From London to Harare: an activist yearning for an ounce of practice
Leo Zeilig's novel features a superbly crafted cast of characters. It's a page turner for readers interested in the profound questions of radical politics and humanity.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Book review
Displaying 1 - 20 of 53 articles
New York 2140: A novelist’s vision of a drowned city that still never sleeps
A researcher on sea level rise and climate change impacts reviews Kim Stanley Robinson's new novel, 'New York 2140,' which envisions the city's future in the face of extreme sea-level rise.
Something smells off: Kate Grenville’s case against fragrance
Surely only a weirdo wouldn't enjoy the smell of flowers and pine forests? But as Kate Grenville writes in her latest book, fragrance causes untold misery to many of us.
A Theory of Nothing: a novel approach to exposing how science really works
Thomas Barlow is more used to writing factual reports on science innovation, so his first novel gives an entertaining insight into the science community.
In one of 2016’s best books, a former Lord’s Resistance Army child soldier reveals the reason behind the mayhem
Even 'madmen' have their motives for fighting.
Women are funnier than men, on these pages at least
Enough with the charming, naughty funny-guy rants. There are too many in a new anthology of Australian comedy writing – and women display a superior comic imagination.
Book review: Do we live in A Fortunate Universe?
A new book explores some of the big questions of why the universe exists and why it seems fine-tuned for life.
Good cop, bad cop: confessions of a reluctant policeman
A tone of bitter disillusionment dominates the book, which combines self-deprecating anecdotes with reflections on the unique strangeness of policing a post-apartheid South African city.
Review: the fine art of scorn from Twain to Trump
Scorn has a long and humorous history. But a new book on the subject, featuring quotes from Kanye West, Christopher Hitchens and of course, Donald Trump, rather lacks contemporary wit.
Welcome to the new feminism – where the aim is to gross you out
Women’s privates have moved to the front and centre of popular entertainment. And they're not always pretty.
Cryogenics, immortality and the fragility of life: Don DeLillo’s Zero K
DeLillo's latest novel dwells on the implications of accelerating technology – including the practice of freezing dead bodies in the hope that one day, they could become immortal.
True crime interrogates toxic masculinity, at last
The genre that brought us the writings of Mark "Chopper" Read isn't known for its impeccable gender politics. But two new books cast a critical eye on a culture of male violence.
Book review: Keating, by Kerry O'Brien
Kerry O'Brien has provided the platform for Paul Keating to define his political career, explain what drove his reform agenda and cement his position as one of Australia's greatest leaders.
Review: Political Amnesia – How We Forgot How To Govern
Debate, serious discussion and deliberation are valued highly in a democracy not just for their own sake, but because they are considered essential to testing the quality of ideas and arguments.
Jonathan Coe – and why the French love a satirical swipe at Britain
Jonathan Coe is under-read and underrated – in the UK. In France, his stinging social attacks on Britain are far more popular.
Review: Faction Man – Bill Shorten’s Path to Power
Faction Man is a product of Black Inc. From their perspective, Bill Shorten – and his fascination with grimy Labor machine politics – is an alien figure.
Book review: Takeover – Foreign Investment and the Australian Psyche
The “national interest”, at least as far as economic policy is concerned, has always been a contested compromise and a consequence of the relative political influence of domestic forces.
What has science ever done for us? The Knowledge Wars, reviewed
Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty's new book explores why so many people today selectively reject science, and in the process gives a behind the scenes look at how science really works.
Book review: Santamaria, A Most Unusual Man
Gerard Henderson has produced a rounded and at times fascinating portrait of B. A. Santamaria. His broad conclusion is that Santamaria was a compelling, skilled and persuasive man who was enormously devoted to his causes.
Book review: Selling Students Short
Richard Hil’s Selling Students Short: Why You Won’t Get the Education You Deserve is a timely exposé of the difficult conditions facing students at Australia’s increasingly corporatised universities.
Top contributors
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Professor of International Politics, University of Western Australia
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Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University
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Associate Director, Business Intelligence & Analytics, University of Western Australia
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Emeritus Professor, National Centre for Epidemiology & Population Health, Australian National University
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Susan Lawler is a Friend of The Conversation.
Senior Lecturer, Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University
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Professor of Political Science and Vice-Chancellor, University of Melbourne
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Senior Lecturer, Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University
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Lecturer, Media and Politics, School of Social and Political Sciences; Honorary Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne
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Professor of Writing, University of Technology Sydney
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Deputy Director and Science Director Manfacturing Flagship CSIRO, CSIRO
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Senior Lecturer, Marketing Discipline Group, University of Technology Sydney
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Researcher at Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University
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Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide
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Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne
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Associate Professor, Journalism and Media Research Centre, UNSW
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