Children of Tomorrow
J.R. Burgmann, Upswell, $29.99

This near-future intergenerational cli-fi saga begins in the present, with Tasmanian bushfires. It unfurls episodically, with two millennials, Arne and Evie, living and studying in Melbourne. They’re conscious of impending ecological disaster but unable to prevent it. By the 2040s bees and many other species have become extinct, green grass is a thing of the past, the seas have risen, displacing entire populations and redrawing global maps, and the next generation inherits a ruined planet. (As young adults, they’re every bit as resentful and full of blame as the millennials were towards those who came before them.) Some of the dialogue, scenes and characters are thinly sketched – the fate of the planet is the main game, of course, and that’s very bleak indeed. Perhaps J.R. Burgmann should have focused more on deeply on people, the systems, culture, and ethos that made the ecocide happen, and our collective responsibility for failing to avoid a foreseeable catastrophe. Otherwise, we just wallow in the despair of dark futures, rather than understanding how they come to pass.

NON-FICTION PICK OF THE WEEK
Women and Whitlam: Revisiting the Revolution
Ed., Michelle Arrow, NewSouth, $34.99

The three years that constituted the Whitlam government mark a transformational “before” and an “after” in Australian political history. Especially concerning women.

This compilation, including essays by women who were part of the Whitlam government such as Elizabeth Reid (appointed women’s advisor to the government in 1973, a world first), records the depth of the reforms introduced. Camilla Nelson reminds us of the hysteria that attended the Family Law Act of 1975, church and conservatives calling it an attack on the institution of marriage. Others write of the dramatic impact of Medibank, free universities, single mother’s benefit and how they all affected women, not to mention contraception on the PBS scheme and so much more. This very readable volume documents a pivotal, revolutionary period in our history.

How They Fought
Ray Kerkhove, Boolarong Press, $39.99

In this detailed and informed study, historian Ray Kerkhove addresses the long-accepted myth that Indigenous Australian resistance to colonialism was largely passive. In what he calls a “guide book” he examines the way Aboriginal people fought back, with the six chapters covering key components of their military activity: from just what constituted the Frontier War zone (“probably everywhere”), alliances and organisation, the chains of command usually overseen by elders, weaponry and defence, and the strategies employed such as the surprise of the thoroughly co-ordinated ambush, which he characterises as the “guerrilla tactic of dispersion”. Part of the ongoing reassessment of the Frontier Wars, Kerkhove puts together a convincing picture of First Nations’ response to invasion and their “robust” resistance.

A Joyful Life
Rosemary Kariuki (with Summer Land), Hardie Grant, $34.99

Given the trauma and sadness in Rosemary Kariuki’s life, the title of this memoir speaks volumes for her courage. Born in Kenya in 1960, from an early age she was regularly beaten by her father (who had been imprisoned for taking up arms against the British) for the smallest of infringements, such as not being top of the class. She was also severely beaten for the “crime” of being raped. At some point, after becoming a teenage mother, enduring dysfunctional marriages and being hit on the head by a hammer during tribal conflict, she decided to emigrate. In Australia, she established a new life with her sons and in 2021 was named Local Hero in the Australian of the Year Awards. Her story is told in a matter-of-fact way that accentuates the drama, but running through it is an enduring optimistic spirit.

Helpem Fren
Michael Wesley, MUP, $40

In 2003 most Australians were preoccupied with the situation in Iraq, but on July 24 one of our most significant overseas initiatives began when the first Hercules landed in Honiara, releasing troops, diplomats and police in what was officially called the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). Michael Wesley’s study of the operation takes in the 1880s, when Australia appropriated the islands, the post-colonial period and the factors that led to the intervention, principally, the conflict between the people of Guadalcanal and the neighbouring island of Malaita, social instability and the coup of 2000. The details, such as the collecting of guns in the community, are fascinating and Wesley concludes that “Australia has assumed new responsibilities … that it is far from certain it can fulfil.”