Andrew Tink’s superb book tells the story of Australia in the 20th 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. Tink’s story is driven by people, whether they be prime ministers, soldiers, shopkeepers, singers, footballers, or farmers; men or women, Australian-born, immigrant, or Aborigine. He brings the decades to life, writing with empathy, humor, and insight to create a narrative that is as entertaining as it is illuminating.

Andrew Tink has served as shadow attorney general and shadow Liberal leader of the House in the New South Wales Parliament. He is the author of Air Disaster Canberra: The Plane Crash That Destroyed a Government; Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend; and William Charles Wentworth: Australia’s Greatest Native Son, which won “The Nib” CAL Waverley Award for Literature. He is an adjunct professor at the Macquarie University Law School and Centre for Legal Governance was made a Member of the Order of Australia in January of 2014.