AustLit

'This book tells the story of John Clarke’s writing life, including the fan letter he sent to All Black Terry Lineen when he was ten, a golf instruction manual unlike any other, Anna Karenina in forty-three words, and the moving essays he wrote after the deaths of his parents.' (Publication)

'A hilarious collection of interviews discussing the highs and lows in the public and political life of Australia over the past three decades. Drawn from John Clarke’s and Bryan Dawe’s weekly broadcasts, these timelessly funny scripts will delight readers as they revisit the scandals and stuff-ups of our lifetimes. Politics was never so preposterous. All the old favourites are here: Bob Hawke, Margaret Thatcher, Bob Collins (‘the front fell off’), Paul Keating, Alan Bond, John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull.' (Publication summary)

'Living in London for tax purposes in 1972, I read that Spike Milligan would be signing copies of his new book, Adolf Hitler - My Part in His Downfall, at Hatchards in Piccadilly. I'd never been to a book signing before but Spike was a hero of mine and I arrived early. I lurked near where he was obviously going to sit and by the time he arrived, a long queue spilled out into the street. For over an hour Spike signed books and he was brilliant. A man asked him if he'd please sign a book for his wife.' (Introduction)

'A little while back I took some photographs of shore-birds, many of which are migratory and fly to the Arctic in our autumn to breed. Some of the godwits I photographed had orange leg-tags and when I zoomed in I could read the letters and numbers, so I reported these on a website that tracks migratory birds and which tells me these birds were tagged one year ago, in exactly the same place. This means that during 2016 they flew from here, over the South Pacific and southern Asia to China, where for millions of years they have fed on the mudflats in the Yellow Sea between the mainland and the Korean peninsula. Then they fly further north to either Siberia or Alaska. And after the breeding season they fly all the way back. Recently a small transmitter was put in a godwit that flew from Alaska to New Zealand in one go without stopping to eat or rest.' (Introduction)