Nick Richardson captures the feel not only of a unique Olympics, but of a unique time in Australian history. He uses the Olympics as the lens through Nick Richardson captures the feel not only of a unique Olympics, but of a unique time in Australian history. He uses the Olympics as the lens through which to view some of the most profound developments in Australia and the world … This book pulls back the blinds on what was a vitally important year in Australian – and world – history … Nick has the rare ability to blend an historian’s eye for the critical detail with a journalist’s nose for the underlying human story to deliver a compelling read … simply an excellent storyteller. Michael Gleeson, The Age
Richardson’s approach to his subject is both thematic and chronological. The resulting narrative is deftly woven and, surprisingly given all the detail, sweetly paced. Sara Dowse, Inside Story
[Nick Richardson] takes us back to an Australia at a moment of quiet yet irrevocable change. Alex Sinnott, The Weekly Times
As the chronicler of a year, Richardson (an author, academic and journalist) proves spirited, artful and entertaining. While keeping the Olympics as the pivot and focus for his year, Richardson also assembles an eclectic cast of supporting players to weave in and out of the narrative ... whimsically charming. Mark Thomas, The Canberra Times
Richardson has written a social, political, administrative, sporting and cultural history of Australia during a pivotal year in a pivotal decade. Alex McClintock, The Australian...more
Her prose is lyrical and haunting ... McWatt forcefully demonstrates how we all have a stake in dismantling thPowerful and provocative. Sunday Life
Her prose is lyrical and haunting ... McWatt forcefully demonstrates how we all have a stake in dismantling the status quo and creating new paths towards true freedom: “a place outside both the master’s house and the field”. Shame on Me is a tale of our time, yet also timeless. Shu-Ling Chua, The Saturday Paper...more
This quirky inventory of Swedish values explores the shades of grey behind the branding of Sweden as the shiny home of ABBA and Volvo ... But it’s notThis quirky inventory of Swedish values explores the shades of grey behind the branding of Sweden as the shiny home of ABBA and Volvo ... But it’s not all Bergmanesque gloom. Åsbrink also celebrates Swedes’ sacred relationship with nature, the achievements of its social reformers and the indefatigable biologist Carl Linnaeus. Fiona Capp, Sydney Morning Herald
Challenging and stimulating on Swedish words … In common with Orwell she condemns chauvinism, but leaves room for patriotism, as love for a specific place, or language, matters as such one would not want to force upon others. Göteborgs-Posten
Åsbrink as ever writes with clarity, sometimes incisive and poignant, and always with a great curiosity…The chapter on what the Swedes knew or did not know of the Holocaust is one of the most eloquent literary executions of Jan Guillou that has ever been written, this on his quite recent assertion that the Swedes did not hear of the genocide until after 1945. Expressen
Åsbrink’s book is a singular achievement. It reveals more about the Swedes than it does Sweden. More on values, more on language and the world of ideas than on dates, or regencies and their length. The line of thought is unrestrained, leaping between different eras as it stumbles across parallels, the broad strokes of narrative freely punctuated with anachronism and digression, and as a work of reference for those of us who mostly spent our history lessons looking out of the classroom window, it is unbeatable. Västerbottens-Kuriren
I hope Made in Sweden becomes a widely read book. Smålandsposten, Barometern
This handsome little book surveys the things that have made Sweden the place it is today, from the suffragette who was Jane Austen’s “literary soul sister” to the “interesting lie” of Swedish neutrality during World War II. The Weekend West...more
Challenging and stimulating on Swedish words … In common with Orwell she condemns chauvinism, but leaves room for patriotism, as love for a specific pChallenging and stimulating on Swedish words … In common with Orwell she condemns chauvinism, but leaves room for patriotism, as love for a specific place, or language, matters as such one would not want to force upon others. Göteborgs-Posten
Åsbrink as ever writes with clarity, sometimes incisive and poignant, and always with a great curiosity…The chapter on what the Swedes knew or did not know of the Holocaust is one of the most eloquent literary executions of Jan Guillou that has ever been written, this on his quite recent assertion that the Swedes did not hear of the genocide until after 1945. Expressen
Åsbrink’s book is a singular achievement. It reveals more about the Swedes than it does Sweden. More on values, more on language and the world of ideas than on dates, or regencies and their length. The line of thought is unrestrained, leaping between different eras as it stumbles across parallels, the broad strokes of narrative freely punctuated with anachronism and digression, and as a work of reference for those of us who mostly spent our history lessons looking out of the classroom window, it is unbeatable. Västerbottens-Kuriren
I hope Made in Sweden becomes a widely read book. Smålandsposten, Barometern
This quirky inventory of Swedish values explores the shades of grey behind the branding of Sweden as the shiny home of ABBA and Volvo ... But it’s not all Bergmanesque gloom. Åsbrink also celebrates Swedes’ sacred relationship with nature, the achievements of its social reformers and the indefatigable biologist Carl Linnaeus. Fiona Capp, Sydney Morning Herald
This handsome little book surveys the things that have made Sweden the place it is today, from the suffragette who was Jane Austen’s “literary soul sister” to the “interesting lie” of Swedish neutrality during World War II. The Weekend West...more
Memoirs about motherhood are exceedingly common, but Women’s Work dares to explore the labor arrangements that often make such books possible ... StacMemoirs about motherhood are exceedingly common, but Women’s Work dares to explore the labor arrangements that often make such books possible ... Stack writes sharp, pointed sentences that flash with dark insight ... ruthlessly self-aware [and] fearless. Jennifer Szalai, New York Times
Women’s Work hit me where I live, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. The discomforting truths Stack reveals about caretaking and labor transcend cultural and national boundaries; this book is relevant to everyone, no matter how or where they live. Stack uses her reporting acumen to illuminate domestic workers' struggles, but also fearlessly reveals the most vulnerable details of her own life in order to make her point. The masterfulness with which she tells these intertwined stories makes this book not just a work of brilliant journalism but a work of art. Emily Gould, Author of Friendship: A Novel and And the Heart Says Whatever
If Karl Ove Knausgaard himself were a woman and had given birth, he might have written a book a little like Women’s Work. Megan Stack’s mastery of language and attention to detail make magic of the most quotidian aspects of life. But the subject matter here is hardly banal. Stack goes beyond her own experience of motherhood to focus on the Chinese and Indian nannies who helped her raise her children at the expense of their own. She brilliantly dissects the contradictions of motherhood by analyzing how motherly love becomes a commodity in this modern, globalized word. Barbara Demick, Author of Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
Megan Stack is willing to confront hard questions that so many of us flinch from: the relationships between women and the women we hire to take care of our houses and our children, to do the traditional women’s work that gives “liberated women” the time to do traditional men's work. Women’s Work is a book of vivid characters, engrossing stories, shrewd insights, and uncomfortable reflections. Anne-Marie Slaughter, President & CEO of New America, and author of Unfinished Business
Women’s Work is an incredible follow-up to Megan Stack’s celebrated book of war reportage, Every Man in This Village Is a Liar. It is a fierce and furious and darkly funny book about the costs of motherhood: the psychological costs, the costs in time and energy and spirit, and finally the costs imposed on other women, most of them also mothers, who leave their own children so they can take care of ours. I can’t think of a work that speaks more directly to our age of increasing inequality, starting with housework and child care, the oldest inequalities of all. Keith Gessen, Author of A Terrible Country
A self-critical and heartfelt narrative ... beautifully written, informative, and sometimes harrowing as she recounts the joy, fear, and exhaustion of becoming a mother. What women — and men — can learn from Stack's story is that “women's work”, in all of its complexity and construction, should not be only for women.STARRED REVIEW Kirkus
Megan Stack obliterates the silence that upholds one of our greatest taboos: our universal reliance on domestic labor that women — women of colour especially — are expected to supply freely or cheaply. With journalistic rigor, Stack centres the complicated lives of women who clean our homes and care for our children, but it’s her willingness to shine a light into the dark, typically untouched corners of her own family, privilege, and ambition that makes this book soar. Angela Garbes, author of Like a Mother
Stack writes, unflinchingly, about what it was like for her world to shrink and her life to entwine with the lives of her hired help — who left their own kids behind in order to work in her home ... Stack’s writing is sharp and lovely, especially in the first section of the book as she deftly describes her plunge into new motherhood and year-long journey to find herself again. Erica Pearson, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Stack truly becomes aware of the hardships facing the women she employs: alcoholism, domestic violence, poverty. She delves into their stories with searing honesty and self-reflection … Women’s Work is a brave book, an unflinching examination of privilege and the tradeoffs all women make in the name of family. Amy Scribner, BookPage
Stack’s engaging style will have women everywhere nodding in recognition.FIVE STARS Robyn Douglas, Adelaide Advertiser
Stack, who had stints in Jerusalem, Cairo, Moscow and Beijing for the Los Angeles Times, is a natural storyteller with an eye for detail ... This is a painfully honest investigation of what kind of compromises women make by hiring other women to do the grunt work ... Stack confronts a reality that many try not to think about: Who are the women who care for my children and clean my house? ... a double-edged indictment: of those, including Stack, who exploit domestic helpers in their desire to remain relevant in work but also of the men who abdicate responsibility ... In an unflinching way, Stack pulls the curtain back on the truths of women’s lives, especially the domestic part: how women make it work. Debra Bruno, The Washington Post
Stack is admirably honest about her reactions and responses. Her prose is often a joy to read: sharp and full of insight. Henrietta McKervey, The Irish Times...more
Women’s Work hit me where I live, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. The discomforting truths Stack reveals about caretaking and laborWomen’s Work hit me where I live, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. The discomforting truths Stack reveals about caretaking and labor transcend cultural and national boundaries; this book is relevant to everyone, no matter how or where they live. Stack uses her reporting acumen to illuminate domestic workers' struggles, but also fearlessly reveals the most vulnerable details of her own life in order to make her point. The masterfulness with which she tells these intertwined stories makes this book not just a work of brilliant journalism but a work of art. Emily Gould, Author of Friendship: A Novel and And the Heart Says Whatever
If Karl Ove Knausgaard himself were a woman and had given birth, he might have written a book a little like Women’s Work. Megan Stack’s mastery of language and attention to detail make magic of the most quotidian aspects of life. But the subject matter here is hardly banal. Stack goes beyond her own experience of motherhood to focus on the Chinese and Indian nannies who helped her raise her children at the expense of their own. She brilliantly dissects the contradictions of motherhood by analyzing how motherly love becomes a commodity in this modern, globalized word. Barbara Demick, Author of Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
Megan Stack is willing to confront hard questions that so many of us flinch from: the relationships between women and the women we hire to take care of our houses and our children, to do the traditional women’s work that gives “liberated women” the time to do traditional men's work. Women’s Work is a book of vivid characters, engrossing stories, shrewd insights, and uncomfortable reflections. Anne-Marie Slaughter, President & CEO of New America, and author of Unfinished Business
Women’s Work is an incredible follow-up to Megan Stack’s celebrated book of war reportage, Every Man in This Village Is a Liar. It is a fierce and furious and darkly funny book about the costs of motherhood: the psychological costs, the costs in time and energy and spirit, and finally the costs imposed on other women, most of them also mothers, who leave their own children so they can take care of ours. I can’t think of a work that speaks more directly to our age of increasing inequality, starting with housework and child care, the oldest inequalities of all. Keith Gessen, Author of A Terrible Country
Stack, who had stints in Jerusalem, Cairo, Moscow and Beijing for the Los Angeles Times, is a natural storyteller with an eye for detail ... This is a painfully honest investigation of what kind of compromises women make by hiring other women to do the grunt work ... Stack confronts a reality that many try not to think about: Who are the women who care for my children and clean my house? ... a double-edged indictment: of those, including Stack, who exploit domestic helpers in their desire to remain relevant in work but also of the men who abdicate responsibility ... In an unflinching way, Stack pulls the curtain back on the truths of women’s lives, especially the domestic part: how women make it work. Debra Bruno, The Washington Post...more
To say anything worthwhile about antisemitism you need calm, lucidity, intelligence, and a faultless moral compass, all powered by a proper feeling foTo say anything worthwhile about antisemitism you need calm, lucidity, intelligence, and a faultless moral compass, all powered by a proper feeling for racial justice. Deborah Lipstadt has the entire skillset. That’s why her new book is so welcome, so necessary, and so clear. David Hare
Antisemitism comes in different shades, all of them ugly — not least when it comes from those who regard themselves as champions of liberation. To fight this abomination in all its shades, Deborah Lipstadt has given us a sage, sober, and lucid manual for the perplexed and willfully blind. An outstandingly useful book. Todd Gitlin, Author of The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage>/i>
A must read at the time of a mounting wave of aggressive nationalism and xenophobia in the world today. Professor Jan Gross, Author of Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland
A leading scholar of Judaism explores just about every manifestation of contemporary antisemitism, with plenty of history included for context … A didactic tour de force approachably presented. Kirkus
The most powerful and important element of Antisemitism is Lipstadt’s clarity on the impact of words. Violence doesn’t just appear out of the blue – it is enabled and encouraged by language … Her book is essential reading for anyone perplexed about antisemitism and how we got to this point. Ruth Smeeth, Mail on Sunday
[Lipstadt] has written a book that combines erudition, clarity, accessibility, and passion at a moment when they could not be needed more. The New York Times Book Review
The book deals with Trump, the alt-right, social media and Holocaust denial, European populism, Islamism, leftist anti-Zionism and Jeremy Corbyn. So it covers, and covers well, the big concerns of modern Jewry. … a valuable book. The Times
A timely book about contemporary anti-semitism — timely because all the signs are that we are entering an era when this ancient prejudice is having new life breathed into it. Hugh Linehan, The Irish Times
This is not an academic history of antisemitism. It’s something more valuable—an act of zooming in the moral lens on what is happening in the world today ... Read Lipstadt’s new book. And then give it to your children and grandchildren. It is that good—and it is that relevant. Jeffrey Salkin, Religion News Service
Lipstadt’s insight and perspective contextualise current events ... crafting an informative read for those interested in social justice and political and Jewish history.STARRED REVIEW Library Journal
Keeping her tone measured and carefully noninflammatory, Lipstadt presents an intelligent, evenhanded explanation of why Jews come under attack today. Informed, historically sound, and deeply rational, her book offers both convincing reasons for the recent rise of antisemitism and apt advice to ‘call out and combat’ it. Publishers Weekly
The present book is not a history but a reckoning with antisemitism in its current guises and contortions. Geoffrey Brahm Leven, Canberra Times
[T]he timeliness of Lipstadt’s nuanced and accessible discussion of contemporary antisemitism cannot be overstated ... Lipstadt provides a useful taxonomy of antisemites ... Antisemitism: here and now is a sobering but accessible read by an eminent scholar. Helene Meyers, Washington Independent Review of Books
A rigorous examination of [antisemitism’s] alarming rise worldwide ... Her central thesis, that “genocide begins with words not with acts of violence” is a reminder of the urgent need to call out and resist anti-Semitism in all its guises. Australian Financial Review
In a very accessible and thoroughly interesting book, the author has managed to pack in a terrific amount of thoughtful material, ranging from why she prefers to spell it ‘antisemitism’ (no hyphen or capitalisation) through to her rugged defence of free speech. Anthony Smith, NZ International Review
Lipstadt isn’t just interested in compiling a list of affronts, abuses, and attacks, which would be, in itself, a substantial achievement. She also explores with remarkable insight and balance the difference between anti-Semitism and racism ... [A] timely, nuanced, clear, accessible, and ultimately optimistic book. Ilana Snyder, Australian Book Review
Professor Lipstadt traces a dramatic rise in antisemitism since about 2000 with a particular uptake since 2016. Nick O’Malley, Sydney Morning Herald...more
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