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A Concise History of Australia (Cambridge Concise Histories) | 
 enlarge | Author: Stuart Macintyre
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $28.99
Buy Used: $7.25
You Save: $21.74 (75%)
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Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 369815
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2
Pages: 356
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 0521601010
Dewey Decimal Number: 994
EAN: 9780521601016
ASIN: 0521601010
Publication Date: December 27, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
This revised edition of a comprehensive single-volume Australian history reference incorporates the most recent historical research and contemporary debate on relevant issues. In addition to frontier violence between European settlers and Aborigines and the Stolen Generations, the volume covers the Sydney Olympics, the refugee crisis and the "Pacific solution."
Book Description
This is the most up-to-date single-volume Australian history available. This revised edition incorporates the most recent historical research and contemporary historical debates on frontier violence between European settlers and Aborigines and the Stolen Generations. It covers the Sydney Olympics, the refugee crisis and the 'Pacific solution'. Essential reading for residents and visitors alike.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Informative and well-written November 24, 2000
Schmerguls (Sioux City, Ia USA)
20 out of 22 found this review helpful
I have long wanted to read a general history of Austrailia, and when I read. on April 3, 1988, The Fatal Shore, by Robert Hughes, I said to myself, in my post-reading note: "I am glad I read this book, but maybe I'd've done better to read a plain history of Australia than this long account of this aspect of its beginning." I am shamed to say that it has taken over 12 years to do what I thought I should have done back then. This book goes up to 1999, and portrays very well the current dilemmas facing Australia. If you enjoy the articles in Current History, as I do, this book reminds me of those articles, except it is less bland and neutral. Ordinarily I avoid histories with designations such as "short" or "concise" figuring that I want a fuller treatment. But when one knows as little of a country as I do of Australia, I thought this a good introduction to its history.
Very good modernist view of Australian history July 12, 2000
M. Gream (London, UK)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
Stuart's work is an excellent overview of Australian history from the dreamtime to the present. He captures the major periods and events that shaped the progress of Australia towards federation and beyond, into the current malaise over national identity and the development of a unique and identifiable cultures.Modern thought increasingly accepts the indigenous problems that were part of Australian colonisation, and Stuart probes these and other contemporary issues by drawing from both sides of the debate. He illustrates research that examines the language of overland explorers, to determine whether they were 'exploring' or 'conquering', and he comments on modern interpretations of the constitution by the high court. Readers not well versed in Australian issues may pass over these slights of hands without understanding their importance in the nature of forging an Australian history, culture and identity. I would recommend this book as a necessary overview for any person interested in the history of the country, including potential tourists.
 How could concise seem so long? August 25, 2004
B. Nolet (Baltimore)
9 out of 16 found this review helpful
The first thing that came to mind as I trudged through Macintyre's wordy book was how could something called "concise" seem so long? This book is informative but entirely humorless, like reading an ingredient list. Macintyre seems more concerned with showcasing his vocabularity then with enticing you with the facinating history of Australia's past. There is plenty of information in this book if you can make it through to the end while maintaining consciousness. If you are about to visit Australia and you are looking for an entertaining and informative book to stimulate your enthusiasm I strongly recommend Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country. If you are looking for a strong sedative then this is the book for you.
 concise history of australia December 30, 2005
Harold Kaplan (Barrie, Ontario)
8 out of 16 found this review helpful
According to the author, Australian history is 200 years of racism, sexism, oppression, dominance, exploitation. The victims are aborginal people, women, the early convicts -- and the environment. The villains, of course, are white males. When the Australian economy dips, the fault lies with the U.S., world capitalism and neoliberalism. When the Australian economy thrives, it just means Aussies can waste more money on bourgeois geegaws. The tone is humorless, unrelenting, shrill, one-sided -- a prime example of what one Australian referred to as "black armband history".
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