Small books with big themes
The Chronicle reviewer MARY ANN ELLIOTT reviews MUP’s ‘little books’
AUTHOR: Various
PUBLISHER: Melbourne University Press
RRP: $14.99
REVIEWER: Mary Ann Elliott
MUP has published 20 miniature books on big ideas so far, with more planned.
Incisive, insightful, witty and often moving, each offers a cameo of personal or political life that will resonate with readers.
ON MUTINY
For anyone who is trying to make sense of last month’s political debacle, look no further than David Speers’ On Mutiny. It’s an insider’s story of the most bizarre and brutal week in Australian politics since the Dismissal. Why was Malcolm Turnbull removed and how did Scott Morrison emerge as Australia’s 30th prime minister?
On Mutiny encapsulates the weeks of bitter in-house wrangling. There have been party room revolts before. Bringing down Brendan Nelson and then Tony Abbott came back to haunt Turnbull. No olive branches were offered. Instead, plotting and double dealing have put faith and trust in our politicians at an all-time low.
Seasoned political commentator David Speers offers a clear and concise account of the week that was.
ON TRAVEL
A world away from the tribulations of government is Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler’s delightful On Travel. A selfconfessed travel addict, he writes about the joys of journeying and satisfying wanderlust. With travel and tourism now the single biggest components of the world’s economy, Wheeler discusses the downsides as well as the pleasures that travel can bring. Despite concerns about leaving too large a footprint on the ecology and impacting on fragile wildlife, the upsides are many; bridging gaps in our communication and understanding of other people and cultures, experiencing the kindness of strangers, and often bringing affluence and employment.
Above all, it’s the journey, not the arrival that counts.
ON PATRIOTISM
Among other awards, writer Paul Daley has won the National Press Club Award for Excellence in Press Gallery Journalism. His essay On Patriotism throws keen light on some of our most cherished beliefs, notably the Anzac myth. He maintains it has shifted from the realm of honest, open history “to that of a secular religion in which the war memorial is its cathedral”. He argues that war is mankind’s most horrific activity and should not be sanctimoniously portrayed.
Travelling to dozens of war grave sites in Gallipoli and France, “and who but the heartless could be unmoved?’ Paul Daly nevertheless questions Anzac as the defining sentiment of Australian patriotism. Should this tragic failure at Gallipoli dominate our sense of national pride or can we find other ways to love and support our country? Daly thinks yes.
ON SLEEP
Sleeplessness is a modern-day scourge, pervading our everyday lives.
In our hectic digital world, prescription drugs are widely taken to help us through the night.
Sleep is integral to our wellbeing. There are no workplace guidelines in place to ensure adequate sleep, with politicians, pilots and doctors among many other professionals working overtime. Perhaps a fatigue risk-management system needs to be in place, to combat the 24/7 cycle.
Late night email and mobile phone checks lead to working around the clock.
As a Canberra journalist, Fleur Mc Donald has experienced “The Midnight Frets” and has discovered that she is not alone. However her fellow insomniacs don’t often admit it. It’s more expedient to pretend that you sleep a straight eight hours a night. In reality, are our leaders suffering from chronic sleep deprivation and not doing their job? Mc Donald’s On Sleep is aimed squarely at the insomniacs amongst us. She doesn’t have a panacea but it’s a very informative and entertaining read at bedtime.
ON INDIGNATION
Don Watson’s On Indignation offers succinct and witty insights on this seemingly perennial emotion. Indignation is anger, but not quite the same, says Watson. It is “both a weapon and a way of surviving the incipient civil war in families”.
In a wider political and religious context, it becomes unalloyed vengeance; a revolt against order and obedience. These feelings can fade as quickly as they flare, or last for years. We have witnessed Mr Trump’s indignation when his pride is deflated. He stirred self-righteous indignation into tribal rage and rolled into the White House on the back of simmering tensions and fears.
An element in many plays, novels and movies, insolence and hurt pride are found throughout history, wherever dignity matters. Don Watson casts an astute eye on this pervasive feeling.
ON MOTHER
Finally, ABC investigative journalist Sarah Ferguson offers a deeply moving personal story of her relationship with her mother. It opens with the news of her mother’s death, alone, in England.
As a reporter Sarah’s working life is immersed in loss, wars, natural disasters, but a mother’s love is “exquisite beyond comparison”, and this loss was deeply felt.
On Mother, she recounts the events leading up to her mother’s passing, scanning the 500 pages of hospital notes like a journalist. Mistakes had been made, contrary to the hospital’s blameless version, with a key page missing and a key witness not called. The coroner concluded: “regrettable but unavoidable”, exonerating the hospital staff. However after Sarah made her case, stating that a series of errors occurred and preventative measures could have been applied, the coroner changed her verdict; a small win for justice.
Sarah Ferguson’s evocative, poetic reflections pay loving tribute to her own and to mothers everywhere.