Obaysch: A Hippopotamus in Victorian London tells the story of Obaysch the hippopotamus, the first ‘star’ animal to be exhibited in the London Zoo. It is a meticulously researched and richly illustrated account of the 19th-century hippomania, set in a broader context of the cultural history of Europe.
Mutiny, Mayhem, Mythology: Bounty’s Enigmatic Voyage
As the myriad histories, novels and films attest, the Bounty story holds an enduring fascination. However, for more than 200 years it has been marred by factual errors, misinterpretations and misplaced partisanship. By meticulous analysis of a wide range of sources, Alan Frost establishes the true causes of the mutiny and considers the story’s lasting attraction.
Australian books and authors in the USA
Australian Books and Authors in the American Marketplace 1840s-1940s explores how Australian writers and their works were present in the United States before the mid twentieth century to a much greater degree than previously acknowledged.
Highlighting Indigenous archaeology in Victoria
Between the Murray and the Sea: Aboriginal Archaeology in South-eastern Australia explores the Indigenous archaeology of Victoria, focusing on areas south and east of the Murray River.
Looking at multiple sites from the region, David Frankel considers what the archaeological evidence reveals about Indigenous society, migration, and hunting techniques.
Wind turbine syndrome
In Wind Turbine Syndrome: A Communicated Disease, Simon Chapman and Fiona Crichton explore the claims and tactics of the anti-windfarm movement, examine the scientific evidence, and consider how best to respond to anti-windfarm arguments. This is an eye-opening account of the rise of the anti-windfarm movement, and a timely call for a more evidence-based approach.
Best practice in urban planning
Throughout the world, city planners and governments grapple with the challenges of urban planning using remarkably similar land use regimes. Yet the realisation is increasing that real urban problems – crime, decay, drug abuse, inequality, depression and alienation – are not easily solved by the classic devices of a strategic plan and a zoning map. Comparative Urban Land Use Planning: Best Practice draws on examples from around the world to discover the best practice responses to the critical issues of planning and urban social problems.
Reviews for Birns’ Contemporary Australian Literature
“Birns’s critical flexibility can be seen in how easily he draws poetry and prose into dialogue with one another’s ideas and histories.” (Bonny Cassidy)
“Australian literature has found a committed and honest umpire” (Geordie Williamson)
Read reviews of Contemporary Australian Literature: A world not yet dead in The Australian (paywall) and Cordite.
Aboriginal women’s life writing
Reading Aboriginal Women’s Life Stories is an important discussion of books that have shaped our understanding of contemporary Indigenous Australian literature. Anne Brewster provides an in-depth textual analysis of three key titles and situates them in relation to concepts of history, race, gender, family, storytelling and Aboriginality in modern Australia.