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This engaging account places Australia's history in a global context, drawing on sources from the United States, Britain, South Africa, and Canada. Acclaimed historian Frank Welsh traces the history of the land from scattered convict settlements to the formation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 and on to today's thriving independent nation, exposing many national myths in the process.

Australia is one of the world's most quickly developed modern nations, leaping to prosperous independence from its English colonizers in the span of a generation. This book also explores the dark side of Australia's history: the long-continued "White Australia" policy, which bedeviled foreign policy for more than a century, reflected in Australia's enthusiastic support for the Vietnam War; the still-tortured official relationship with the Aboriginal peoples; the subordination of women; and the flaws in the constitution. Welsh also examines Australia's uneasy relationship with its Asian neighbors, and its isolation from traditional allies Britain and the United States.

Original, provocative, and witty, Australia is the most comprehensive single-volume history of Australia yet published. It makes a strong claim to becoming the standard work on this fascinating and often misunderstood country.

Average Customer Rating:

A Major, Balanced, Historical Work

Customer Rating:

Frank Welsh has written an extremely well written, witty, scholarly, balanced and very long work on the history of Australia. The footnotes are excellent for further research and with the bibliography are almost one hundred pages long! The illustrations are ok, and the maps are useful but could have been somewhat better; many of the places mentioned do not appear. Th author's balance of view deserves praise. Although I might describe myself as a "Battler" and Welsh I suspect is a "Chardonnay Socialist" the coverage of contemporary issues is fairly presented. Welsh rejects the "PC" approach in covering relations with the Aborigenes; the mis-treatment of whom while unconscionable has been over-emphasized... "It should be recorded, remembered, regretted, and accorded only their proper place." The author rejects historical post-modernism, and supports the Windschuttle school of historical accuracy in dealing with the Aborigenes. The approach to settlement is less histrionic than that of Hughes, particularly on Irish political prisoners. The weakest part of the book is a lengthy description of the process be which "representative" and then "responsible" governments were established; almost one hundred tedious pages as each of the six states are dealt with. This is more than balanced by descriptions of the Melbourne-Sydney rivalries and how regionalism led to a chaotic train system of three different gauges. The strongest parts of the book are those that deal with economic issues; the economic problems that Australia faced in the 1880's are similar to the crisis America has to deal with today. Particularly usefull was the discussion of post World War 2 Australia; handicapped by inept leaders and manipulative allies it faced problems in Indonesia and New Guinea. (Yet Welsh shows less sympathy for the Caribbean problems of America) The issues in contemporary Australia such as the Liberal Party moving to the right, reversing the economic welfare state and of Labor and immigration issues are well covered. Mr Welsh is at his weakest when he makes references to America; for example the New York riots of July 1863 were Draft Riots, and although having a strong racial undercurrent, were not a response to the 10 month earlier Emancipation Proclamation as he asserts. This is a must read for anyone interested in the [political and economic history of Australia.

Way Down Under	Customer Rating:
This book is far too detailed (too much information) with facts not needed by a non-historian reader. It is very hard to read and boring. I donated it to the local library after struggling through 100 pages.