Q&A with Hugh White, author of The China Choice

We interview Hugh White about his new book The China Choice: Why America Should Share Power.

Why do you believe America and China should share power?

Because sharing power between them is the best way - perhaps the only way – to keep Asia peaceful and stable. If America and China do not share power, and instead compete for primacy in Asia, that risks escalating into a new Cold War, or even open conflict. The consequences for everyone would be disastrous.

Interview with Paul Cleary, author of Mine-Field

We interview Paul Cleary about his new book Mine-Field: The Dark Side of Australia's Resources Rush.

What is Mine-Field about?

This book documents the rising power of the resurgent resources sector and the need for the government to play a more vigorous and independent role in protecting people and the public interest, especially prime farm land and water resources. Mine-Field is a book that gets down into the dirt and looks at the way the growing number of mega mining and gas projects operate on the ground. It reveals how governments have become deeply conflicted because they get a direct cut of the revenue, and how regulators often look the other way as companies pollute with impunity. While much of our environmental regulation is focused on flora and fauna, little regard is paid to protecting the people at the coalface. For governments today, the communities living in the shadow of the resources boom are expendable, and so are the land and water resources now being consumed at unprecedented rates by the resources juggernaut. The book outlines far-reaching reform needed to ensure that Australia avoids suffering irreversible damage from the mega mines now proliferating around the country.

10 Australians Who Made Sexual History

Frank Bongiorno is the author of the newly released book The Sex Lives of Australians: A History. Here he reveals ten Australians who made sexual history.

 

Eric Ansell

The London-born Eric Ansell was an employee of Dunlop in Melbourne before striking out on his own as a producer of condoms in a small rented house in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Richmond. It was an astute decision: Ansell became one of Australia’s great manufacturing success stories and is now a major international company.

What We're Reading, Watching and Listening To

In our spare time, when we aren’t hard at work publishing fantastic books like Laura Tingle's new Quarterly Essay and Ryan O'Neill's breakout short story collection, we’re reading books by other publishers, watching lots of great TV, seeing some amazing films and listening to plenty of music. 

In the spirit of sharing our great finds, we present to you the books, TV shows, films and music currently preoccupying our staff. 

If you have any great recommendations of what we should read, watch or listen to next, let us know in the comments.

Sneak peek

Here's a quick look at five fantastic books we'll be publishing later this year:

Tony Speaks! The Wisdom of the Abbott

Release date: August 2012 

You’ve seen him wearing speedos, kissing babies, driving a mining truck and chatting to his flock. But who is the real Tony Abbott? As the Bible says, by his words you shall know him. 

In the grand tradition of Bushisms and The Wit of Whitlam, here are the sayings of Tony Abbott, unvarnished and full of revelations – the very best and worst of Australia’s irrepressible mad monk.