her thirtieth birthday candles, she had no idea of the profound changes that awaited her in this new decade. Instead of ticking off the traditional expectations (buy a house, get married, start a family), Bridget's list of early thirties life moments looked wildly ...

In Hoodie Economics, Jack Manning Bancroft builds a values system revolution that centres a relational economy, offering urgent and transformative solutions to embrace Indigenous thinking and ideas from outside the margins and pushing the focus from capitalism to relationships – from the people i...

A thoroughly researched and deeply personal examination of how women unintentionally condone workplace abuse in a post-#MeToo world—and a guide to changing things for the better. When Reah Bravo began working at the Charlie Rose show, the open secret of Rose’s conduct toward women didn’t deter he...