About the Book
The 'On' series – little books on big ideas – pairs Australia’s leading thinkers and cultural figures with some of the big themes in life.
This collection includes:
On Us by Mark Scott: Stop. Listen. Step outside the echo chamber.
On Father by John Birmingham: A son's homage to his father.
On Travel by Tony Wheeler: The more you travel, the more extraordinary the world becomes.
On Lust and Longing by Blanche d'Alpuget: Here are the raw and timeless themes of the power and powerlessness inherent to lust, love, loss and death.
On Indignation by Don Watson: Don Watson takes us on a journey of indignation and how it has been expressed in his forebears.
On Violence by Natasha Stott Despoja: Why is violence against women endemic and how do we stop it?
En Garde by Sarah Hanson-Young: In the era of wolf-whistle politics, women are sick of being degraded.
On Quiet by Nikki Gemmell: International bestselling author Nikki Gemmell writes on the power of quiet in today's shouty world.
About the Author :
Mark Scott is the Secretary of the NSW Department of Education and has a distinguished record in public service, education and the media. Initially a teacher and education policy adviser, Mark enjoyed a long career in journalism. He was Editor-in-Chief of Fairfax newspapers and then Managing Director of the ABC from 2006 to 2016. John Birmingham’s books include the cult memoir He Died with a Felafel in His Hand, Leviathan: The Unauthorised Biography of Sydney and the fiction series Weapons of Choice. He is the author of two Quarterly Essays, Appeasing Jakarta: Australia’s Complicity in the East Timor Tragedy and A Time for War: Australia as a Military Power. He is a regular contributor to the Monthly. A trek along Asia's 'hippie trail' in 1972 led to Tony and Maureen Wheeler creating travel publisher Lonely Planet, and to the New York Times describing him as 'the trailblazing patron saint of the world's backpackers and adventure travelers'. Wheeler has been involved with the Planet Wheeler Foundation's work on more than 50 projects in the developing world and the establishment of Melbourne's Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas. Blanche d'Alpuget is the acclaimed author of biographies, novels and essays. Her bestselling 1982 classic, Robert J. Hawke: A Biography, won the New South Wales Premier’s Award and remains one of the finest examples of political biographies in Australia. The second edition of the book was republished as Hawke: The Early Years, and d’Alpuget continued the story in Hawke: The Prime Minister in 2010. To mark the late prime minister’s extraordinary life and legacy, d’Alpuget combined the two books for the first time in an updated and revised commemorative edition, Bob Hawke: The Complete Biography, a definitive portrait of the man, on and off the political stage. d’Alpuget’s other non fiction works include Mediator: A Biography of Sir Richard Kirby, which was published to critical acclaim in 1977 and is still used as a university text in the study of industrial relations. Her novels Monkeys in the Dark, Turtle Beach, Winter in Jerusalem and White Eye won a host of literary prizes, including the PEN Golden Jubilee Award, The Age Novel of the Year Award, the South Australian Premier’s Award and the inaugural Australasian Prize for Commonwealth Literature. She is also the author of the Birth of the Plantagenets series: The Young Lion, The Lion Rampant, The Lions’ Torment, The Lioness Wakes and The Cubs Roar. Don Watson’s books include the bestsellers Recollections of a Bleeding Heart, Death Sentence, Watson’s Dictionary of Weasel Words, American Journeys and A Single Tree, a companion to The Bush. He has won The Age Book of the Year (twice), two New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards, a Walkley Award, a Queensland Literary Award, and many others. He lives in Melbourne. Natasha Stott Despoja AM is the founding Chair of Our Watch, the national organisation to Prevent Violence Against Women and their Children. She is Australia's former Ambassador for Women and Girls and, in 2018, was named one of the top 100 Global Influencers on Gender policy. Natasha is the youngest woman ever to enter Australia's Federal Parliament, where she served as a Senator from 1995 to 2008, and went on to lead her party, the Australian Democrats. Natasha has been a lifelong advocate for gender equality. Sarah believes that our economy must deliver for both people and planet. Our generation is the first to see the impacts of climate change – and we are the last who can stop it. There is no time to lose in reducing carbon pollution and moving to a zero-emission economy. This means investing in renewable energy, green-powered industry, phasing out fossil fuels and banning new coal mines – like Adani. Climate change looms as the biggest driver of inequality of the next generation. Sarah is a strong advocate for making sure no-one is left behind as we transition to a cleaner and safer world.
Sarah is a global citizen, committed to ensuring that Australia remains connected to the rest of the world, through ideas and global action. Decency to refugees and promoting a Welcoming Australia to new migrants is a cause close to her heart.
As a proud student of public schooling, Sarah believes that a quality education should be free and accessible to every child and student, from early childhood through to University. Sarah will continue the fight to make our country a fairer and more compassionate place.
She has backed diverse initiatives to encourage equality of opportunity for women and is a leading advocate for paid parental leave and universal access to childcare to help boost women’s workforce and community participation. Nikki Gemmell is the bestselling author of 13 novels, five works of non-fiction and, as N.J. Gemmell, six children’s books. Her work has received international critical acclaim and her books have been translated into 22 languages. She is also a columnist for the Weekend Australian Magazine. She was born in Wollongong, New South Wales. Mark Scott is the Secretary of the NSW Department of Education and has a distinguished record in public service, education and the media. Initially a teacher and education policy adviser, Mark enjoyed a long career in journalism. He was Editor-in-Chief of Fairfax newspapers and then Managing Director of the ABC from 2006 to 2016. John Birmingham is the author of the cult classic He Died With a Felafel in His Hand, the award-winning history Leviathan, and the trilogy comprising Weapons of Choice: World War 2.1, Designated Targets: World War 2.2 and Final Impact: World War 2.3. Between writing books he contributes to a wide range of newspapers and magazines on topics as diverse as biotechnology and national security. Before becoming a writer he began his working life as research officer with the Defence Department's Office of Special Clearance and Records. A trek along Asia's 'hippie trail' in 1972 led to Tony and Maureen Wheeler creating travel publisher Lonely Planet, and to the New York Times describing him as 'the trailblazing patron saint of the world's backpackers and adventure travelers'. Wheeler has been involved with the Planet Wheeler Foundation's work on more than 50 projects in the developing world and the establishment of Melbourne's Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas. Blanche d'Alpuget is the acclaimed author of biographies, novels and essays. Her bestselling 1982 classic, Robert J. Hawke: A Biography, won the New South Wales Premier’s Award and remains one of the finest examples of political biographies in Australia. The second edition of the book was republished as Hawke: The Early Years, and d’Alpuget continued the story in Hawke: The Prime Minister in 2010. To mark the late prime minister’s extraordinary life and legacy, d’Alpuget combined the two books for the first time in an updated and revised commemorative edition, Bob Hawke: The Complete Biography, a definitive portrait of the man, on and off the political stage. d’Alpuget’s other non fiction works include Mediator: A Biography of Sir Richard Kirby, which was published to critical acclaim in 1977 and is still used as a university text in the study of industrial relations. Her novels Monkeys in the Dark, Turtle Beach, Winter in Jerusalem and White Eye won a host of literary prizes, including the PEN Golden Jubilee Award, The Age Novel of the Year Award, the South Australian Premier’s Award and the inaugural Australasian Prize for Commonwealth Literature. She is also the author of the Birth of the Plantagenets series: The Young Lion, The Lion Rampant, The Lions’ Torment, The Lioness Wakes and The Cubs Roar. Don Watson’s books include the bestsellers Recollections of a Bleeding Heart, Death Sentence, Watson’s Dictionary of Weasel Words, American Journeys and A Single Tree, a companion to The Bush. He has won The Age Book of the Year (twice), two New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards, a Walkley Award, a Queensland Literary Award, and many others. He lives in Melbourne. Natasha Stott Despoja AM is the founding Chair of Our Watch, the national organisation to Prevent Violence Against Women and their Children. She is Australia's former Ambassador for Women and Girls and, in 2018, was named one of the top 100 Global Influencers on Gender policy. Natasha is the youngest woman ever to enter Australia's Federal Parliament, where she served as a Senator from 1995 to 2008, and went on to lead her party, the Australian Democrats. Natasha has been a lifelong advocate for gender equality. Sarah believes that our economy must deliver for both people and planet. Our generation is the first to see the impacts of climate change – and we are the last who can stop it. There is no time to lose in reducing carbon pollution and moving to a zero-emission economy. This means investing in renewable energy, green-powered industry, phasing out fossil fuels and banning new coal mines – like Adani. Climate change looms as the biggest driver of inequality of the next generation. Sarah is a strong advocate for making sure no-one is left behind as we transition to a cleaner and safer world.
Sarah is a global citizen, committed to ensuring that Australia remains connected to the rest of the world, through ideas and global action. Decency to refugees and promoting a Welcoming Australia to new migrants is a cause close to her heart.
As a proud student of public schooling, Sarah believes that a quality education should be free and accessible to every child and student, from early childhood through to University. Sarah will continue the fight to make our country a fairer and more compassionate place.
She has backed diverse initiatives to encourage equality of opportunity for women and is a leading advocate for paid parental leave and universal access to childcare to help boost women’s workforce and community participation. Nikki Gemmell is the bestselling author of 13 novels, five works of non-fiction and, as N.J. Gemmell, six children’s books. Her work has received international critical acclaim and her books have been translated into 22 languages. She is also a columnist for the Weekend Australian Magazine. She was born in Wollongong, New South Wales.
