A Concise History of Australia (Cambridge Concise Histories) 3rd Edition

by Stuart Macintyre (Author)

21 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0521735933

ISBN-10: 0521735939

Why is ISBN important?

Share <Embed>

Other Sellers

from

Other Sellers

See all 11 versions

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by Better World Books: West

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

FREE delivery: Sep 3 - 9

There is a newer edition of this item:

A Concise History of Australia (Cambridge Concise Histories)
$23.73
(5)
In Stock.

Australia is the last continent to be settled by Europeans, but it also sustains a people and a culture tens of thousands years old. For much of the past 200 years the newcomers have sought to replace the old with the new. This book tells how they imposed themselves on the land, and brought technology, institutions and ideas to make it their own. It relates the advance from penal colony to a prosperous free nation and illustrates how, as a nation created by waves of newcomers, the search for binding traditions was long frustrated by the feeling of rootlessness, until it came to terms with its origins. The third edition of this acclaimed book recounts the key factors - social, economic and political - that have shaped modern-day Australia. It covers the rise and fall of the Howard government, the 2007 election and the apology to the stolen generation. More than ever before, Australians draw on the past to understand their future.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'At long last here is an accessible, sensible, learned and digestible history of Australia. It is a triumph of Stuart Macintyre's notable scholarship that he has come up with a book that is concise - not brief, not abbreviated - sharp and to the point … this is a tremendously useful tool for locals and outsiders. It should sit on every Australian's bookshelf, next to the dictionary and the atlas.' Nick Richardson, Herald-Sun

'It's a splendid piece of work and it belongs to a noble tradition … It conveys throughout a joy in writing history, in mastering the detail of the past - a joy especially in struggling with the soul of the country.' Alan Atkinson, Sydney Morning Herald

'Macintyre's book is the best short history of Australia since Manning Clark's classic of 1963.' The Times Literary Supplement

Book Description

The third edition of this book recounts the key factors - social, economic and political - that have shaped modern-day Australia.

Start reading A Concise History of Australia (Cambridge Concise Histories) instantly on your Kindle Fire or on the free Kindle apps for iPad, Android tablet, PC or Mac. Don't have a free Kindle app? Get yours here

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cambridge University Press; 3rd edition (June 30, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0521735939
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0521735933
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.01 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.43 x 0.83 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,144,251 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,460 in Australia & New Zealand History
- #39,924 in History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
21 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		52%
4 star		14%
3 star		13%
2 star		13%
1 star		9%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Al Singh

Worth a read

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2016

Verified Purchase

Until I read this book I did not realize the degree of conflict between the settler-descended population and the Aborigines. This seems to be a legacy that Australia is still struggling with, and the author takes a rather more critical and less patriotic view of the situation than most Australian historians. The problem of identity and what the country stands for now that it is no longer a part of the British Empire seems to be a lingering issue as well, but here the author strikes a more optimistic note, arguing that Australia can rightfully take its place in the world as a preserver and promoter of liberal democracy. This book was interesting in ways that I did not expect; I expected to read stories of the Outback and the exploits of barely reformed derelicts; instead I found my attention drawn to issues that are common to all developed democratic countries. Definitely worth a read.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

B. Nolet

How could concise seem so long?

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2004

Verified Purchase

The first thing that came to mind as I trudged through Macintyre's wordy book was how could something called "concise" seem so long? This book is informative but entirely humorless, like reading an ingredient list. Macintyre seems more concerned with showcasing his vocabularity then with enticing you with the facinating history of Australia's past. There is plenty of information in this book if you can make it through to the end while maintaining consciousness. If you are about to visit Australia and you are looking for an entertaining and informative book to stimulate your enthusiasm I strongly recommend Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country. If you are looking for a strong sedative then this is the book for you.

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kurt J. Acker

A Leftist Portrait of Australia

Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2017

Verified Purchase

After a few chapters of this tiresome book, the reader will not be surprised to learn that its author started life as a communist,
has written "A History of Marxism in the UK", and considers himself a "democratic socialist". At one point, he says that the historian as an objective observer of events "has fallen into disrepute". Certainly it is a role that Macintyre never pretends to play. This is a typical left-wing melodrama, replete with the victims of racism and greed, mistaking sympathy for the underdog with an adequate grasp of history. Don't waste your money on this one.

Helpful

Merv Hines

A gift for someone...sight un-seen

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2014

Verified Purchase

I bought for a friend in the United States. Took a punt on the contents and was told that it was good, as they are thinking of coming down-under for a visit.

Helpful

Informative and well-written

Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2000

I have long wanted to read a general history of Austrailia, and when I read. on April 3, 1988, The Fatal Shore, by Robert Hughes, I said to myself, in my post-reading note: "I am glad I read this book, but maybe I'd've done better to read a plain history of Australia than this long account of this aspect of its beginning." I am shamed to say that it has taken over 12 years to do what I thought I should have done back then. This book goes up to 1999, and portrays very well the current dilemmas facing Australia. If you enjoy the articles in Current History, as I do, this book reminds me of those articles, except it is less bland and neutral. Ordinarily I avoid histories with designations such as "short" or "concise" figuring that I want a fuller treatment. But when one knows as little of a country as I do of Australia, I thought this a good introduction to its history.

27 people found this helpful

Helpful

M. Gream

Very good modernist view of Australian history

Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2000

Stuart's work is an excellent overview of Australian history from the dreamtime to the present. He captures the major periods and events that shaped the progress of Australia towards federation and beyond, into the current malaise over national identity and the development of a unique and identifiable cultures.
Modern thought increasingly accepts the indigenous problems that were part of Australian colonisation, and Stuart probes these and other contemporary issues by drawing from both sides of the debate. He illustrates research that examines the language of overland explorers, to determine whether they were 'exploring' or 'conquering', and he comments on modern interpretations of the constitution by the high court. Readers not well versed in Australian issues may pass over these slights of hands without understanding their importance in the nature of forging an Australian history, culture and identity.
I would recommend this book as a necessary overview for any person interested in the history of the country, including potential tourists.

23 people found this helpful

Helpful

Christian Ristow

Interesting subject matter buried under impenetrable language...

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2009

One has the sense, when slogging through this book, that there is interesting material here. The inclusion of information about the aboriginals who inhabited Australia before 1778 is laudable. However, as has been noted previously, the language is just too difficult to read. The sentence structure is so complicated, and the vocabulary so obscure, that it feels as if it were written 100 years ago, when the English language was in a different stage of evolution.

I was actually unable to finish the book. At a certain point Macintyre begins to discuss at length the activities of "the Chartists." However, he makes no attempt to establish who the Chartists were, what they stood for, or why they were called the Chartists. That was it for me.... I cut my losses and put it down.

I am just beginning Robert Hughes' "The Fatal Shore," and so far it is infinitely more engaging.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Harold Kaplan

concise history of australia

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2005

According to the author, Australian history is 200 years of racism, sexism, oppression, dominance, exploitation. The victims are aborginal people, women, the early convicts -- and the environment. The villains, of course, are white males. When the Australian economy dips, the fault lies with the U.S., world capitalism and neoliberalism. When the Australian economy thrives, it just means Aussies can waste more money on bourgeois geegaws. The tone is humorless, unrelenting, shrill, one-sided -- a prime example of what one Australian referred to as "black armband history".

23 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Stephen

Informative

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2008

Verified Purchase

A well balanced and informative account of the history of Australia in one volume. In may ways this work leaves room for inquisitive exploration outside of this volume by the reader, rather than make a hash of it within a book of this size: thereby concentrating the focus of inquiry on exactly what is fundamentally important to know.
If you want a scholarly and comprehensive articulation of Australia, look no further. If you are looking for a narrative with interesting tidbits - this isn't for you.
In a nutshell, great value for money. The only 'history' of Australia I'll ever need.

4 people found this helpful

MR R L KETTERIDGE

A Concise History of Australia

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2012

Verified Purchase

An excellent read -interesting, informative and no punches were pulled. So much better than other books on this subject. The prose is interspersed with very interesting ittlustrations , most of which are line drawings in black and white. For anyone who wishes to read a good factual history of Australia this is IT.

3 people found this helpful

Chris Deutschmann

Gute geschichtliche Übersicht, mit Lücken zu Aborigines...

Reviewed in Germany on October 11, 2013

Verified Purchase

Das Buch verschafft eine gute Übersicht über die wesentlichen Punkte zur Geschichte Australiens seit der europäischen Besiedlung. Die Vorgeschichte, bzw. Besiedlung wird nur unzureichend behandelt, zumal weitaus mehr darüber zu schreiben gäbe.
Zusätzlich ist der Fokus zu sehr auf die Sicht der europäischen Siedler gelegt. In der Tat gab es deutlich mehr Begegnungen und Auseinandersetzungen als in dem Buch skizziert. Der Sprachstil ist in den ersten Kapiteln angemessen und flüssig zu lesen. Nach ca. 1/3 des Buches wird es für ESL Leser deutlich komplizierter zu lesen, Macintyre auffällig oft seltene Wörter verwendet, die das Lesen sehr behäbig machen.

Translate review to English

garrett polman

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on November 29, 2014

Verified Purchase

Good book and rapid delivery.

Lamprini Thoma

Great store

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 9, 2016

Verified Purchase

Book as described - bookstore took the extra mile for us to have it in time! thank you!

See all reviews

A Concise History of Australia (Cambridge Concise Histories) 3rd Edition

There is a newer edition of this item:

Editorial Reviews

Review

Book Description

About the Author

Product details

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries