Adam Ousten, Fullers Bookshop
Unnecessary Wars by Henry Reynolds book launch at Fullers Bookshop, 5:30pm Friday April 29
‘Australian governments find it easy to go to war. Their leaders seem to be able to withdraw with a calm conscience, answerable neither to God nor humanity.’
This is Henry Reynolds at his searing best. In stark detail, he shows how the Boer War left a dark and dangerous legacy, demonstrating how beliefs in an identity crafted around loyalty to Britain have propelled us into too many unnecessary wars – without ever counting the cost.
“The importance of Reynolds’ history is the fact that it seeks to rewrite our very foundations as a nation.”
– Crickey
A pioneering historian, Henry Reynolds is considered one of the nation’s leading authorities on the history of Australia’s Indigenous people. Henry’s seminal book, The Other Side of the Frontier, published in 1981, was the first to see history from an Aboriginal perspective. An outspoken public intellectual, Henry was the first academic historian to champion Aboriginal land rights. Fighting for reconciliation at a time when it was not popular, Henry was not deterred by the backlash and his courage, tenacity and commitment inspired a generation of Aboriginal and white Australian activists to persevere in their campaign for Aboriginal land and other rights. Henry’s oral history project in the 1970s connected him with Eddie Mabo and greatly contributed to the High Court’s recognition of land rights. Henry’s 20-plus books have not only won a string of awards, they have encouraged young historians to embrace Aboriginal history, have enriched the nation’s understanding of our past and have pointed the way to a better future.
Henry will be in conversation with Matt Killingsworth, University of Tasmania Head of Discipline in Politics and International Relations, at Fullers Bookshop. 5.30pm Friday April 29
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