Books

• OPINION

  A review of The Light on the Hill: an updated history of the Australian Labor Party

  Michael McKernan

  This is a a review of The Light on the Hill: an updated history of the Australian Labor Party, by Dr Michael McKernan.

  

  Democracy & AccountabilityBooks

  

• OPINION

  GDP is not what you think it is, which is no accident

  Richard Denniss

  This is an edited extract of More Fool Me (Vantage Point Issue 6) by Richard Denniss, published by The Australia Institute. Available from the 4th of August.

  

  EconomyBooks

  

• OPINION

  The Light on the Hill: An Updated History of the Australian Labor Party

  Ross McMullin

  This is an edited extract from the updated edition of The Light on the Hill: An Updated History of the Australian Labor Party by Ross McMullin (Scribe), out from 30 June.

  

  Democracy & AccountabilityBooks

  

• OPINION

  Getting Murdoched: Newsed and abused

  Andrew Dodd & Matthew Ricketson

  This is an edited extract of Getting Murdoched by Andrew Dodd and Matthew Ricketson, published by Hardie Grant Books. Available in stores nationally from the 30th of June.

  Democracy & AccountabilityBooks

  

• OPINION

  Marjane Satrapi’s masterpiece Persepolis transformed the world’s understanding of Iran

  Shadi Rouhshahbaz

  Marjane Satrapi, best known for her memoir and film Persepolis, has died, aged 56. The death of this much loved Iranian–French artist, graphic novelist, film-maker and activist has been met with widespread celebration of her life – and its dedication to resistance, freedom and humanity.

  Lifestyle & CultureBooks

  

• OPINION

  Eggplant in spiced yoghurt; Pumpkin with nigella seeds and Braised beef: Bengali recipes from Kishwar Chowdhury

  Kishwar Chowdhury

  Three delicious recipes from Smoke, Rice, Water: Recipes and stories from a Bengali home by Kishwar Chowdhury, published by Hardie Grant Books

  

  Lifestyle & CultureFoodBooks

  

• OPINION

  'How to Sell a Genocide' exposes the double standards of reporting on Gaza

  Jeff Sparrow

  When the University of Queensland Press cancelled the publication of Wiradjuri poet Jazz Money’s book Bila: A River Cycle because of a blog post by its illustrator, 60 UQP contributors signed a letter of protest. Some declared they would no longer publish with UQP. Fourteen staff members issued a statement decrying “the precedent the University of Queensland has set”.

  

  International AffairsBooks

  

• OPINION

  Yáng Shuāng‑zǐ, winner of the International Booker Prize, reveals a Taiwan many Australians have never seen

  Mei-fen Kuo

  Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and her English translator Lin King have received the 2026 International Booker Prize for Taiwan Travelogue. The novel is the first work translated from Mandarin Chinese to win the award in its ten-year history, and Yang is the first Taiwanese writer to take the prize.

  

  Lifestyle & CultureBooks

  

• OPINION

  Demagogues and Despots: Remaking the People

  John Keane

  Democracy and despotism live closer together than you’d expect. Acclaimed political thinker John Keane reveals why that should alarm us all in his new book Demagogues and Despots: Democracies on the brink. Here is an extract of this book: 'Remaking the People'.

  

  Democracy & AccountabilityBooks

  

• OPINION

  Romy Ash’s novel imagines the next pandemic as an eerily beautiful mushroom disease

  Jane Rawson

  This is a novel that explores connection, porousness, the possibilities offered by permeability. “It asks for a numb heart, the patriarchy,” says Joc. Mantle asks, what if we could ask for the opposite; what if we could let ourselves feel?

  

  Lifestyle & CultureBooks