{"title":"Patrick Mullins","description":"\u003cp\u003ePatrick Mullins offers a compelling blend of \u003cem\u003eCrime \u0026amp; Thriller\u003c\/em\u003e narratives and insightful explorations into \u003cem\u003ePolitics \u0026amp; Current Affairs\u003c\/em\u003e. His writing weaves suspense with sharp observation, making for engrossing reads that challenge and entertain in equal measure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBeyond thrilling plots, Mullins delves into \u003cem\u003eBiography \u0026amp; Memoir\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eScience \u0026amp; Nature\u003c\/em\u003e, presenting thoughtful perspectives that enrich the reader’s understanding of both individuals and the world around them. Expect work that is as intellectually engaging as it is gripping.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"who-needs-the-abc-by-patrick-mullins-9781922310927","title":"Who Needs the ABC?","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor the past nine years, the ABC has been besieged. Its funding has been slashed. It has been assailed by complaints from ministers and prime ministers. Its board has been stacked with political appointees. It has been relentlessly attacked by commercial media outlets. And it has endured crisis after crisis.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWho Needs the ABC?\u003c\/em\u003e charts how, in its 90th year, the best-trusted news organisation in Australia arrived at its current plight—doing the most it ever has, with less than it needs, under a barrage of constant criticism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis book examines the profound changes that have swept through the Australian media, technology, and political landscapes in the past decade, and explores the tense relationship between the ABC and governments of both stripes over the last 40 years. It dispels any complacency about the ABC's future by charting the very real threat now posed by the Liberal-National Party coalition, and the damage that it has done to the ABC while in office.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWho Needs the ABC?\u003c\/em\u003e identifies the vital role that the ABC plays in Australia today—in its award-winning journalism, in its vast array of cultural programming on television, on radio, and online, and in the comprehensive service it provides to people across the country.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt a time when the truth has to vie with obfuscation and misinformation, this book offers a rejoinder to the ABC's critics, points to solutions that will see the ABC thrive, and answers the question posed here—Who Needs the ABC? We all do.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Amid a noisy, chaotic media landscape comes this clear-eyed analysis showing why a strong ABC is a priceless national asset, how it is under threat, and the need to defend and strengthen it.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-Mark Scott\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"A compelling explanation of the combination of ideology and commercial self-interest which threatens the ABC and why they must not succeed.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-Judith Brett\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"The ABC is both a national success story and national asset, yet more than ever in the firing line of the ideologically and commercially motivated. Matthew Ricketson and Patrick Mullins in Who Needs the ABC? make an eloquent and spirited argument for why we need public broadcasting more than ever, why the ABC is ideally placed to play that role, and how it should be supported by government and citizenry so that it can do its job even better. An urgent and important book.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-Frank Bongiorno\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"This is the book our nation needs now. A critical, evidence-based account of who is attacking our public broadcaster, why they want to destroy it, and what this loss would mean for Australian culture and democracy. Read it and fight!\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-Clare Wright\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46342916047084,"sku":"9781922310927","price":32.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/11520393482872.jpg?v=1743950039"},{"product_id":"tiberius-with-a-telephone-by-patrick-mullins-9781922310637","title":"Tiberius with a Telephone","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWinner of the 2020 National Biography Award and the 2020 NSW Premier's Non-Fiction Award.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe oddly compelling story of a man regarded as Australia's worst prime minister.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTiberius with a Telephone\u003c\/em\u003e is the biography of William McMahon, a significant, if widely derided and disliked, figure in Australian politics in the second half of the twentieth century. This book tells the story of his life, his career, and his doomed attempts to recast views of his much-maligned time as Australia's prime minister.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAfter a long ministerial career under Menzies, McMahon became treasurer under Harold Holt and fought a fierce, bitter war over protectionism with John McEwen. Following Holt's death in 1967, McEwen had his revenge by vetoing McMahon's candidature for the Liberal Party's leadership, paving the way for John Gorton to become prime minister. However, almost three years later, amid acrimony and division, McMahon would topple Gorton and fulfil his life's ambition to become Australia's prime minister.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn office, McMahon worked furiously to enact an agenda that grappled with the profound changes reshaping Australia. He withdrew combat forces from Vietnam, legislated for Commonwealth government involvement in childcare, established the National Urban and Regional Development Authority and the first Department of the Environment, began phasing out the means test on pensions, sought to control foreign investments, and accelerated the timetable for the independence of Papua New Guinea. But his failures would overshadow his successes, and by the time of the 1972 election, McMahon would lead a divided, tired, and rancorous party to defeat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA man whose life was coloured by tragedy, comedy, persistence, courage, farce, and failure, McMahon's story has never been told at length. \u003cem\u003eTiberius with a Telephone\u003c\/em\u003e fills that gap, using deep archival research and extensive interviews with McMahon's contemporaries and colleagues. It is a tour de force - an authoritative and colourful account of a unique politician and a vital period in Australia's history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'This is, as others have remarked, biography at its best- diligently researched, with detail nowhere else examined, and a demonstration of fine judgement concerning the crucial interplay between personal disposition, role demands, and historical context.'\u003c\/em\u003e - James Walter, Australian Book Review\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'A welcome addition to prime ministerial biography ... An engaging and informative read.'\u003c\/em\u003e - Troy Bramston, The Australian\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'This is the most detailed investigation and explanation of what happened ... Completing a biography of this scope is an enormous undertaking, and Patrick Mullins does it with considerable skill ... Mullins conveys the turmoil, the atmosphere of crisis, the bickering and the bloodletting that marked this extraordinary period of Australian political history.'\u003c\/em\u003e - David Solomon, Inside Story\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46380277268716,"sku":"9781922310637","price":36.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/11517493482872.jpg?v=1744851444"},{"product_id":"the-trials-of-portnoy-by-patrick-mullins-9781925849448","title":"The Trials of Portnoy","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFifty years after the event, here is the first full account of an audacious publishing decision that — with the help of booksellers and readers around the country — forced the end of literary censorship in Australia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor more than seventy years, a succession of politicians, judges, and government officials in Australia worked in the shadows to enforce one of the most pervasive and conservative regimes of censorship in the world. The goal was simple: to keep Australia free of the moral contamination of impure literature. Under the censorship regime, books that might damage the morals of the Australian public were banned, seized, and burned; bookstores were raided; publishers were fined; and writers were charged and even jailed. But in the 1970s, that all changed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1970, in great secrecy and at considerable risk, Penguin Books Australia resolved to publish \u003cem\u003ePortnoy's Complaint\u003c\/em\u003e — Philip Roth's frank, funny, and profane bestseller about a boy hung up about his mother and his penis. In doing so, Penguin spurred a direct confrontation with the censorship authorities, which culminated in criminal charges, police raids, and an unprecedented series of court trials across the country.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSweeping from the cabinet room to the courtroom, \u003cem\u003eThe Trials of Portnoy\u003c\/em\u003e draws on archival records and new interviews to show how Penguin and a band of writers, booksellers, academics, and lawyers determinedly sought for Australians the freedom to read what they wished — and how, in defeating the forces arrayed before them, they reshaped Australian literature and culture forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Mullins's compelling account of these last days of the old censorship regime skilfully draws on a rich range of sources, including interviews with many of the key figures involved. He gives an insight not just into how the system operated and the politics involved, but also into a significant cultural moment in Australia.'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n— Amanda Laugesen, Inside Story\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'\u003cem\u003eThe Trials of Portnoy\u003c\/em\u003e is full of the juice and drama and hilarity of the courtroom ... Patrick Mullins has written an utterly diverting account of a bit of ancient Australian literary history ... Superb.'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n— Peter Craven, The Saturday Paper\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'An illuminating tale about book censorship in Australia ... Publishers and bookstores are the heroes in this ... entertaining account of a 'hard-won' battle.'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n— Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46851524067564,"sku":"9781925849448","price":45.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/18819813482873.jpg?v=1759104257"},{"product_id":"the-stained-man-by-patrick-mullins-9781761381959","title":"The Stained Man","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe extraordinary tale—'A two-volume mystery!' Mark Twain called it—of the solicitor who incited a campaign to free a man he knew was guilty of attempted murder, who lost his reputation and ability to practise, and who embarked on a decades-long political career to regain it all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSydney, 1895. Richard Meagher is a brilliant criminal defence solicitor with ambitions in politics. Into his life comes George Dean, a handsome, popular ferryman accused of attempting to poison his own wife. The evidence pointing to Dean's guilt is damning but, in Dean's protests of innocence and the clamour of public support, Meagher senses that a great opportunity is at hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNine months later, everything is in ruins. Dean is in gaol, and Meagher has lost everything. Determined to recover his reputation and vindicate his actions, Meagher begins a twenty-five-year quest to rewrite the 'Dean case' and reclaim all he has lost. That quest will put him in the glare of public scrutiny, arouse enemies at every turn, propel him to high political office, and entwine his cause with the making of the Australian nation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn a work of true crime with a twist, moving from sordid Sydney streets to the corridors of parliament, and spanning the critical years of Australia's history in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, \u003cem\u003eThe Stained Man\u003c\/em\u003e tells the riveting story of Australia's most sensational scandal—and of how an indelible stain was eventually expunged.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePatrick Mullins\u003c\/em\u003e tells a stunning tale of attempted murder, secrets, politics, and lies. In this extraordinary story, we can read the tea leaves of the century to come—the strong forces at work in scandal, the volatile power of celebrity, and the immense damage that reckless ambition can do. This book is a serious achievement.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cem\u003e—Sean Kelly, author of The Game\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMeticulously researched and elegantly written, this is the story of poisoning, scandal, legal and political shenanigans, and the rise and fall and fall again of a deeply flawed pugilistic man and his long struggle for public vindication.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cem\u003e—Judith Brett, emerita professor at La Trobe University and author of The Enigmatic Mr Deakin and Robert Menzies' Forgotten People\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePatrick Mullins\u003c\/em\u003e is the most accomplished Australian biographer of his generation and among our most brilliant storytellers. His colourful tale of Richard Denis Meagher, one of the notorious \"wild men of Sydney\", is a sparkling account of Australian society, politics, and the law in a critical period of national formation.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cem\u003e—Frank Bongiorno, professor of history at the Australian National University, and author of Dreamers and Schemers and The Eighties\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47487652987116,"sku":"9781761381959","price":48.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781761381959-the-stained-man.jpg?v=1775751329"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/patrick-mullins.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}