Tom Gilling

Born on the same day in 1856 under unusual circumstances, Miles and Isabel independently grow up and fall in love as Miles prepares to risk his life by testing his new flying machine.

The Adventures of Miles and Isabel

Clive Small

The riveting tale of two honest and courageous police officers whose lives were nearly destroyed by the pressure, the danger, and the terrible isolation of living life undercover What is it really like to live as an undercover cop? Joe and Jessie joined the New South Police believing they could make a difference, but their whole lives became a lie. They were cops pretending to be criminals, targeting drug dealers, criminal gangs, and, worst of all, crooked police. Surviving on deceit and gut instinct, Joe and Jessie lived in a world of drugs, violenc.

The shocking story of two undercover cops

Betrayed

Organised crime in Australia doesn't just exist on our television screens. The real world of serious crime operates every day and in every state of the country. It is a multi-billion dollar business and at its core are the drug trade and a world of secrecy and self-protection where intimidation and violence are used as the first and only resort. Smack Express takes us deep into this world and unravels the web of criminal connections that are at the heart of the Australian underworld. It is about stand over merchants, big time drug dealers and small time crims, politicians, corrupt police, i.

How Organised Crime Got Hooked on Drugs

Smack Express

The fighting had ended but for Sandakan's most notorious prisoner the war was not over. 'That bastard's still alive? I'm going to kill him with my bare hands.' POW Bill Moxham At the Australian war crimes trials that followed World War II, one prosecution witness stood out: Warrant Officer Bill Sticpewich. During his three years in the infamous Sandakan POW camp, Sticpewich had seen hundreds of fellow prisoners die of starvation, sickness and overwork. Others were shot or bayoneted to death by Japanese guards on forced marches through the Borneo jungle. Of more than 2400 Allied prisoners at Sandakan at the start of 1945, only six survived. It was Sticpewich's meticulous evidence that sent Sandakan's commandant and his murderous henchmen to the gallows. But to his fellow prisoners Sticpewich was not a war hero, he was a collaborator who avoided heavy labour and obtained extra rations by ingratiating himself with the Japanese. Was Sticpewich a traitor or a man who did what he needed to stay alive? Drawing on wartime records, original interviews and the recollections of other survivors, The Witness reveals the compelling story of Australia's most notorious POW.

The fighting had ended but for Sandakan's most notorious prisoner the war was not over

The Witness

They were thrown into a hopeless fight against an overwhelming enemy. Later, hundreds died as prisoners of war on the Thai-Burma Railway and in the freezing coal mines of Taiwan and Japan. Through it all, wrote Weary Dunlop, they showed 'fortitude beyond anything I could have believed possible'. Until now, the story of the 2000 diggers marooned on Java in February 1942 has been a footnote to the fall of Singapore and the bloody campaign in New Guinea. Led by an Adelaide lawyer, Brigadier Arthur Blackburn VC, and fighting with scrounged weapons, two Australian battalions - plus an assortment of cooks, laundrymen and deserters from Singapore - held up the might of the Imperial Japanese Army until ordered by their Dutch allies to surrender. Drawing on personal diaries, official records and interviews with two of the last living survivors, this book tells the extraordinary story of the 'lads from Java', who laid down their weapons, but refused to give in.

A battle that could not be won. An island that could not be defended. An ally that could not be trusted.

The Lost Battalions

The Calabrian mafia is Australia's oldest, largest and most ruthless crime syndicate, trafficking drugs worth billions of dollars and laundering the proceeds through sophisticated international networks. Enforcing discipline with age-old tools of violence and intimidation, the Calabrians have been responsible for nearly 40 murders in Australia since the mid-1970s and many more before that. Mafia families in Australia report directly to bosses in Calabria and profits are funnelled back to the mother organisation. Yet despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Federal and State law enforcement agencies have long assured the public that there is no Calabrian mafia in Australia. With powerful and uncompromising clarity, Evil Life shatters this myth. Drawing on court documents and unreleased intelligence reports, as well as interviews with well-informed sources, the authors reveal how the Calabrian mafia evolved from its beginnings on the north Queensland cane fields in the 1920s to establish cells in every major capital city, making Australia a key outpost in the world of global organised crime.

The true story of the Calabrian Mafia in Australia

Evil Life

The way I look at it is this...When you're behind the line and get yourself into trouble, you've got to get your bloody self out irrespective of anybody else. That's why I like it.' Scottish-born but a Queenslander to the bone, Jock McLaren was a true Australian hero. As a prisoner he escaped twice, first from Changi and later from the infamous Sandakan POW camp in Borneo. After paddling a dugout canoe across open sea, he fought for two years with American-led Filipino guerrillas, his exploits so audacious the Japanese put a price on his head. At the helm of his 26-foot whaleboat, the Bastard, McLaren sailed brazenly into enemy-held harbours, wreaking havoc with his mortar and machine guns before heading back out to sea. In early 1945 he joined Australia's secretive Z Special Unit, parachuting into Borneo to carry out reconnaissance and organise anti-Japanese resistance ahead of Allied landings. He cheated death on numerous occasions and saved his own life by removing his appendix without anaesthetic, using 'two large dessert spoons' and a razor blade. Drawing on Allied and Japanese wartime documents, Bastard Behind the Lines brings the story of a courageous digger vividly to life and throws light on a rarely explored aspect of Australia's Pacific war.

The extraordinary story of Jock McLaren's escape from Sandakan and his guerrilla war against the Japanese

Bastard Behind the Lines

'The way I look at it is this...When you're behind the line and get yourself into trouble, you've got to get your bloody self out irrespective of anybody else. That's why I like it.' Jock McLaren was a true Australian hero. He escaped Singapore twice, participated in numerous raids on the Japanese in small, armed coastal vessels and was so successful in his land and sea guerrilla actions to disrupt enemy operations that the Japanese eventually placed a bounty on his head. In command of a 26-foot whaleboat called The Bastard, McLaren sailed into Japanese controlled ports in broad daylight, shot up the supply vessels and piers with machine guns and mortar, then turned tail and ran. He also made many solo forays into Japanese held areas to gather intelligence for the US and Australian high commands. Eventually he was transferred to the sabotage Z Special Unit, the joint Allied Special Forces unit formed to operate behind enemy lines. But his extraordinary feats and death-defying courage went beyond his secret missions. One of the many tales told of McLaren was the removal of his own appendix without anaesthetic and with the use of a mirror and an 'ordinary knife'. Action-packed and surprising, A Bastard Between the Lines gives rich life to one of Australia's great World War II diggers.

The Extraordinary Story of Jock Mclaren's Escape from Sandakan and His Guerrilla War Against the Japanese

Kate Ceberano

For the first time, Kate Ceberano, one of Australia's best-loved entertainers, shares her story. In her own unmistakeable voice, Kate Ceberano takes us on a very personal journey from her suburban childhood, her immersion in the Melbourne club scene of the eighties and her rise to stardom at the age of fourteen when she fronted the wildly popular funk band I'm Talking, to the life of a female performer and recording artist in London, Los Angeles and New York. With parallel careers as a pop and jazz singer and songwriter, Kate has received the highest awards in the Australian music industry including the ARIA for Best Female Artist. She has delighted audiences in Harry M. Miller's hugely successful Jesus Christ Superstar, won a legion of fans when she won Dancing with the Stars, and made a triumphant debut for Opera Australia in South Pacific. Now she reveals, for the first time, just what that was like. People have been talking about Kate Ceberano since she was a teenager: Hugh Jackman described her as having 'truly one of the great voices this country has produced'; for Rolling Stone she is 'pure, soulful and powerful'. Now Kate is talking for herself. Accompanied by never before seen photos.

My Life, My Words, My Music

I'm Talking

Troy Cassar-Daley

A born storyteller, Troy Cassar-Daley has at last turned his talent to sharing his own inspiring life. ‘Troy’s achievements are many, and perhaps the finest may be his ability to make us listen to his heart.’ Joy McKean For the first time, Troy talks about his early life - how his parent’s divorce changed things for him, about missing his Dad and growing up in Grafton surrounded by the warmth and love of his mother, Irene, his Nan and Pop and his extended Indigenous family. A larrikin at heart, Troy includes all the highs and lows on his path to stardom: the thrill of performing on stage at the Tamworth Music Festival with Jimmy Little when he was just 15; the excitement of heading off on tour with Brian Young and then discovering just how lonely life on the road could be; his first record deal; playing with the greats – Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Slim Dusty; his first album Beyond the Dancing, which blended his indigenous heritage with his rural background; meeting the woman who would steal his heart; recording in Nashville; and, finally, releasing True Believer, the album that really launched his career. The multiple Golden Guitar, APRA, ARIA and Deadlys winner also lets us in on some of the life lessons he learned the hard way, lessons that kept this prodigiously talented Aussie on the straight and narrow (most of the time). Things I Carry Around, is the warm, genuine, and inspiring story of a young indigenous Australian who had a dream and turned that dream into reality. ‘Troy’s a true gentleman, warm and genuine, always a pleasure to be around. He sings straight from his heart and straight from the heart of his country.’ Paul Kelly

The bestselling memoir from the ARIA Award-winning country music star

Things I Carry Around

From one of Australia’s most acclaimed novelists—a “taut, suspenseful” psychological thriller about white lies, dark deeds, and the mysteries of self (Publishers Weekly). It was just a harmless lie—to say he was driving Danny Grogan’s car when it was caught speeding down the Sydney streets on New Year’s Eve—and Danny’s father, a billionaire real estate tycoon, has promised to make it worth his while. But only after former reporter Nick Carmody stands up in court to profess his guilt does he realize what he’s admitting to. And it’s too late. Nick’s “good deed” hurls him into a world of corruption, drugs, and murder. To save his life, he has no choice but to disappear and become someone else. But a new identity can be even more dangerous than the one left behind. As his new life in Melbourne veers out of control, Nick has to question whether chance alone is responsible, or whether more sinister forces are at work. A darkly comic page-turner, Seven Mile Beach is a haunting modern fable from the New York Times Notable author of The Sooterkin and The Adventures of Miles and Isabel. “Unusual, fast, light, short, suspenseful, meaningful, and filled with an immigrant’s pointed observations about identity and the possibility of changing it.” —Josh Bazell, The New York Times Book Review

Seven Mile Beach

A meticulously researched and revealing expose of the new players in organised crime.

Bikies, Terrorists and Middle Eastern Gangs

Blood Money

The long-awaited new novel by the author of The Sooterkinand Miles McGintyIt was just a little lie. But it has landed Nick Carmody in serious trouble. It didn't seem much - to say he was the one driving Danny Grogan's car when it was caught by a speed camera. And Danny's billionaire father has promised to make the lie worth his while. But Danny hasn't told him the full story, and when Nick Carmody stands up in court he doesn't quite know what it is he's admitting to. By the time he works it out, it is too late. Soon Nick's 'good deed' has hurled him into a nightmare of dirty secrets, corruption and increasing danger. It leaves him with no choice - he needs to disappear. Three years as a crime reporter taught him a lot about aliases, deception, and getting away with it. But Nick soon learns something else- the person you are pretending to be can be a lot more dangerous.

Dreamland

Colin Dillon

"Wherever there is power and money, there is always the risk of corruption. But everyone has a choice: to become involved or to take a stand against it." Colin Dillon is an extraordinary man. He was the first Indigenous policeman in Australia. But that is actually a very small part of his story. He was also the first serving police officer to voluntarily appear before the Fitzgerald Commission of Inquiry in 1987 and give first-hand evidence of police corruption. He did this at a time when the Fitzgerald Inquiry was beginning and struggling for traction. His evidence at the Inquiry was instrumental in eventually sending some police, including Police Commissioner Terry Lewis, and politicians to prison. Revealing, powerful and uncompromising, this is the story of Colin Dillon's nearly 40 years in a police force rotten to the core. It describes the extraordinary range of criminal activities - drugs, gaming, SP bookmaking, brothels, vehicle theft - that were allowed to operate with impunity in return for bribes. It also tells of the high price an honest man and his family paid for his decision to break the code of silence.

How One Honest Police Officer Took on Australia's Most Corrupt Police Force

Code of Silence

'Wherever there is power and money, there is always the risk of corruption. But everyone has a choice: to become involved or to take a stand against it.' Colin Dillon is an extraordinary man. He was the first Indigenous policeman in Australia. But that is actually a very small part of his story. He was also the first serving police officer to voluntarily appear before the Fitzgerald Commission of Inquiry in 1987 and give first-hand evidence of police corruption. He did this at a time when the Fitzgerald Inquiry was beginning and struggling for traction. His evidence at the Inquiry was instrumental in eventually sending some police, including Police Commissioner Terry Lewis, and politicians to prison. Revealing, powerful and uncompromising, this is the story of Colin Dillon's nearly 40 years in a police force rotten to the core. It describes the extraordinary range of criminal activities - drugs, gaming, SP bookmaking, brothels, vehicle theft - that were allowed to operate with impunity in return for bribes. It also tells of the high price an honest man and his family paid for his decision to break the code of silence.

How one honest police officer took on Australia's most corrupt police force

Born on the same day in 1856 under unusual circumstances, Miles and Isabel independently grow up, he on the stage, she despite her mother's efforts to marry her to a rich boor, and fall in love as Miles prepares to risk his life by testing his new flying machine. Reprint.

Terry Jones

The assassination of Donald Mackay was meant to solve a problem for the mafia. Instead it roused the law-abiding citizens of Griffith to fight against the powerful criminal elements who had made their town synonymous with drugs and murder. Drawing on the personal diaries and memories of Terry Jones - who, as the editor of the local newspaper, knew everyone and heard everything - The Griffith Wars reveals startling new evidence about one of Australia's most notorious unsolved murders. It also powerfully recounts the struggle for the soul of a country town still battling to shake off its criminal past.

The powerful true story of Donald Mackay's murder and the town that stood up to the Mafia

The Griffith Wars

At the height of the Cold War the chief of one of Australia's spy agencies joined three CIA men at a remote site in Central Australia to toast the success of a top secret project known in US intelligence circles as RAINFALL. The CIA listening station at Pine Gap was officially called the Joint Defence Space Research Facility, but it had nothing to do with research and was joint in name only: Australians were hired as cooks and janitors but the first spies were all American. The job of the satellites controlled from Pine Gap was to eavesdrop on Soviet missile tests. While government ministers denied that Australia was a nuclear target, bureaucrats in Canberra secretly planned for Armageddon in the suburbs of Alice Springs. No longer just a listening station, Pine Gap has metamorphosed into a key weapon in the Pentagon's war on terror, with Australians in frontline roles. Drawing on declassified documents in Australian and US archives, Tom Gilling's explosive new book tells, for the first time, the uncensored story of Australia's most secret place.

Tom Gilling

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