Australia 1901 - 2001

Incorporated below is my publisher’s ‘blurb’ about this, my latest book, launched by the former prime minister, John Howard, on 12 November 2014.

Click here to listen to my interview with 2GB’s Alan Jones on 17 November 2014, during which we discussed Australia 1901 - 2001.

And click here to order a copy of this book

What the critics say

The Sydney Morning Herald: ‘I am often reminded of Mark Twain’s comment that Australian history reads “like the most beautiful lies…full of surprises and adventures, the incongruities, and contradictions, and incredibilities”. So one of my summer reads must be Andrew Tink’s fourth book ‘Australia 1910-2001: A narrative history’. It tells the story of Australia in the 20th century, from dogs’ livers to saltlick, the Petrovs to Frigidaires, looking down from the moon and up to Mabo. Tink’s light style coupled with serious research tells the story of those most beautiful lies and, as Twain added “all of a fresh new sort, no mouldy old stale ones…but they are all true, they all happened'.

The Canberra Times: ‘One of the tests of a good historical book is that one can open it at any page and find oneself absorbed by the sheer pace and drama of the story. Tink’s narrative history of Australia in the 20th century passes that test with flying colours. Every reader will learn from it’.

Independent Booksellers’ Reading Guide: 'Andrew Tink takes on the monumental challenge of compiling a history of twentieth century Australia in his latest book. Sweeping across the century, Tink gives a remarkable account of Australia’s political and economic growth and its cultural and sporting successes. Never dwelling on any one subject for too long, he incorporates a broad and diverse array of subject matter, but pays particular attention to key events including Gallipoli, the Kokoda March, the Great Depression and Mabo. Tink’s writing is accessible, entertaining and easy to follow, and will be appreciated by anyone interested in how a young nation matured and found itself where it is today'.

Australia 1901–2001 

A Narrative History

Andrew Tink

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Andrew Tink’s superb book tells the story of Australia in the twentieth century, from Federation to the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

It was a century marked by the trauma of war and the despair of the Depression, balanced by extraordinary achievements in sport, science and the arts. And it witnessed the emergence of a mainly harmonious society, underpinned by a political system that worked most of the time.

Tink’s story is driven by people: prime ministers, soldiers, shopkeepers, singers, footballers and farmers, be they men or women, Australian- born, immigrant or Aboriginal. He brings the decades to life, writing with empathy, humour and insight to create a narrative that is as entertaining as it is illuminating.

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