AustLit

'From West Berlin to the remote reaches of the Birdsville Track, Kim Young has traversed it all, in the company of others or bravely solo - usually on two wheels or two feet, and accompanied by his keen interest in a challenge and his talent for sketching. ...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Canberra in those heady, early 1980s-a city without a soul; a big country town full of politicians and fat cat public servants; a sterile man-made landscape of straight roads, roundabouts and perfectly manicured lawns; a capital city without a true identity, struggling to establish itself as a national icon and landmark within the vast continent it governs.
'But in spirit Canberra is none of these things. To the youth of the times it is a city of growth and excitement. The soul that is not supposed to exist is there, you just need to know where to find it. Within this bushland city, that soul is being nurtured by the people who live there through the dry, hot summers and the icy cold winters-and the magical autumns and springs in between. Just out of school with jobs and money to burn, the youth play the game of life to the full with little regard for the consequences. It is through their eyes Canberra acquires its soul as they grow, mature, and begin to question what it is all about as friendships dissolve, old loves are rekindled, ideals eroded, and events unfold so quickly that they have little say in where they are going. This is their story; cars, work, booze, women, sport, parents, mates, pubs, music, parties and fights. Happy, sad, joyous, tragic, ridiculous, nostalgic, even idiotic, occurring all within the context of the city in which they dwell. And yet in this life lie lessons for all ages as we witness the changes that occur as the years slip by unnoticed and unheralded. These were great days, the days when we were young-the days from summer to summer.'  (Publication summary)

15th Century Italy. A place of Machiavelli, a place of discord. War and plague ravage the land. Some, appalled at the corruption in Rome, seek heavenly life through rapture. The Inquisition hunts these mystics. Captured, the fortunate are forced to repent by pilgrimage, the less so are burnt at the stake as heretics. '  (Publication summary)

'When Melanie Minter and her archaeology class suddenly find themselves in ancient Egypt, they have no idea what fate awaits them. That is, until it appears that everything has been previously ordained by the Gods and a young Pharaoh by the name of Tutankhamun is in charge.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Cautiously, step by step, I creep down the small white ladder that leads from a trapdoor hidden beneath a bed in room 92 at Duntroon's Cork Block. After just five rungs I reach the bottom. Water plunges 40 metres off the cliff top with so much gusto that the morning sun rising upstream creates a rainbow through the water spray. It reaches from one side of the falls to the other. Overhead, a lone wedge-tailed eagle, flirting on the updrafts, is dwarfed by the gaping gorge that opens up like a giant's yawn in the ancient landscape below. Waxing lyrical about everything from the windswept rocky crags of the high country to ghost hunting at the Bredbo Inn, Tim the Yowie Man is certainly not your average travel writer. Tim the Yowie Man is also a well known Canberra identity, mystery investigator, sometime radio host, history and ghost tour guide and the National Museum of Australia's 'resident cryptonaturalist'. In the Spirit of Banjo brings together a collection of some of his articles published in The Canberra Times, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Brisbane Times.

'In the Spirit of Banjo follows Tim's adventures from the nation's capital, to the Southern Highlands, the Snowy Mountains, the Southern Tablelands and the beautiful South Coast of New South Wales where he explores rugged mountain ranges, haunted lighthouses, stunning waterfalls, and other little known historical, ecological and environmental gems. If you are a fan of Tim the Yowie Man then this book is definitely for you, and even if you're not, you will find the words held within these pages compelling to the point that you too may want to follow in the footsteps of the Yowie Man. Who knows what you will find? In the Spirit of Banjo is Tim's guide to Canberra and beyond.' (Publication summary)

'From searching for snowboarders in Kosciuszko, to the 2003 Canberra fires, the tragic mud strewn fields of Grantham, and the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi, Meditations in Orange is a personal, entertaining and often poignant recount of (the author’s) experiences as one of the often undervalued contributors to the essential work of Australia’s emergency service organisations.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.