OK, I just finished it and I really did love it. Throughout the book you're not wanting to put it down and it really did open my eyes a little. Why do I complain when things could be so much worse. It shows what some peoples work ethic can actually be. My only complaint, how it ended. 2 points; 1- left me hanging a little, I need to hear more of the family ans 2 - the fact that it ended at all.

Great Book ! Couldn't put it down. Annoyed about the ending. Hope Dennis is working on a sequel. It would be a bloody shame if he is not. Why shoot his dog???

Great read, brought back the good and bad memories of my shearing days in same era. Also hope Dennis is going to keep writing as the story wasn't finished. With the move to wide combs,pay rates getting better and his personal life saga I'm sure he can write on.

I didn't find the last chapters rushed, nor the tally figures distracting - to me, these accentuated the driving determination of Dennis McIntosh to keep grinding away until he could shear 100 - then 200 a day; and accentuated the fiercely competitive nature of shearing, something I'd been previously unaware of.
Nor did I think it was a book 'written for a male audience'. In fact I'd especially recommend this book to any woman who wants to understand better, the stereotypical boy who physically works hard but hates school, and is written off as not very smart by teachers; though they're actually clever and very driven to reach goals, when they find their niche. There are a lot of mothers, sisters and especially (female) teachers that may benefit from reading this book! Like real life, it doesn't have a neat ending; and like the others that I am itching to hear what happened next, and how Dennis is getting along these days. I hope life is treating him better. Unfortunately the significance of this book will be lost on the average Australian. It's not just well read and a good yarn, it is a sensitive account of an aspect of rural culture that has never been attended to like this before.