My Country - Stories, Essays And Speeches

An anthology of David Marr's powerful ruminations on art, religion, sex, censorship and the law, his unflinching profiles of party leaders and forensic accounts of social and political controversy.;Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Personal Details -- Shame and forgiveness -- Holes in the road -- Send down the rain -- The image of man -- Hanging onto the facts -- My marriage was a house of cards -- Life and death -- Whitlam -- 1975 dismissal diary -- The women in John Kerr's life -- The wreckage left behind -- Fraser's first cabinet meeting -- Edward Gough Whitlam shuffles off his mortal coil -- Political History -- Franz Ferdinand and the guns of Narromine -- The night Ben Chifley died -- John Howard's enterprising father -- Gorton's last secrets -- With Charles and Di in the desert -- Sydney, the irresistible city -- Bob Carr holds the fort -- Arts and Artists -- Harry Seidler vs Patrick Cook -- A mistress with the clippers -- Stanley Hawes: an honourable man a long way from Home -- Lutyens fights the last battle of the Somme -- Hill End: hard country, good painting -- Mr Mitchell's library -- MONA: art in the dark -- Margaret Tuckson: the widow and the paintings -- Skin in the Game -- Cairns, 1974 -- The betrayal of the hopes of 1967 -- John Howard, faith and race -- The lingering fear of blacks -- Australia Under Howard -- Australian politics in a nutshell -- Pauline slays Tasmania -- Brian Harradine's lunch -- Abbott & Costello vs Ellis -- Australia: so British underneath -- Jones, Laws and cash for comment -- The Queen makes a comeback -- Australia's Olympic spirit -- Baying for border protection -- Beazley's last stand -- Arne Rinnan, sailor -- Pink Pages -- A night out at the Cross -- Bigots in the name of Christ -- Conigrave's candour -- Myths and lessons of Stonewall -- A politician in the steam -- The business model of the faiths -- Modern Warfare -- A note on the language -- Manning Clark, Soviet spy -- Saving the nation from Salò -- What's Left these days? -- A common humanity. Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Personal Details -- Shame and forgiveness -- Holes in the road -- Send down the rain -- The image of man -- Hanging onto the facts -- My marriage was a house of cards -- Life and death -- Whitlam -- 1975 dismissal diary -- The women in John Kerr's life -- The wreckage left behind -- Fraser's first cabinet meeting -- Edward Gough Whitlam shuffles off his mortal coil -- Political History -- Franz Ferdinand and the guns of Narromine -- The night Ben Chifley died -- John Howard's enterprising father -- Gorton's last secrets -- With Charles and Di in the desert -- Sydney, the irresistible city -- Bob Carr holds the fort -- Arts and Artists -- Harry Seidler vs Patrick Cook -- A mistress with the clippers -- Stanley Hawes: an honourable man a long way from Home -- Lutyens fights the last battle of the Somme -- Hill End: hard country, good painting -- Mr Mitchell's library -- MONA: art in the dark -- Margaret Tuckson: the widow and the paintings -- Skin in the Game -- Cairns, 1974 -- The betrayal of the hopes of 1967 -- John Howard, faith and race -- The lingering fear of blacks -- Australia Under Howard -- Australian politics in a nutshell -- Pauline slays Tasmania -- Brian Harradine's lunch -- Abbott & Costello vs Ellis -- Australia: so British underneath -- Jones, Laws and cash for comment -- The Queen makes a comeback -- Australia's Olympic spirit -- Baying for border protection -- Beazley's last stand -- Arne Rinnan, sailor -- Pink Pages -- A night out at the Cross -- Bigots in the name of Christ -- Conigrave's candour -- Myths and lessons of Stonewall -- A politician in the steam -- The business model of the faiths -- Modern Warfare -- A note on the language -- Manning Clark, Soviet spy -- Saving the nation from Salò -- What's Left these days? -- A common humanity. Australia, land without rights -- Andrew Bolt bites the dust -- The fright of our lives -- Chris Kenny fucks one dog ... -- Howard's End -- The old Voltairean -- Wheat and chaff -- Kingaroy farewells Joh -- Shock jocks on the beaches -- Slapstick and the veep -- Haneef's week in the watch house -- Farewell to a fine old bastard -- The Writing Trade -- Demidenko: history, horror and fairytales -- McNeil's life sentence -- I had written him a letter ... -- Farewell, dark spirit -- Last train to Venice -- Staying out of the picture -- The wisdom of Malouf -- Patrick White: the final chapter -- Table for Two -- And Rudd came among us ... -- 2020 -- The Henson panic -- A chill in the death zone -- Time on Christmas Island -- Build on the rock and not upon the sand ... -- On the beach with Rudd -- Eloquence or else -- MacKillop makes good -- If at first -- Pell's nod -- Jobs for the blameless -- A few sleeps to victory -- Back in Safe Hands -- Tony Abbott: freedom rider -- Slamming the door -- Faction man -- Behind closed doors in St Kilda -- Not far to fall -- Torture in the Pacific -- Rome, a hard beast to wrangle -- Malcolm on the Western Front -- Falling in love again -- Once is enough -- About the Author -- Back Cover. David Marr is the rarest of breeds: one of Australia’s most unflinching, forensic reporters of political controversy, and one of its most subtle and eloquent biographers. In Marr’s hands, those things we call reportage and commentary are elevated to artful and illuminating chronicles of our time.My Country collects his powerful reflections on Australian religion, sex, censorship and the law; striking accounts of leaders, moralists and scandalmongers; elegant ruminations on the arts and the lives of artists. And some memorable new pieces.David MarrDavid Marr has written for the Australian Newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Saturday Paper, The Guardian and The Monthly, and has served as editor of the National Times, reporter for the Australian Broadcasting Commissions Flagship and long running current affairs TV program 'Four Corners' and presenter of ABC TV’s 'Media Watch'. His books include the acclaimed biography of the Artist 'Patrick White', 'The High Price of Heaven', 'Dark Victory' (with Marian Wilkinson), 'Panic' and no less than six bestselling 'Quarterly Essays': 'His Master’s Voice', 'Power Trip', 'Political Animal', 'The Prince', 'Faction Man' and 'The White Queen'.He is widely regarded as one of Australia's most influential commentators, writing on subjects such as politics, censorship, the media and the arts. He has been a journalist since 1973 and is the recipient of four Australian Walkley awards for excellence in journalism.He lives in Western Sydney, Australia, along with his long-term partner and husband of over four decades Sebastian. David Marr is the rarest of breeds: one of Australia’s most unflinching, forensic reporters of political controversy, and one of its most subtle and eloquent biographers. In Marr’s hands, those things we call reportage and commentary are elevated to artful and illuminating chronicles of our time.

My Country collects his powerful reflections on religion, sex, censorship and the law; striking accounts of leaders, moralists and scandalmongers; elegant ruminations on the arts and the lives of artists. And some memorable new pieces.

‘Marr articulates our questions, frustrations and suspicions, capturing the nation’s apprehensiveness towards the politicians we vote in and employ to serve us.’ —Artshub

‘A writer who can capture the power and paranoia of politics with supreme artistry.’ —Richard Ferguson

‘David Marr is as brilliant a biographer and journalist as this country has produced.’ —Peter Craven David Marr is the rarest of breeds: one of Australia's most unflinching, forensic reporters of political controversy, and one of its most subtle and eloquent biographers. In Marr's hands, those things we call reportage and commentary are elevated to artful and illuminating chronicles of our time. My Country collects his powerful reflections on religion, sex, censorship and the law; striking accounts of leaders, moralists and scandalmongers; elegant ruminations on the arts and the lives of artists. And some memorable new pieces. 'My country is the subject that interests me most and I have spent my career trying to untangle it's mysteries.' –David Marr.