Australia: A Cultural History (The Present and the Past) [Paperback]

John Rickard (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0582276055 | ISBN-13: 978-0582276055 | Publication Date: January 1997 | Edition: 2

This text is long established as a standard introduction to the development of modern Australian society. It begins with the centuries of Aboriginal habitation before the coming of the Europeans, and takes us through to the present. However, unusually, it is strongly weighted towards the twentieth century. It is arranged chronologically and a broad "political" narrative emerges, but the book is not a chronicle, still less a laborious detailing of governors and governments; rather, it focuses throughout on the transmission of values, beliefs and customs amongst the diverse mix of peoples who are today's Australians. For this welcome Second Edition, John Rickard has completely revised his text and added an entirely new chapter on the contemporary scene, which surveys the dramatic cultural shifts in Australian society as it approaches the centenary of Federation in the year 2001. The entire book has been reset and redesigned in a larger, more handsome format, and has numerous new illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'xxx; an extremely well-written book that seeks to make contemporary Australian society comprehensible to outsiders. In this it certainly succeeds, with its many pertinent illustrations complementing the judicious insights that dot the elegant text.' The Times Higher Education Supplement

Product Details

• Paperback: 317 pages
• Publisher: Longman Group United Kingdom; 2 edition (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0582276055
• ISBN-13: 978-0582276055
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,270,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review, July 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Australia: A Cultural History (The Present and the Past) (Paperback)

I like this book very much, I am reading it for the second time. It has a well constructed, thematic approach that takes you from pre-European Aboriginal society to late 20th century attempts to be an 'all encompassing' society. It explains how the physical environment shaped the Australian character together with the cultural and historical pull towards Britain and Europe competing with the pull towards America and Asia as it still tries to define itself in the world. One is left feeling that Australia is a rather unique combination of hedonism, tolerance, stability, blandness and infinite possibility.