THE GREAT AUSSIE BLOKE SLIM-DOWN by Peter FitzSimons, Ebury Press.

He’s better known for his breezy tomes about fascinating times in Australian history (think Ned Kelly and Charles Kingford Smith). But the self-confessed “fat former footballer” writes an engaging, fact-filled memoir about losing 40 kilos. It’s a book packed with research and expert opinion, but explained so simply it all makes sense and you’ll end up binning your sugar bowl and pouring all your wine down the sink. With a charming foreword by wife Lisa Wilkinson, it would make a useful (but perhaps tactless) Christmas gift.