Not My Fault by Leif Kristiansson - New title on BULLYING

This is a very powerful book that doesn't try to hide the reality about bullying. It has simple line drawings discussing a schoolyard bullying incident, which is effective in itself. However, the photos in the last few pages really highlight what bullying leads to on a large, world stage. Chilling....

Find it in our Children's Non-Fiction Section

Christine

Dymocks Rundle Mall Staff Selections for Holiday Reading!

While you are lying on the beach or having a post Christmas lunch lie-down, what are you going to read??!! Let our very knowledgeable staff give you some hints….

Christine suggests:
One For the Money
Janet Evanovich
The heroine of these 12 books is the worst bounty hunter on earth and also has a hilarious family and a complicated love life. Set in working class America it is a very funny, and not too heavy, read. Get the first 3 in an omnibus. I love them!

Sarah suggests:
Inside Little Britain
Boyd Hilton (with Matt Lucas and David Walliams)
A fly on the wall documentary written by a close friend that contains biographical information. It gives an insight into David’s attempt to cross the channel for charity, as well as what goes on behind the scenes on the live Little Britain show.

Judy suggests:
…that you come in and see her. I can guarantee she will find something you love because she has been awarded the INDIVIDUAL AUSTRALIAN BOOKSELLER OF THE YEAR!!! Yes, she is officially the BEST!

Nikki suggests:
Classics
You can’t go wrong popping a classic novel into someone’s Christmas stocking! For wit and elegance you need Jane Austen, for passion and drama you need Emily Bronte. To get lost over your Christmas break you should dive into Dickens, Tolstoy or Arthur Conan Doyle. You could question the meaning of life with Camus or splash into the poetry of Plath. The list of essential reading is endless.

Kate suggests:
My French Life
Vicki Archer
If you can’t go overseas this holiday period, this book will transport you to France! Experience French life through her words and glorious photography by Carla Coulson. Whether you have been to France or not, this book will make you fall in love with all things French! An absolutely stunning book.

Charlotte suggests:
Salvation Creek
Susan Duncan
A powerful autobiography of an Australian woman who comes to terms with loss, grief and major changes in her life until she finally achieves peace.

Marion suggests:
Tales of the Otori – Across the Nightingale Floor (Book 1)
Lian Hearn
The first 3 in the series are just brilliant, one is transported to ancient Japan and the descriptions are so detailed and beautiful you get quickly lost in the stories and fabulous characters. I have still to read the 4th and final, but after listening to Hearn talk about her books I am eager to start the next epic. Action adventure and lore all rolled into one – just beautiful!

Linda suggests:
Year of wonder
Geraldine Brooks
Excellent way to learn some history in a fictional form. I enjoyed it immensely!

Any James Patterson (crime) is good reading. Short chapters that get you hooked into reading more.

Damian suggests:
Cats Cradle
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt is wonderful: funny, warm and never fearing to look at the things people do. See also Breakfast of Champions and Galapagos.

Katharina suggests:
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
Superbly written – a very intense, unforgettable story set in WWII about the power of words and how books can nourish the soul.

Bruce suggests:
Around the Buoys
Adrienne Cahalan
Yes indeed, a woman, in fact a small woman, can succeed in the very macho world of yacht racing – especially ocean racing. A story of grit and determination, highs and lows, and lots of fun.

Cod – The biography of the fish that changed the world.
Mark Kurlansky
Changed the world? So the author suggests. A fascinating little history that has been selling well for some time.

The Swarm
Frank Schatzing
A best seller in German for two years, now in English. Science fact, science fantasy, futurology, technology and philosophy wrapped into a tense exciting thriller. One of the best of the year!

The Lincoln Lawyer
Michael Connelly
One of America’s best crime writers introduces us to a new character. I think it’s his best yet.

Mandy suggests:
Restless
William Boyd
This is a very well written and engrossing story about a young woman discovering her Mother’s secrets from World War II. Full of intrigue and adventure, you can’t help but admire the courage and resourcefulness of the older woman. It’s a very believable storyline, full of suspense, some very unpleasant characters, and an insight into espionage during wartime.

Julia suggests:
Jasper Fforde (anything and everything)- he is a very clever writer! He creates futuristic literary worlds where the crime rate is exceedingly high and the villains are from popular literature and nursery rhymes! A must for lovers of word play and book nerds!

For other great, engaging reads, check out books by Eliott Perlman, Marcus Zusak, and Mark Haddon.

Gemma suggests:
Anna Karenina
Leo Tolstoy
Like a Russian soap opera. Love, loyalty, betrayal. Complex characters and lots of wit. My favourite.

Mark suggests:
What if I had Never Tried It
Valentino Rossi
Great read if you are into bikes.

Kathy suggests:
Morland Dynasty
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
A great way to absorb (mainly) English History. Very well researched, easy to read, with believable characters. She also writes about British Police procedurals with a good dose of dry humour, featuring DI Bill Slider.

Anything by Sarah Dunant who writes brilliant historical fiction set in renaissance Italy.

Anything by Mark Billingham – great crime fiction set in London.

Wilma suggests:
Gilead
Marilynne Robinson
This award winning book is a fabulous read and will keep readers turning the pages to hear the wisdom of an elderly minister reflecting on his life. It will appeal to secularists and people of faith who will be carried away with the beauty of his thoughts.

Megan suggests:
Anything by Haruki Murakami
A fantastic mix of crime, the absurd and modern Japan.

Matt suggests:
Purity of Blood
Arturuo-Perez Reverte
The second book in the Captain Alartriste series picks up the swashbuckling where the first book left off. One for fans of Dumas, these books are jam-packed full of swordplay, intrigue and adventure! Keep an eye for the cinematic version of Captain Alartriste next year, starring Viggo Mortenson of Lord of the Rings fame!

Rob suggests:
A long way down
Nick Hornby
A flowing and easy to read story (without venturing into escapism) featuring characters that are entirely unlovable, but sure to resonate. A wry and compassionate look at despair, loneliness and the ego.

Kate suggests:
Anything by Shaun Tan
The most beautiful, adult picture books, with poignant and visually intriguing illustrations.

Be My Enemy
Christopher Brookmyre
All his books are brilliant and uniformly hilarious in a very Scottish way! Has been described as Agatha Christy on manky crack!! Which is the most apt description I have ever read!!!

Try also Annie Proulx and Alice Munro for there ability to conjure up palpable images of North American and Canadian places and people. I particularly liked Bad Dirt and Post Cards by A.P and Dance of the Happy Shades by Alice Munro.

Fiona suggests:
Shadow of the Wind
Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The story of a young man in Spain who finds a forgotten book and is drawn into the world of its mysterious author. A rich, compelling, satisfying novel. I loved it!

Don't forget to come in and see our new shop, across the mall from our old one. we love it!!

Christine recommends - The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation

by M.T. Anderson

This is a truly extraordinary novel. It tells the tale of an African slave, that as part of a scientific experiment, is raised in Colonial America with the finest of classical educations. The result of this education in Octavian’s consequent life induces us to explore the issues of slavery, imprisonment and freedom. This is the first time I have been interested in the history of colonial America due to the clear and authentic voice of this author. As I read I always believed that what I was experiencing was a possible reality, and a universal one at that.

Several parts of this book are challenging (like the dense first 25 pages or so), but well worth the effort. As a bonus the hardcover presentation is beautiful and only $24.95. A late runner for my favourite book of the year.

Ages 16 to adult.

September / October School Newsletter - Series

During our recent move we discovered a growing anomaly in our cataloguing system for ages 6-9. We had many discussions over what could be considered a “series”. So many authors for this age group now write multitudes of books using the same characters or type of character that it is bewildering. As a consequence, we have decided to do away with the category “series” for this age group and combine all novels into the one section. Therefore this Newsletter is about those books that authors have applied the adage “If you are on a good thing.. stick to it!” to. Enjoy!

Don’t forget to come in and see our new shop, we just love it. Downstairs is dedicated entirely to Kid’s books (and New Releases), while upstairs is light and airy, with a huge amount of books to choose from, and plenty of friendly staff to help out.

Readers

We can source all your reader needs, but for now, here are some we currently have in stock.

Series Title: Fitzroy Readers
Price: $44.95
Comment: Graded, 10 Reader sets often used by schools. Teachers’ guides and word skills activity books also available.
Example: Stories 1-10
ISBN: 1875755926

Series Title: Usborne Easy Words to Read
Price: $9.95
Comment: Eight different readers with a phonics emphasis. Larger than usual format with colourful pictures and some fun flaps.
Example: Fat Cat on a Mat
ISBN: 0746030258

Series Title: Starter Series by Walker Books
Price: $9.95
Comment: A different kind of reader for beginners, as it incorporates several different media (posters, letters, signs, etc). There are about 16 in this series of readers.
Example: Maggie Magic
ISBN: 184428929X

Series Title: Hachette Reading Corner
Price: $10.95
Comment: Arranged by Grade and then Level, these are pretty much your traditional reader but with excellent illustrations.
Example: Blushing Becky
ISBN: 0749661461

Series Title: Orca Echoes
Price: $9.95
Comment: For ages 7-9, these readers are great because they have real, interesting stories in a novel form. 17 titles in the series so far.
Example: Sea Dog
ISBN: 1551434067

Series Title: Usborne Beginners – Information Books
Price: $9.99
Comment: Great hardcover information books graded for beginning readers, over 30 in the series.
Example: Pirates
ISBN: 0746074417

Series Title: Hachette Starters – Information Books
Price: $24.95
Comment: Hardcover information books.
Example: Heat - Too Hot or Too cold
ISBN: 0746074417

Series Title: Blue Bananas
Price: $12.95
Comment: Simple Stories for early readers in a colourful A5 format with fantastic illustrations. Also available in yellow for newly fluent, red for building confidence and green for first readers. Impressive series.
Example: Mr Crookodile
ISBN: 1405222298

Series Title: Rascal Stories (by Paul Jennings)
Price: 9.95
Comment: For the very early independent reader, bright colourful and unique illustrations, and text that can be read with a little help from a parent or teacher. The stories are about a naughty dragon. Now also available in picture book format.
Example : Rascal in Trouble
ISBN: 0143300377

Look also for the Aussie Nibbles / Bites / Chomps Series. These are favourites of mine because they are genuine stand alone novels that have interesting stories written by quality Australian authors. You don’t need to know complex reading levels, and are excellent to recommend to those parents who ask you for suggestions. What’s more you can now also access Aussie Bites online activities designed for the classroom! Go to: http://www.penguin.com.au/puffin/Features/AussieBitesKidsClub/teachers/teachers.cfm

Teenage Reluctant / Struggling Readers

Many of these readers are of limited availability due to their specialist market. All the examples given are available at the time of writing, but there are also plenty of other titles in each group.

Series Title: Barrington Stoke Reluctant Readers for Teenagers
Price: $16.50
Comment: Popular titles with simplified text for an 8+ reading level. Designed so that older readers can enjoy more complex narratives in an easy to read form. These publishers (part of Heinemann Education) also do reluctant readers for younger ages.
Example: Until Proven Guilty by N. Hinton
ISBN: 1842993690

Series Title: Orca Currents
Price: $12.95
Comment: Aimed at the middle school, these books look like mainstream texts but are written for the struggling reader. Currently 10 in the series.
Example: Dog Walker
ISBN: 1551435225

Series Title: Orca Soundings
Price: $12.95
Comment: Same as Orca Currents but for ages 12+
Example: Stuffed
ISBN: 1551435004

Series Title: Shades
Price: $13.50
Comment: There are at least 33 independent titles in this series of books with very serious themes. The text is quite large and easy even though the content is gritty. For ages 12+.
Example: Cry, Baby
ISBN: 023752810X

Series for Ages 5-12

In this section I have listed “Most recent” in each series. Just a warning that it is better to interpret this as “there are at least this many” in the series, as publishers bring new titles out sometimes at a very fast rate, and sometimes even 4 at a time! Just give us a call and we can help you further with this.

Author: Jackie French
Series: Animal Stars
Most Recent: The Goat that sailed the World - $14.95 (August)
ISBN: 0207200777
Age: 9-12
Comment: The first in a series of books with a factual narrative about a real animal associated with important historical figures. In this case it is Captain Cook and his goat!

Author: Michael Panckridge with Brett Lee
Series: Toby Jones - $14.95
Most Recent: Toby Jones and the Timeless Cricket Match Book 4 (October)
Age: 7-12
ISBN: 0207200467
Comment: A Time Travelling cricketer! Toby takes part in some of histories greatest cricket matches, and solves mysteries at the same time. One for the cricket fans.

Author: James Maloney
Series: Doomsday $14.95
Most Recent: The Doomsday Rats Book 5 (September)
Age: 9-12
ISBN: 0207200580
Comment: Classic Animal Fantasy

Author: Kim Wilkins
Series: Fantastica Series 1: The Sunken Kingdom $9.99
Most Recent: Book 4 – The Star Queen
Age: 8+
ISBN: 1862916551
Comment: For reluctant readers, a new series similar to Deltora Quest. This one is set in a drowned world. The first Book has the bonus of being illustrated by D.M. Cornish of Monster Blood Tattoo fame.

Author: Jenny Oldfield
Series: My Magical Pony
Most Recent: Silver Mist (2 so far)
Age: 6-8
ISBN: 0340903244
Comment: Jenny Oldfield is a bit of an old hand at these kind of production line series, also writing “Jess the Border Collie”, “Half Moon Ranch” and “Watch out Daisy". This one is what you would expect, a flying horse that helps to solve crimes etc.

Author: Tracy West
Series: Pixie Tricks
Most Recent: The Wicked Wizard – Book 8
Age: 6-8
ISBN: 0439179858
Comment: Much like the Rainbow Magic Series, but this time with naughty fairies, tricking pixies, dwarves, sprites, elves, wizards, gremlins and Goblins! Nice big print for easy reading.

Author: Emma Thompson
Series: Felicity Wishes
Most Recent: Pink Paradise – Book 15
Age: 6-9
ISBN: 034091193X
Comment: Felicity Wishes was very popular before it was over-run by Rainbow Magic. Fairy stories for the really girly girls!

Author: Felice Arena and Phil Kettle
Series: Boyz Rule!
Most Recent: Bird Crazy – 32
Age: 6-9
ISBN: 1420204904
Comment: The boys are always getting themselves into exciting adventures in this series of books. With text aimed at 6-9 year olds, written with a generous splattering of kids colloquialisms, these books have been very popular.

Author: Duncan Ball
Series: Selby
Most Recent: Selby Scrambled – Number 12
Age: 7-12
ISBN: 0207199116
Comment: The ever popular and humorous Selby the talking dog who is very competent at sorting out the problems of humans.

Author: Darrel and Sally Odgers
Series: Jack Russell: Dog Detective
Most Recent: The Sausage Situation – Number 6
Age: 6-10
ISBN: 1865047880
Comment: For animal lovers Jack Russell is a dog that takes his detecting very seriously. Plenty of dog puns and silly situations… Who stole the sausages??? My favourite title has to be "Jack Russell and the Lying Postman".

Author: H.I. Larry
Series: Zac Power
Most Recent: Night Raid (not numbered)
Age: 6-12
ISBN: 1921098759
Comment: A fantastic new series of adventure stories that are easy to read. Zac is an international spy, even though he has only just hit his teens!

Author: Rebecca Lim
Series: Whiffy Newton boy detective.
Most Recent: The Riddle of the Two-Toned Trousers
Age: 7-10
ISBN: 1741670349
Comment: Get ready for plenty of toilet humour in this visually appealing series of books, with reasonably complex story lines. One definitely for silly boys!

Author: Sue Lawson
Series: Diva
Most Recent: Finale (4th book)
Age: 6 - 12
ISBN: 1921167211
Comment: Not the most challenging of reads but this book has a very specific market. It follows the progress of a girl in the “Diva” competition (basically Australian Idol). All those budding Divas out there will love it.

Author: Jackie French
Series: Wacky Families
Most Recent: My Aunty Chook the Vampire Chicken (Number 7)
Age: 6-12
ISBN: 0207200793
Comment: A lovely bit of nonsense from Jackie French. Much like the Captain Underpants books but without the obvious toilet humour. One for the boys and the girls. Quite a lot of text for somewhat silly stories so are perfect for your young advanced readers.







Author: R.L Stine
Series: Rotten School
Most Recent: The Great Smelling Bee
Age: 6-9
ISBN: 0007216181
Comment: Another series populated by smelly, naughty boys….. From the author of the Goosebumps Series.

Also look for Too Cool by Phil Kettle (13 in series), Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey (currently 8 in series), Go Girl by Rowan McAuley (13), Tashi by Fienberg and Gamble (13), My Secret Unicorn by Linda Chapman (10), Chestnut Hill by Lauren Brooke (a new Horse Series), Squeak Street by Emily Rodda (at least 7), Geronimo Stilton (at least 23), and Lily Quench by Natalie Jane Prior (at least 6).

Best selling Children’s Book of August

The Cat on the Mat is Flat – $14.95
Andy Griffiths
One of my favourites from last month has proven popular with customers too. It is a book full of Cat in the Hat parodies.
ISBN: 033042260X

New Releases for Independent readers

A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Thirteenth - $19.95
Lemony Snicket - October release
The long awaited final book should be available on October the 13th.
ISBN: 0064410161

Wildfire - $17.95
Chris Ryan 12+
An exciting thriller set in a recognisable South Australian bush. It explores the consequences of deliberate fire-starting and terrorism. One of Chris Ryan’s “Code Red” adventures.
ISBN: 1862301662

Actual Size – 27.95
Steve Jenkins 5+
This large, hardcover children’s picture book is well worth a look. It has illustrations of some of the worlds largest animals in their actual size. How big is a giant squid’s eye?
ISBN: 1845075668

Just in Case - $17.95
Meg Rosoff 12+
Gemma, one of the staff from Dymocks, tells me this is the most beautiful teen novels she has ever read! It deals with one boy’s struggle to establish his identity..
ISBN: 0141321814

The Floods: Home and Away - $14.95
Colin Flood
Ever wondered how the Flood family came into existence? This action packed tale will reveal all about their escape from Transylvania Waters. The Floods are a special favourite of mine!
ISBN: 1741660327

Framed - $14.95
Frank Cottrell Boyce 10+
I’m a big fan of this author of “Millions”. He can write light hearted novels that deal with some very heavy issues, and his characters have complex moral dilemmas. This one deals with a 9 year old boy whose father leaves the family to fend for themselves.
ISBN: 033043425X

Clubs: A Lolly Leopold Story - $14.95
Kate De Goldi and Jacqui Colley 8+
This book has busy illustrations to engross the reader. The text deals with the traumas that can be associated with the dreaded school-yard “club”, and issues of exclusivity. It is advertised as a teen picture book, but I think it has application from 8+.
ISBN: 174114891X

Christine’s Favourite

Eats, Shoots and Leaves (for kids!) - $24.95
Lynne Truss and Bonnie Timmons
What a clever idea this book is! A picture book with clear illustrations that highlight the importance of getting your commas in the right place!
ISBN: 1861978162

Coming in November

This Newsletter is for September and October due to the position of the school holidays, therefore November will be the last for the year and will be all about you guys! I’m hoping to provide a collection of great holiday reads for teachers, collected from all our staff here at Dymocks to provide something for everyone. If you have an absolute favourite book, literary or just a rollicking good read, email the title to: schools@dymade.com.au so I can include yours too!

August School Newsletter - Foreign Language Services

Just a short Newsletter this month due to the move, with some very important information for ESL and LOTE teachers. It would be great if you could pass it on to them if they don’t usually get to see the Newsletter!

Foreign Language Services

You may not be aware that we have 3 distinct Foreign Language Services in our store. To make it easy for you to discover what you need I have listed the services under the “resident experts”!

Pia – Foreign Language Dictionaries, Course Books and Travel Guides.

We have a very large range of these books. Unlike other stores, our buyer also works in the department which means Pia has a wealth of experience and knows what our clientele need. You will be amazed at her knowledge of these resources and she is only too happy to help you out. Pia works weekdays.

Katerina – Books written in other languages.

It also surprises many that we have books written in other languages. From very simple picture books for kids, right up to adult literature. While we have a reasonable collection on the shelf, you may need to talk to Katerina to sort out your particular requirements. Katerina is a native German speaker who has been developing our selection with Mandy, the store owner, for the last 2 years. Katerina works casually but can be found in the store most weekdays.

Daniel – ESL

Daniel used to work in the textbook shop we operated several years ago. During his time there he oversaw the development of the ESL section. We now have a very large section for learners of English as a Secondary Language, including dictionaries and course books etc. This section is a very specialised area so if you need help, speak to Daniel. Daniel is a casual so is not always in the store during the week, but can often be found on the weekend. Charlotte, the Manager of Computer and Management Books, is always in the shop during the week and can also help you with this section.


Best selling Children’s Book of July

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – $14.95
J.K. Rowling
Why is this suddenly number one again you ask? Well because it has finally come out in paperback of course! And no…. we don’t know when the final one is due…
ISBN: 0747584680

New Releases for Independent readers

The Story of…Alexander the Great - $17.95
The Story of Series
ISBN: 1846960002
There are 6 titles in this new series written in a traditional comic format. Other titles include:
Elizabeth 1 and the Spanish Armada ISBN: 1846960045
Anne Frank ISBN: 1846960010
Julius Caesar ISBN: 1846960053
The Building of the Giant Pyramid ISBN: 1846960037

Chew on this – $16.95
Eric Schlosser
The children’s version of Schlosser’s Bestselling “Fast Food Nation”. Prepare to be shocked!
ISBN: 0141318449

We are the Weather Makers – $19.95
Tim Flannery
Another Children’s version of a Best selling adult non-fiction title, this time Flannery’s “The Weather Makers”
ISBN: 192114534X

The Cat on the Mat is Flat – $14.95
Andy Griffiths
I wish this one had come out in time for my poetry Newsletter! I am positively in love with this nonsense. It is a book full of Cat in the Hat parodies, and I believe there has to be a special award for a man who can rhyme “Shonky”, “donkey” and “wonky”.
ISBN: 033042260X

Like Father, Like Son – $12.99
Tony Bradman
As an ex-teacher from a boys’ school I am very impressed by this book. It is a collection of 12 contemporary short stories about the various relationships between fathers and their sons. Useful in the classroom.
ISBN: 0753411199

Hugo Pepper - $24.95
Chris Riddell and Paul Stewart
This book is the latest of the award winning Far Flung Adventures. A visually pleasing hardcover, it also has a wonderful, mythical feel to the story telling. For all ages up to 12.
ISBN: 0385607253

Octavius Omalley and the Mystery of the Exploding Cheese - $14.99
Alan Sunderland – Late August release
Octavius is a detective rat that takes himself very seriously indeed, even though he is always falling into strife. Reminds me of Maxwell Smart from the classic “Get Smart” TV show. Charming little character for ages up to 12.
ISBN: 0207200483

New Teaching Resources in Store

We have just received in store a range of teacher resources from Hawker Brownlow Education. This range is affordable and practical, packed full of reproducible worksheets. We have in store now:

Prep- 2 Problem Solving $24.95.
Draper and Kotros
Mathematical problem solving.
ISBN: 1740255348

Open the Door to Great Student – Teacher Rapport $29.95.
Gloria Jean Berry
This is a great little book for the Middle Years as it provides activities for home group teachers to use in those scary 20 minute home group sessions (well, they used to scare me anyway!!).
ISBN: 1741013976

Happy Hats - $24.50
Mary Doerfler
Cost Efficient patterns to help you actually make hats for plays, celebrations and parties!
ISBN: 1864013222

MI (Years 4-8) Activities for the Australian Classroom - $37.50
Steve Wayne
Multiple Intelligence Worksheets covering SOSE topics. These can be very expensive so it is worth a look.

A to Z Thinking Warm-ups - $40.95 (with CD)
Steve Wayne
Plenty of worksheets for encouraging the learning and retention of new words.
ISBN: 1741013518

Blooms Multiple Intelligences Themes and Activities - $24.50
Brown et al
This book is full of lesson plans that have actually been used for mixed ability classes in primary catholic schools of Armidale and Lismore diocese.
ISBN: 1864017570

Masterminds: Skill Boosters for the reluctant Maths Student (Middle Years) - $31.50
Brenda Opie and Douglas McAvinn
Activity sheets to build skills and encourage higher-order thinking skills.
ISBN: 1741010438

Don’t forget to email me with any feedback, please e-mail Christine at schools@dymade.com.au

July Newsletter - Poetry and Nonsense

Welcome back.
I have always been a big fan of poetry. Not so much the reading of it, but in the cathartic effect of writing it. Not everyone can access the rigid requirements of prose, but there is undoubtedly a poetic form for everyone, from the sonnet to free verse. It can be hard to get kids involved in the writing of poetry but immensely rewarding when you see the products. So this Newsletter is to help them on their way. When those poems are written, why not enter them into the Spring Poetry Competition, especially if your students have different voices that need to be heard. Entries Close on August 18 and information should soon be available on the SAETA (South Australian English Teachers Association) website http://www.saeta.org.au/ . At the time of publishing this newsletter only 2005 info was available, but they have informed me that 18 August is the closing date. Alternatively contact them on 8332 2845.

I indicated last month that I would also be including those books that kids love but we hate, but alas, there isn’t enough room! So stay tuned…


Poetry

Down the Back of the Chair - $27.95
Margaret Mahy 5+
This lively, eccentric poem is a visual explosion of fun and imagination, featuring dragons, pirates, treasure, lions, elephants and many more.
ISBN: 1845074408

The Ravenous Beast (New ed) - $14.95
Niamh Sharkey 5+
The ravenous beast is hungry; he's hungry, hungry, hungry. But is he the hungriest animal of all? "Nonsense smonsense," scoff the other animals, and "Hokum Pokum!" But they want to watch out or the ravenous beast might just gobble 'em up and swallow 'em down!
ISBN: 1844284972


Poetry: Middle and Upper Primary - $29.92
Ideas that Work Series 8+
As part of Rigby Heinemann’s Blackline master series for primary classes, there are 26 photocopiable poetry resources that address multiple learning styles.
ISBN: 174140102X

Poems to Make You Puke and More Poems to Make You Puke - $5.95
Tulip Kilbourne 7+
Includes epic poetry such as "Nude Dude", "Pooper Scooper" and "Spiders"!
ISBN: 095784221X

My Granny Went to Market - $14.95
Stella Blackstone with Christopher Corr 5+
I love this one. Big colourful pictures to look at while a magic carpet
flies around to the markets of 10 different cultures. Similar to the 12 days
of Christmas, count upwards to 10 as granny buys trinkets ... and it is
all in rhyme.
ISBN: 1905236387

Off to the Sweet Shores of Africa and Other Talking Drum Rhymes - $17.95
Uzo Unobagha 5+
Why not introduce some rhyming from other cultures? This is a thick picture
book with West African influences.
ISBN: 081185101X

Sing a Song of Poetry - $66.00
Gay Su Pinnell and Irene C. Fountas
This series contains 250 reproducible poems to introduce each year level to poetry. It also has suggestions on how to use poetry to build phonemic awareness, phonics and fluency.
Year K ISBN: 0325006555
Year 1 ISBN: 0325006563
Year 2 ISBN: 0325006571

Heavy Words Lightly Thrown - $24.95
Chris Roberts 12+ or teacher resource
Was Little Jack Horner a squatter? Baa Baa Black Sheep a bleat about taxation? Is Jack and Jill about loss of virginity? Read and find out!
ISBN: 1862077924 – PaperBack

Naked Bunyip Dancing - $14.95
Steven Herrick with Beth Norling 7+
A novel in accessible poetry with quirky line drawings. I like this book very much as it doesn’t need to be read chronologically, each page has a little event in the school year. Combined we learn about the kids of 6C.
ISBN: 1741146550

About Poetry - $38.95
Mary Manning 12+
This book covers everything you need to know about poetry, with handy glossaries and examples from the best. It is very visual and very complete.
ISBN: 0195507169

Don't forget Dr Seuss! We try to keep a full range of Dr Seuss books, and they happily fit into both the poetry and nonsense genres! Only $8.95 for the regular paperbacks.

Silly Verse for Kids - $10.95
Spike Milligan ALL AGES
Spike Milligan is well worth the effort. I was surprised to see as I read through this that the song "Ning Nang Nong" which is so popular on Play school is one of his rhymes.
ISBN: 0140303316

Far Out Brussel Sprout - $14.95
June Factor with Peter Viska ALL AGES
There are 5 in this fun series that re-lives all those atrocious school yard chants.
ISBN: 1877035270

Edward Lear's Nonsense Verse - $19.95
Edward Lear with Jonathan Bentley 6+
Another classic much like Spike Milligan, but this edition has large colourful pictures and is more song like than Milligan.
ISBN: 1851497048

Crow Feathers - $18.00
Edited by Rebecca Edwards and Janelle Evans 12+
A collection of contemporary indigenous poems, designed to add an important voice to the lexicon of Australian poetry. The book also has black and white drawings from indigenous artists.
ISBN: 186334005X

English for the IB Diploma - $52.25
Steven and Helen Cross 16+
Once your students have learnt to write poetry, this handy textbook will teach them the nuts and bolts of writing essays about poetry. Although it is geared towards the IB it has really practical advice on how to write essays. Worth a look.
ISBN: 0199124167

Once Upon a Tomb : Gravely Humorous Verses - $27.95
J. Patrick Lewis with Simon Bartram 6+
A book of poetry and surreal artwork, consisting of comically grim tales of death? Intriguing to say the least…..
ISBN: 0763618373


Nonsense

Just a few to tantalise you!

So Gross: Animals - $9.99
In association with DMAG 8+
Finally a book that tells us those things we really need to know: Why flies vomit on everything they eat, why whales do the world’s biggest farts, and much more!
ISBN: 1865049670

The Quangle Wangle’s Hat - $27.95
Edward Lear with Louise Voce 5+
Climb to the top of the Crumpetty Tree and meet the Blue Baboon, the Fimble Fowl, the Dong with a luminous nose - and, of course, the Quangle Wangle in his huge and lovely Hat!
ISBN: 0744567947

Silly Book - $27.95
Stoo Hample 7+
A collection of silliness, both verbal and visual.
ISBN: 0763622567

Goom - $14.95
Joshua Wright
Atypical of this kind of book, Goom is part story, part comic. My son loves this book very much and puts in mind the dichotomy between what we want our kids to read and what they actually like reading. I found this one more appealing than some of the others, but still there are marauding vampires being blown away by garlic laden bullets and assassination attempts galore. Utter nonsense? You be the judge!
ISBN: 1741144353

Best selling Children’s Book of June

Power of Five: Evil Star - $16.95
Anthony Horowitz
The second action-packed chiller in the supernatural series from this author. After his experiences at Raven's Gate, fourteen-year-old Matt Freeman thinks his days of battling evil are over, but he is pulled into another horrifying adventure when he discovers a second gate exists.
ISBN: 1844286207

New Releases for Independent readers

The Last Viking - $17.95
Terry Deary as part of the FYI series 6+
These books are a great new idea. Currently there are about 6 in the series
and they are easily fiction texts full of real facts. I would say ages
anywhere from 6 to 12 would enjoy this attempt to get non-fiction readers
into fiction! Other titles include Traitor's Gate (Edinburgh 1314), and
Connor's Eco-den.
ISBN: 1842992910

Home To Mother - $16.95
Doris Pilkington Garimara with Janice Lyndon 9+
A younger reader’s version of “Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence” written by the original author and with new illustrations.
ISBN: 0702235466

Dateline: Troy - $16.95 Pub 1 AUG.
Paul Fleischman 12+
An interesting non-fiction text that re-tells the story of the Iliad and compares it with modern day conflicts. As a result the unending nature of war is highlighted.
ISBN: 0763630845

Urchin and the Heartstone: The Mismantle Chronicles Book 2 - $15.95
M.I. McAllister 9+
In the tradition of Watership Down and Duncton Tales, this series have lots of animals doing wondrous things. Marion (our schools’ rep) loved it!
ISBN: 0747578109

The Plague - $12.95
Philip Wooderson – From the My Side of the Story Series 10+
What a great idea! One side of this historical novel is from the viewpoint of Robert, flip the book and then get the viewpoint of Rachel.
ISBN: 0753413264

Finding Heroes - $19.95
Dr Jon Carnegie and Jim Stynes 10+
There are lots of great releases this month! This is a visually stimulating motivational book for adolescents written by the wonderful Jim Stynes. It covers material that most adolescents would cringe at, but since it gives real life stories of socially accepted heroes they will probably accept it. I was impressed!
ISBN: 1741147573

Library Lion - $27.95 Pub 1 AUG.
Michelle Knudsen with Kevin Hawkes 5+
A sweet story about a helpful lion who is trying to be very well behaved in the library, but what will he do one day when he needs to roar?
ISBN: 0744598591

So Few of Me - $24.95 Pub 1 AUG.
Peter H.Reynolds 4+
This author is the illustrator for the Judy Moody books. This is a very important fable for all those anxious, over-achieving children out there, that it is better to do your best than to do everything!
ISBN: 1844282694

Chat Room - $14.95
Barbara Biggs with Jennifer Dabbs 12+
Not before time, a novel that explores the dangers that can be involved with chat rooms.
ISBN: 0977511200

Spiked! - $17.95
Sandra Glover 14+
An easy to read teen novel with a very important message. While celebrating her exam results Debra carelessly leaves her drink unattended and suffers the consequences.
ISBN: 1842705202

Christine’s Favourite
The Aussie A to Z all Ages Amazing Alphabetical Alliterations - $19.95
Roger Twiname ALL AGES
I was very excited when I stumbled upon this book in our Australiana for Children section. Huge colourful paintings by the wonderful artist Roger Twinane with fantastic alliteration for all letters from A to Z. Read it to any of your primary school aged kids (some of the vocab is quite advanced but still sounds good), and maybe even try it on your secondary students!
ISBN: 0957848153

Where to find us from August… We are moving to a new store in August, which is directly opposite our present one. Our main phone number will REMAIN EXACTLY THE SAME (82235380), but please don’t try the direct childrens’ number until further notice!

Andrew Bolt, "Still Not Sorry: The Best [sic] of Andrew Bolt" (2005)

Since arriving in 1999 at the Herald Sun – Melbourne’s Murdoch-owned equivalent of The Advertiser – Andrew Bolt has made his column, if not quite the heartbeat, then at least a major artery of the city’s ‘mainstream’ opinion.

But what do we mean when we say ‘mainstream’? Bolt has clear ideas, and it has nothing to do with Left-wing politics, multiculturalism, the ABC, broadsheet newspapers, expressive female sexuality, university humanities courses, or art he doesn’t understand.

If a thing has ‘mainstream’ appeal – by which we mean that it’s popular – it is, for Bolt, imbibed with a moral value that makes it virtuous. This is not merely to say that a thing is legitimised by its popularity; for Bolt, it is undeniably Good and Right.

Unless he disagrees with it.

Still Not Sorry is a collection of some of Bolt’s ‘best’ (self-defined) columns between 1999 and 2005, on such pet topics of his as the global warming and stolen generations ‘myths’, the inherent Left-wing ‘bias’ of educators, and ‘our’ problem with Islam. The columns are grouped under twelve category headings, and are supplemented by further editorial comment that often provides interesting context.

Bolt, I think, genuinely cares about his world, but here I would emphasise the word ‘his’. There is one remarkable consistency throughout the selection of columns, and that is his unerring inability to Imagine the Other. He deploys wickedly acerbic wit and (ab)uses an obvious gift of rhetoric to clamour for the preservation of his world, as he sees it, according to him.

This inability, which derives sometimes from incomprehension and at others from sheer unwillingness, is a problem. Not for the News Ltd-owned Herald & Weekly Times, which prizes Bolt for his ‘controversy’ factor that leaves as many readers outraged and scandalised as it does appreciative – either way, it sells papers. And certainly not for Bolt, who receives every appreciative email as representative of a hundred silent majoritarians, and whose prejudices are thus reinforced by the reader whose own prejudices were at first instance confirmed by Bolt’s column.

No, the problem with a popular writer who does not (or cannot) Imagine the Other is that his audience won’t do so either. But our ability to Imagine thus is our social expression, our desire to live in peace with other people. Bolt laments expressions of hatred on the so-called ‘Left’ (Mark Latham, Frenzal Rhomb, Max Gillies), but so obviously hates the ‘Howard-haters’, ‘Left-wing propagandists’ and the ‘green industry’ (represented by Bob Brown) that his pleas for calm seem cute at best.

He values women as wives and mothers, and at work only if they behave like men – no, like himself. He values people with coloured skin so long as they behave like white-skinned members of ‘mainstream Australia’ – as defined by him. He values Muslims as long as they behave like he thinks Christians should behave, as nation-builders. (Christians who don’t behave thus – who are overly concerned with individual and minority rights – come in for fierce criticism.) Always evocative of Alan Jones’ famous ‘Lowitja who?’ tirade in 1992, if Bolt hasn’t heard of you, you aren’t worthy of respect.

It’s not as though Bolt is unintelligent. On a number of issues, such as euthanasia and late-term abortions, he articulates a coherent, ethical position with which one does not need to agree but must respect. But then, too often, he slips into a gloating, ideological fervor that consistently buries any sound point he’s trying to make.

His account of his December 2005 debate with RMIT’s head of social science, Rob Watts, on ‘Group-think and the university’s Left’ contains much valid criticism of university humanities departments, many of which are in danger of adopting an ideological oppositionism rather than promoting the techniques of debate. But Bolt, in the tradition of the radio shock-jock, uses one example to ‘prove’ his case. That he may be onto something – and we’ve seen similar instances such as Macquarie University’s inadequate response to Andrew Fraser’s clearly racist statements in mid-2005 – is potentially lost in his method of delivery.

His effect is more likely a perpetuation, or even mutation, of the problem, such as when his sustained and ignorant attack on the procedure for government funding of research and literature led last year to a startling intervention by then-Education Minister Brendan Nelson.

The contempt he displays for things he doesn’t understand, like various performances at one year’s Melbourne Arts Festival, is typical of one who, fearful of uncertainty and therefore privileging Reason above all other human values, expects to understand, and feels – what, affronted? confronted? silly? – when he doesn’t.

He is at his most ridiculous – and ideological – when he writes on global warming. While a healthy scepticism should always be the disposition of a journalist, he respects neither evidence nor the scientific method, and holds those few remaining ‘sceptics’ (like the economic ultra-rationalist Bjørn Lomborg, though even he now admits CO2 emissions are a major causal factor in an overall warming of the planet) up as gods.

Without the ability to Imagine the Other, Bolt betrays his profession, and his audience. His critical nationalism does not, unfortunately, extend to criticism of the government (or, more particularly, of the Prime Minister), and so Bolt slips easily into the role of apologist for John Howard’s administration – an administration that must be held to account by journalists for its flagrant depreciation of human values and for its abuse of state power.

Bolt would argue that such sentiment is simply ‘anti-Howard’ and therefore ‘Left-wing’ and eminently capable of dismissal. But in characterising it thus, Bolt encourages individuals to Identify with the powerful state over the welfare of other, relatively powerless, individuals. He would be wise to examine the rise of popular National Socialism (Nazism) in 1930s Germany in terms of such identification, rather than to attempt to attribute it to the ‘green movement’, as he does in one column.

Like most journalists, Bolt will not be an historical figure – though some of those he dismisses out-of-hand (such as Robert Fisk, John Pilger, and his increasingly reluctant sparring partner on ABC’s Insiders, David Marr) will be. Nevertheless, this collection of columns is useful reading for those of all political persuasions committed to the reform of public discourse, as an example of the rhetorical form and populist content that must be engaged with, not ignored.

David McKnight, "Beyond Right and Left" (2006)

Humanities lecturer and political historian David McKnight has written arguably the most cogent, compelling and fair-minded examination of the current state of Australian politics (I want to say ‘ever’).

In this remarkable volume, McKnight – a former member of the Communist Party whose philosophies on life changed dramatically after a six-month stint as a stay-at-home father during the early 1980s – urges a ‘new politics’ for Australia that goes beyond the traditional Left-Right spectrum, which he argues is increasingly meaningless.

The Left originated out of the French Revolution’s ideals of ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’ before being heavily influenced by various socialisms (including Karl Marx’s) during the nineteenth century; for the past forty years it has focussed increasingly on the rights of minority groups. Without the class identity upon which support for socialism was built – class is all but irrelevant to the lived experiences of individuals today – the Left’s support for minority causes has alienated the mainstream. In a disastrous response to the Right’s recent radicalism, and in the absence of any clear articulation of its own core values, the main party of the Australian Left has effectively abandoned much of its long-standing commitment to social democracy.

The Right originally advocated the preservation of the ‘pillars of the [European] nation’ – the church, the state, the law, the landed aristocracy, the monarchy and the middle class. Having developed a healthy respect for liberalism as a political philosophy, the Australian Right until recently was imbibed with a social conscience that favoured, or at least tolerated, state intervention to redress imbalances. Recently, however, the traditionally conservative Right has radicalised – it now privileges globalisation above nation, free trade above human rights, and the privatisation of public concerns (e.g. public good utilities, unemployment, and antisocial business sector behaviour).

McKnight argues that the terms ‘Left’ and ‘Right’, which essentially refer to different philosophies on how to distribute material resources, are increasingly irrelevant. They hold no solutions for some of the biggest problems facing us now, including global warming. Why should ‘environmentalism’ (a conservative movement) be associated exclusively with the Left? Why should public morality be the purview of the Right?

In advocating a new political philosophy, McKnight is careful not to discard those aspects of existing philosophies (socialism, liberalism, conservatism, feminism, etc) that remain relevant to today’s world. To these aspects, McKnight wants to add a ‘new humanism’ that would privilege common values, ecological sustainability and an ethic of care (which originated in a branch of feminism).

McKnight’s book is beautifully easy to read. He constantly engages on issues which the Left has traditionally avoided (morality, nationalism, the mainstream) or uncritically taken as gospel (the importance of equality and multiculturalism), and addresses the concerns of those who may disagree. His style is neither elitist nor simple-populist, and his message is timely and imperative.

John Berger, "G." (1972)

The 1972 Booker Prize winner is hardly as accessible as more recent recipients, such as Peter Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang (based on the Jerilderie Letter) and DBC Pierre’s Vernon God Little. This raises questions over a possible commercialisation of the award since the year of Whitlam’s election, when Berger experimented with form and content to produce a work that is as provocative as it is frustrating.

The story’s ‘central protagonist’ is not given a name, just ‘G.’ for ‘convenience’: evocative of Kafka’s ‘K.’? It’s true that neither character is, for unique reasons, at home in the world he must inhabit, though I doubt the link is any less fragile than that.

We are introduced to G. before he is born, and we bear witness to particular, seemingly random, episodes in his life. His story is not merely told (in the absent third-person); it is told by someone, to us. Berger here is cognisant of the falsity in assuming an apparently objective position in telling a story, though whether the narrator’s voice is his own, or another unnamed, unknown character, is unclear. It is at once immaterial and important.

Born as the nineteenth century was beginning to consider drawing to a close, G. is the bastard son of an Italian merchant and an English divorcee. His illegitimacy doesn’t seem to affect his social standing, but perhaps in some way informs his increasingly bizarre emphases on sexual conquest, which he may or may not mistake for love. Whether he’s a great lover or an ammoral deviant (you’ll no doubt fall somewhere between the two extremes, if you choose to judge at all) will depend on your own prejudices, and on which of Berger’s hints you choose to privilege.

The backdrop to G.’s life is a period of excessive radicalism in Italian society, whose revolutionary sentiments drew blood more than once. We visit the Boers in South Africa, and are presented with contextual analyses of the conflicts in the Balkans and the events that triggered the so-called Great War.

Interspersed with the narrative are constant, interruptive asides from Berger’s narrator, who imparts on us his perceptive knowledge of the world. These asides read something like excerpts from a hundred humanities papers, and will please as many readers as they repel.

Surely original, Berger’s G. is a complex masterpiece, written by an art critic motivated by a desire to understand his world.

48 Shades of Brown (1999), by Nick Earls

Think back to your final year of high school. Despite the sky-rocketing divorce and separation rates among baby-boomer couples and those impressive stats showing only 7 per cent of Australian families are ‘nuclear’ (the mum, dad and kids thing), most of us will have completed year 12 (or an equivalent) with mum or dad – or even both – setting curfews and cooking meals.

Dan, the protagonist in Nick Earls’ 1999 novel 48 Shades of Brown, won’t have these experiences. His parents have moved to Geneva, leaving the 16-year-old in Melbourne for the ‘most important year of his life’. To the delight of his best mate Chris, Dan moves in with his 22-year-old aunt Jacq and her housemate, the lovely Naomi.

Jacq and Naomi are real-life, bona fide university students, with all that entails. Messy rooms. Late nights. Watching videos with the lights turned off. Boyfriends. Sex. University parties.

But while Chris – whose idea of women is informed by pixilated internet images that respond to his every desire – is drooling over the possibilities, Dan isn’t so sure. How can he, with his school uniforms and folded socks, fit into this undergraduate world of cool detachment? And what happens when he falls in love with Naomi?

Earls has written an enjoyable, relevant book for older adolescents that strikes a similar chord to Melina Marchetta’s Looking for Alibrandi. Dan is a sensitive and reflective paragon of virtue, displaying a wisdom that belies his sixteen years – one suspects his voice is Earls’, rather than his own, but this makes the story no less appealing. Dan’s character adds much to the novel’s overall restraint, one of its most attractive qualities.

Penguin has re-issued the book to coincide with the release of Daniel Lapaine’s film adaptation.

On Equilibrium (2001), by John Ralston Saul

Saul cuts a swathe through the ‘greats’ of western philosphy in this masterful attempt to address the Big Question: How Are We to Live?

The Canadian author’s major project is to reveal the privileged position Reason is afforded by our civilisation, and to cut it down to size. He doesn’t reject the positive role of Reason in our individual and social lives, but argues that Reason is merely one of six common values, shared by all humanity.

Saul nominates the remaining five as Ethics, Common Sense, Memory, Intuition, and Imagination. Among the points he returns to, again and again, is that we should see each of these six values as equals, instead of privileging Reason, and denying the others, to the detriment of ourselves. Good decisions, he argues, are those that result from a swirling, democratic consensus involving all common human values equally.

The point is that these values are all dependent on each other. Reason can’t exist properly without Ethics and Memory; Intuition without Imagination and Common Sense becomes romantic fantasy. Yet he sees our world – that of the early twentieth century – consumed by a ridiculous ideology that purports to get by with ‘Reason’ alone, flowing from the erroneous assumption that ‘the world is rational’.

Rather, we can be rational (or not), just as we can be ethical, or not. Because Reason, according to Saul, is ‘thought and ideas’. So a tree can’t be rational. Neither, for that matter, can technology, though we often claim that it is. Saul suggests that this mistake comes from our confusion of Reason for ‘Instrumental Reason’, that illusory ‘quality’ that turns universities into vocational training centres, permits technology to lead society, and which allows a lie as great as ‘Iraq has weapons of mass destruction’ through the world’s ‘intelligence’ systems.

Saul notes that it is (purely) rational to order the extermination of people who don’t conform, or who are ‘different’: see Rwanda, Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, and Germany. That was Reason on its own: the problem – Jews; the expedient solution – ethnic cleansing. Reason without conscience. Saul demands we see the Nazi Party not as a problem for Germany’s past: the pure rationality of the processes that led to Nazi Germany is a problem owned by all of Western civilisation, from Athens onward.

Because he must, he assures us he’s not ‘anti-Reason’. Thought and ideas are essential to any proper society. But Reason must be tempered – and enhanced – by our other values, as they must be by it.

He is confident, Saul. He takes on the utilitarians and the instrumentalists – Plato, Bertrand Russell, John Rawls – and the romantics alike. His contempt for the short-sighted managerialism, with its blinkered, instrumentalist focus on immediate cost-cutting, annual profits, ‘efficiency’, ‘growth’ and ‘productivity’, almost assumes an ideological tone. Almost. But he’s right: while utilitarianism has its place (he explains that a toilet is indeed useful), it cannot be the basis for social order. The ideologues who ‘believe’ in free markets (though not in ‘intellectual property’, nor when transnational corporations become monopolistic, it seems), are really just this century’s version of those who claimed God was ‘The Truth’.

And before we criticise Saul of hypocrisy, his book is argument, rather than mere statement of ‘fact’. He lays down no law, unlike the doctrinal churches and economic ‘rationalists’. He brings philosophy to the people (and urges the people to it), rather than reserve it for a privileged, educated few. He is as accessible as Peter Singer, though Saul’s argument makes infinitely more sense than the utilitarian Singer’s ‘practical ethics’. Ethics, Saul reminds us, does not necessarily pay – it is an expression of the social, of friendship, of The Other.

Rather than ‘rationalist’, ‘utilitarian’ or ‘humanist’, Saul calls his approach ‘animist’. This may alarm some readers, given the connotations that word has attracted after centuries of romantic instrumentalism. But fear not: he articulates his position well.

Throughout its 330 pages, I found my pragmatic voice – that of fear, fear of uncertainty – losing its pervasiveness. Saul’s words inspire courage (not romantic fantasy, if read properly). He advocates a ‘responsible individualism’ that requires constant effort for its own sake – a difficult notion in an epoch of unlimited desire, pragmatic politics, and an expectation of puerile ‘happiness’.

Nuclear Power is Not the Answer to Global Warming or Anything Else (2006), by Dr Helen Caldicott

The title of veteran anti-nuclear campaigner Dr Caldicott's latest book will leave no doubt as to where she stands on the issue, if you didn't already know. A physician specialising in the medical effects of radiation, Dr Caldicott's second career as figurehead for the global campaign began with a letter to The Advertiser in 1972, raising awareness of the French nuclear tests. That letter led to interviews and an audience with Gough Whitlam, who "wasn't much interested". But the Unions were, particularly when she started to talk about testicular effects of radiation, and before long she had inspired a 24-hour Railways Workers' Union strike that afforded her front-page publicity.

Nuclear Energy is Not the Answer focusses on the global situation, with a heavy emphasis on the United States. She spends all of two pages discussing Australia, which means that while its contents may be of use to the local debate, you won't find any information about John Howard's Nuclear Taskforce (led by Ziggy Switkowski) or what she believes is really going on at Lucas Heights - suffice to say that the "medical isotopes" claim (they can apparently be constructed without the need for a reactor) is probably bogus.

The book's strongest sections are those utilising Dr Caldicott's personal expertise: radiation medicine. In these chapters, she presents a highly convincing case against the mining, refinement, use and storage of radioactive matter for use in power generation and weaponry, from a medical perspective. Indeed, she has characterised the entire nuclear "issue" as primarily a "medical" one.

Her weakest chapters are those dealing more broadly with nuclear power and weapons proliferation. In these aspects of her argument, she is most certainly an ideologue (which she admits to, without seeming to understand the full implications of such a charge). Worryingly, she appears to have no compunctions about finding references to "fit" her argument: her first two chapters, in which she presents the full costs of the nuclear fuel cycle from extraction and reactor construction to storage and decommissioning, are based solely upon the un-refereed findings of two retired Netherlands scientists. She openly advocates Google as a tool for finding facts "you already know".

This hard, ideological bent to her work comes from years of confrontation with the nuclear industry and its political voices, and from what she sees as the media's acquiescence in the industry's deceptiveness. The result is an unfortunate cheapening of the debate to stark "facts" and figures, upon which there is no agreement by each "side" and from which the lay citizen can learn very little.

Dr Caldicott's major mistake, it seems, lies in thinking that the debate can be won with education of "the facts". But facts can be twisted, and are rarely irrefutable. Like many scientists, she puts enormous faith in her own science and is frustrated at politicians' scientific and medical "illiteracy".

But politicians represent the non-expert citizenry, who must be persuaded according not only to Reason, but also to Common Sense and Ethics. The debate will move forward not upon the final agreement on "facts", but on an application of Values. Dr Caldicott claims that, contrary to the industry's claims, nuclear power is not "clean and green", will hardly decrease CO2 emissions and is certainly not "safe", but she misses probably the easiest argument against nuclear power: that it fails to address the two major problems associated with coal-fired power. Coal is extracted from the Earth's crust (necessarily an unsustainable activity), and its conversion to energy creates a toxic by-product.

If Caldicott's title is correct (and it must be, given a dispassionate examination of the problems), her book fails to convince, though parts of it make useful contributions to the "facts and figures" debate.