(Jane Gleeson-White, A&U, $29.95 pb, ISBN 9781741753417, November) *** 1/2

I hope I’m not alone in saying that a book of this ilk is long overdue. Gleeson-White’s compilation of 50 of Australia’s classic literary works, as the introduction suggests, offers readers a ‘broad overview of Australian writing’—fiction (adult and children’s) and nonfiction. Her selection ranges from the ‘older’ works to the more contemporary (she stops at 1991); and she includes all the ‘classics’ that spring most easily to mind, for example The Man from Snowy River, Robbery Under Arms, and Picnic at Hanging Rock. Dispersed throughout are ‘my favourites’ lists contributed by other writers and academics—and it’s certainly interesting to see what was chosen. While I was reading this I couldn’t help thinking that 50 titles was not enough, and I’m sure that Gleeson-White felt the same during the writing process, so: more volumes please! This is a very readable reference book and would make a great gift. As for me, my list of great Aussie reads would include: The Arrival by Shaun Tan; Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden; No Dying Race by Charles Duguid; Why Weren’t We Told? by Henry Reynolds; Three Dollars by Eliott Perlman; Dead Europe by Christos Tsiolkas; and The Secret Country by John Pilger.

Julia Jackson is a freelance reviewer and works at Readings Carlton

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2007, Thorpe-Bowker