Author(s): Inga Clendinnen; James Boyce (ed.)

History | Modern Thought | Biography & Memoir | Tim's picks

Inga Clendinnen was one of Australia's greatest writers and thinkers. This selection covers the full scope of her writing, from Tiger's Eye to Aztecs, from Boyer Lectures to essays on all manner of topics.

The rich array is introduced by acclaimed historian James Boyce, who traces Clendinnen's life and evolving thought. Boyce writes that Clendinnen's 'ability to write serious history for a general readership was unrivalled in this country ... Her writings are an enduring testament to the truth that while we might "live within the narrow moving band of time we call the present ... the secret engine of our present is our past, with its plastic memories, its malleable moralities, its wreathing dreams of desirable futures".'

FULLERS REVIEW — TIM

This is an excellent selection of writings from the woman who was one of Australia’s leading intellectual lights. I knew, and admired, some of Clendinnen’s writing on Australian history, but what James Boyce has managed to do with this volume is present the many facets of her remarkable body of writing: Australian history, yes, but also eye-opening pieces on the Aztecs, and the Holocaust, along with essays and articles on all sorts of topics from illness to contemporary affairs. What animates everything is her keen intelligence and incredible moral imagination: above all else, Clendinnen wanted to understand what the world is (or was) like for other people.