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Leviathan, by John Birmingham.  http://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-The-unauthorised-biography-Sydney/dp/0091842034 Yeah, really that John Birmingham, the Aussie who wrote He Died With A Felafel In His Hand and those terribly overblown "World War 2.1" alternate history novels (which are awesome in their own way). Leviathan is billed as "The unauthorised biography of Sydney", and covers Sydney's less savoury history from the time of the first convict settlers to modern aboriginal and trade union issues. Birmingham doesn't gently caress about, he describes in detail a lot of stuff that you'll never, ever hear about in high school history. It might not be that interesting if you're not an Aussie, but it's a real eye opener when you compare it to the history you're taught in schools here. Just as an example, most schoolkids know that early in our history, we had a Governor Bligh in charge of Sydney. What kids generally aren't taught, but is detailed in Leviathan, is that it was the same Bligh who was captain of the HMS Bounty during the famous "mutiny on the Bounty", and that he was also mutinied against by the colonial military in Sydney, who trained artillery on Government house and marched him away at bayonet point. There's a very detailed account of that earlyish in the book, including the inconsistent stories from various sources. Birmingham keeps on going in that general tone, and it's really well written, although a bit upsetting in places, especially when he starts talking about 20th century urban poor and aboriginal youth.
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Apr 14, 2012 16:56
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