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Ziegfeld: Charles Higham
$20.00Florenz Ziegfeld was without question the most flamboyant showman the American theatre has produced. His glorification of the American girl in glittering glamorous settings packed theatres for years and made him a legend in his own time. Higham's exploration of the life and loves of Florenz Ziegfeld show the man backstage - the demonic, driving, ruthless but utterly charming genius who private life was as agonising as his public life was dazzling. The son of the founder of the Chicago Musical College, Ziegfeld broke with family tradition early and launched his career as an extraordinary showman in 1893. Sent to Europe by his father to book classical music ensembles, he instead imported vaudeville acts, the most notable being Eugene Sandow, the famous strong-man, whose nationwide tour launched Ziegfeld's career, which reached its pinnacle with the lavish revue the Ziegfeld Follies, which enthralled audiences for over two decades. His extraordinary 'fake marriage' to Anna Held, his tempestuous romance with ravishing showgirl Lillian Lorraine, his marriage to Billie Burke and affair with Marilyn Miller are all highlighted, as his is move to musical comedy, producing memorable Broadway shows such as Kid Boots, Show Boat and Whoopee. Based on interviews with almost every living person who knew or worked with Ziegfeld: his daughter; his private secretary Goldie; and the stars who passed ascross the stage of Ziegfeld's life. Illustrated with black and white photographs. -
A charming account of life in Australia in the 1920s and 1930s, the recollections of a girl, the child of Yorkshire parents, who saw the world with a wry sense of humour and an irrepressible vitality. This was a time when children were shushed if they asked awkward questions and were encouraged to emulate the feminine in all things - an ideal too restrictive for a girl with a vivid imagination and a strong sense of self. 'We had art once a week and although I loved drawing, the lessons were so unimaginative I hated them. The teacher gave out books of rough dark paper and thick coloured chalks. Every drawing had to be exactly the same. A landscape was a line of dark blue hills across the middle of the paper ("Roslyn Downes, your hills are too high"), a straight road in bright brick red ("Stop winding that road!"), a tree and some grass ("A haystack? What on earth do you think you're doing?") It's no wonder that Taylor went on to write the quintessential rebellion poem Please Don't Ask Me To Your Tupperware Party Sharleen. -
'How could they tell?' inquired Dorothy Parker when it was announced that president Coolidge had died. Her serpent tongue was notorious in the age of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway. gay, attractive, crackling with talent, Dorothy Parker starred in the most famous literary circle of the day. In verse, in New Yorker reviews, in lightning wisecracks, she cut everyone down to her own five feet. This is a recapturing of the extraordinary woman who lived and drank in splendour, loved in snatches, practised suicide and died alone in squalor. Beyond the wit abd glitter, the story is sad yet brave. -
Whether you're an up-and-coming manager full of ambition and ideas, or an independent entrepreneur with big dreams of your own, you need to master the art of the perfect pitch. Why? It's your one opportunity to present yourself to potential clients or employers- your one chance to make a positive first impression, sell your personal vision, and, ultimately, close the deal. And sometimes, you only have three minutes to do it. Ricardo Bellino is the young Brazilian entrepreneur who - in just three minutes - convinced Donald Trump to back his luxury golf resort, initiating a multi-million-dollar business deal that would eventually become Trump Realty Brazil, the organization's first international enterprise. Bellino shares everything you need to know to pitch your ideas and get real results-even with the toughest audience. He offers tried-and-true tips on the impact of the first impression, the power of intuition, and the importance of image and nonverbal behaviors. He shows you how to get your foot in the door and your deal on the table. In no time at all, you'll master the essential people skills that will turn ideas into offers and dreams into reality. As an aside...this is a book that may not have aged particularly well. However, Bellino reportedly sold his shares in Trump Realty Brazil in 2021 and moved to Miami, to pursue his next project: Chief Entrepreneur and Dealmaker at Bellino’s Unlimited and Founder of School of Life Academy. He appears to have no Trumpian connections these days. -
The colourful and exciting story of Australian aviation and the men who chanced their lives in the primitive 'box kites' and gliders that were literally made from wood, wire and fabric. Thanks to these men, it was not long before Australia was brought nearer to the rest of the world by spanning oceans and continents. With fabulous archival photographs. -
A secular bible history that examines the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalen, Eve, Sarah, Lot’s wife, Potiphar’s wife, Ruth, Delilah, the ‘witch' of Endor as well as Herodias and Jezebel, written in such a way as to throw clarity, insight and understanding of their roles and contributions to the kingdom. -
Many have lived through what Eugenia Ginzberg (1906 - 1977) survived, yet very few can narrate it and fewer still could write about. Eugenia survived - physically, morally and spiritually - Kolyma in Siberia, the worst province of Stalin's empire after being falsely accused of terrorism in 1937. She spent two years in the infamous Lefortovo and Butyrka prisons in Moscow before being transported via prison train and cargo hold to Magadan to work in a camp hospital and thence to Kolyma. She was repeatedly snatched from extinction by assignments to inside work - in hospitals, nurseries, kitchens, farms - all of which, with their hapless inmates and all-powerful supervisors, she describes in vivid detail, never losing interest in her interest in human nature or her skills at observation. In this grim place, she met her future husband - Anton Walter, a German Catholic homeopathic physician - and convicts were not permitted to form 'attachments'. She would spend 18 years in exile... -
Russell started his newspaper career with the Newcastle Chronicle before joining the Daily Express when it was launched by Arthur Pearson in 1900. He eventually moved to the Reuters News Agency where he became a special foreign correspondent. After covering the Gallipoli campaign he became on of the five journalists selected by the government to report the war on the Western Front. Over 1921 and 1922 he accompanied the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII, on a tour of Japan and India, writing during the course of the journey, which was, 'by no means conducive to quiet composition...' Illustrated with black and white archival photographs. -
The story of the greatest exploratory expedition ever performed in Man's history. It started in Melbourne; a convoy of sixteen men, twenty-four camels, innumerable pack-horses and a number of wagons carrying 20 tons of supplies. It ended with two exhausted, near-starving men, the leader and his second in command, deep in an impenetrable mangrove swamp on the edge of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Then began the long return trek, through swamp and desert, tormented by thirst and near starvation that reduced them to eating snakes and rats. Illustrated with sketches and photographs.. -
Witch-Children: Hans Sebald
$95.00The period of persecution and execution of so-called witches is a venomous chapter of Western civilisation. The hunt extended from the Middle Ages into the early modern era, and from the Old World to the New. Although efforts have been made to understand this hysterical mass murder, many disturbing aspects are still shrouded in mystery. The participation of small children and adolescents, whether as the accused or as accusers, is crucial. Dr. Sebald examines a number of historic witch trials, including the infamous events at Salem, in England, Sweden, Austria and Germany. -
On May 27, 1940, Wing-Commander Basil Embry (later Air Chief Marshal and Commander, Allied Air Forces in Central Europe 1953-56), although appointed to a higher command, decided to lead his old squadron into battle for the last time. Within the hour he was shot down in France and found himself alone, unarmed and in uniform. Capture was inevitable. He was, in fact, captured three times: on one occasion breaking from a column of prisoners under the muzzle of a German machine-gun and on another fighting his way out, killing three Germans with a stolen rifle and then hiding in a manure heap for nearly six hours. The most amazing of all of Embry's exploits was the occasion on which, in the role of a fanatical member of the Irish Republican Army, he shook his fist under the nose of a German inquisitor, yelling hatred and abuse of Britain until his captors finally turned him loose to find his own way home - which, by sheer courage and wit, he did, to fight and fly again. He was awarded the D.S.O. and three bars; and the D.F.C. -
Somerset Maugham - husband, father, bi-sexual; homosexual; playwright, author, thorough-going agnostic and - spy, recruited to the network of British agents who operated against the Berlin Committee during World War 1. Published in 1937, the aim of this book - which, according to the author, makes no attempt to be biographical in the strict sense - is to trace the developments of Maugham's style, technique and choice of subject matter in his novels, plays and short stories. There is also speculation of the the thought and philosophy of which Maugham's work is his eloquent expression. -
This biography of William of Orange and Mary Stuart was published to mark the 300th anniversary of the Glorious Revolution - the accession to the throne of William of Orange, a Dutch soldier-prince and Mary Stuart, daughter of the deposed Catholic King James II. Their ascendancy to the throne in 1688 heralded the beginning of an epoch of immense achievement and an English monarchy that overshadowed every European ruler other than Louis XIV of France as well as the confirmation of the powers of Parliament - the era became known as the Glorious Revolution. Illustrated. -
Will: Richard Convery
$12.00Fifteen years on the city streets -and Wezzo survived. Will is the story of Wezzo and Geoff, two school friends with the world at their feet, whose choices lead them down vastly different paths. Later, their worlds collide and once again they become uniquely linked. All of us make choices. But what happens when our choices plunge us into despair? What can we do? Who do we turn to? Wezzo's choices leave him homeless on the city streets of Newcastle, Australia, while Geoff's choices trap him in a maze of diabolical white-collar corruption. Yet they'd both started out full of hopes and dreams. Will is about triumph in the midst of tragedy, love lost, purpose found; the strongest of families torn apart then re-created in the most unlikely place. In a world hobbled with epidemic homelessness, Will portrays 'streeties' as gifted individuals who deserve another chance, rather than as shameful failures. Will contrasts the victims and the victors, the hopeless and the hopeful, a challenge not only to think about destiny - but to resolve it. And the ending...? It's definitely a surprise...
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Keith Brockie spent many months travelling throughout Scotland in order to paint, sketch and draw the diverse native flora and fauna of the British Isles. The artwork is delicate, fresh and vital and accompanied by Brockie's notes and observations - a real treasure. -
First published in 1938, this is a beautifully illustrated companion for field botanists interested in the diverse colours and growth of Australian native flowers and wild plants. Part I contains colour plates with a non-technical description of each plant for quick and easy reference; Part II contains more precise and technical descriptions with botanical keys. Illustrated by Adam Forster. -
Australia in the 1860s, the time of the roaming gangs of bushrangers, stealing gold and horses and seeking refuge among the country people who often protected the outlaws from the government troopers. Many bushrangers have been immortalised in song and legend: Donahoe, Frank the Darkie and Ben Hall, all of whom preferred to die with their boots on that to perish in irons. Here is the story of those adventurous years, when the Wild Colonial Boys baffled the law time and time again. -
The bushranging days of the nineteenth century are brought to life - the time when audacious gangs won notoriety by their crimes. This book vividly depicts the dark legacy of the convict system for both men and women, the stirring times of exploration and pioneering development, the hectic gold rushes and the riots they provoked - all the turmoil of life in a tough, rough, new country. Illustrated by Ralph Warner. -
Whole Life: Morris Lurie
$10.00Morris Lurie, author, wrote more than twenty books including Flying Home, which was selected by the National Book Council as one of the ten best Australian books of the decade. His Twenty-Seventh Annual African Hippopotamus Race was voted by the schoolchildren of Victoria as their favourite story book by an Australian author. -
Take a trip back to the days of real music, live music, satin flares, platform boots and - Slade, the most successful rock/glam band out of the U.K. . Noddy Holder, flamboyant lead singer - always recognisable in his cool hats - tells his fascinating story. Famous for rocking a generation with hits such as Mama Weer All Crazee Now, Cum On Feel The Noize, Far Far Away and of course Merry Christmas Everybody Slade challenged Gary Glitter, Elton John and The Sweet throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s for the biggest hits and the most glam outfits. Success in America in the 1980s brought them some of their biggest hits and touring with luminaries like Aerosmith, Santana and Sly and the Family Stone. Noddy eventually left Slade in 1990s to enter the world of TV and radio and in 1999, he was awarded an MBE in the Millennium Honours List. He tells it in a good-humoured, down-to-earth style. Features black and white photographs. -
Who I Am: Pete Townshend
$15.00Songwriter, composer, lead guitarist and creative powerhouse behind The Who, Pete Townshend is a pre-eminent influence on rock. Spearheading Sixties rock smashing guitars and writing songs which challenged the function of popular music. Townsend created the power chord and broke the three-minute mould of the pop song in Tommy, Quadrophenia and later works. His intelligence, imagination and restless mind led him into uncharted waters; and he is still exploring and inspiring countless up and coming musicians. This is his own story; his difficult childhood and its repercussions later in life; and his quest to understand his own past while keeping faith with his audience. -
This collection of essays from the second Whitlam Conference of Labor Historians marks a further important stage in documenting the history of the Australian Labor Party. More than just a record for future generations, it is a handbook for the late 1980s and a guide for those charged with implementing Labor policies for the Australian Government. Topics covered: Aboriginal Land Rights; Education; Health; Reform of the Public Sector and Urban Policy. Contributors: Gough Whitlam; Bob Carr; Sol Encel; Graham Freudenberg; Marc Gumbert; Race Mathews; Tom Uren; Peter Wilenski and Deane Wells. -
Hilarious. Incredible. Bizarre. Witty. Deliciously malicious! Where There's a Will is an absorbing collection of odd and curious wills from many countries and many times. Vindictive wills, revealing wills, wills written on nurses' petticoats, eggshells, tractor fenders and wills found in a bottle at sea included in the book reflect the full range of man's virtues and vices. The colorful individuals whose Last Will and Testament grace the pages of this book give more than their money away - they give themselves away. They use their wills to get back at obnoxious relatives, to maintain control beyond the grave, to reward, to punish, to defy those who say you can't take it with you. And to have the last word. Among the famous and the infamous whose wills are featured are: George Bernard Shaw, W.C. Fields, Patrick Henry, Janis Joplin, Napoleon, Jack Kelly, Howard Hughes, William Shakespeare, Ian Fleming, Billy Rose, Picasso, Marilyn Monroe, Aristotle Onassis. . . and many more. -
A travelogue of Waugh's travel adventures: a journey by sea throughout the eastern Mediterranean; a wry account of an impulsive visit to Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) to witness the coronation of Haile Selassie; travels in Aden and East Africa and the crossing of Belgian Congo; British Guiana (Guayana) and Brazil; and a return to Abyssinia as a war correspondent in response to the war with Mussolini's Italy. His misadventures as a correspondent also formed the basis for his comic 1938 satiric novel Scoop. -
A detailed history of the heavy metal greats, chronicled from their beginnings as The New Yardbirds, the changes wrought over the years and the influences of the blues music from the early 1900s as well as the fantasy images from Tolkien that made Led Zeppelin the most unique rock band in music history. Includes interviews with band members and the author, previously unseen photographs and a unique double image cover. -
Wages were cut by 20 per cent, but not the mortgage. The dole was a pittance. People lived in shanty towns and camped in empty buildings. They stood in queues, seemingly forever, despised by bureaucrats and slowly losing their self respect...And there were weevils in the flour. This book was five years in the making, taken from over 200 taped interviews - teachers and carpenters, soldier settlers, wharfies, Communist spokesmen, miners, swaggies, policemen and businessmen. There are interviews with those who were children at the time; housewives, husbands, single men and women. This is a grass roots study of a period of Australian history described by the people to whom it happened, who endured, suffered and made the best of it. But more than that, it is a study in human understanding - as we learn to live someone else's life: to beg for food, to walk miles to find walk, faint with hunger, to jump trains, make clothes out of flour bags, live for days on half a case of rotten pears, to make do...and still preserve our human dignity. The Sydney Morning Herald: 'The range of this book is immense...it should become a major work of reference in Australian social history.' -
Mrs. Gunn's timeless classic was first published in 1908. Newly married, Jeannie Gunn accompanies her husband to 'The Elsey' the huge cattle station in the Northern Territory, several hundred miles from the nearest town. She is one of the very few white women n the area and at first her presence is resented by the stockmen until her warmth and spirit win their affection and respect. A rare chronicle of pioneer life in the outback, written with moving simplicity to convey the beauty and cruelty of the land, the isolation and loneliness, and the comradeship and kindness of the early settlers.
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