AustLit

'There is a fascination for any historian in understanding what motivates their colleagues; why they chose a particular topic, and how they organise their research. Blainey is as big as they get: there is a remarkable list of his monograph publications at the beginning of this book, more than forty titles. He has dominated Australian history for decades with his steadfastly narrative, succinct style, and hardly a mention of theory. He also pioneered light referencing: usually his books have no footnotes, merely annotated notes at the back that mention the main sources. He does occasionally use footnotes very sparingly, which is not the way most academic historians operate. His style, perfected over seventy years, relates to his beginnings as a freelance historian of mining and industry.' (Introduction)