This book is an oral history based on interviews with some of the legends of the game. Greg Mallory presents the stories of these greats the memories, the achievements, the disappointments, and the characters they met along the way in their own words, in a tribute that derives from Greg’s own love of the ‘the greatest game of all’. Such names as Crocker, Lovejoy, Gallagher, Metassa and Leis just to name a few of the people pertrayed in this book.

For more than 40 years, rugby league has embodied all the hopes and dreams, contradictions and tensions of life in the Sunshine State. The game speaks to Queenslanders' sense of being the underdog and the outsider &– a powerful undercurrent that sweeps through politics, business, the arts, and sport. The enduring appeal of State of Origin is that it allows Queensland to balance the scales, at least for 80 minutes.In Heartland, journalist Joe Gorman chronicles a tale of loss and rebirth &– from the decline of the Brisbane Rugby League competition and North Queensland's Foley Shield to the extraordinary rise of the Broncos and the Cowboys in the NRL. Weaving together stories of diehard supporters and game-changing players, from Arthur Beetson to Johnathan Thurston, this is a revealing account of Queensland's coming of age, both on and off the field.

Ray 'Rabbits' Warren is the legendary voice of Australian sports commentary. People tell him he must have drunk a bottle of scotch and smoked a packet of cigarettes every day to have the voice that he has. That's not the case – at least, not anymore . . . The son of a railway worker, Ray placed his first bet on a horse called Playboy at the age of just six, and won. A lifelong love of the track – and the punt – was born. During his remarkable broadcasting career, which has now spanned almost five decades, Ray has called three Melbourne Cups, Commonwealth and Olympic Games swimming, and countless rugby league matches alongside his mates Fatty, Sterlo and Gus. Here, for the first time, Ray reveals the man behind the microphone. He speaks of the great highs and devastating lows of his career and life in the same way he calls every sporting event: with great passion, colour and candour. Shortlisted, 2015 Australian Book Industry Awards ‘When it comes to rugby league commentary, there is little dispute that Ray Warren is the best in the business ... I know you’ll enjoy his story.’ —Alan Jones AO ‘It’s not the vision that sells this game. It’s not just the amazing feats of these mighty players. It’s the way Ray Warren calls the action. The sense of theatre he brings to the call. Ray makes the game better. He brings it to life in lounge rooms all over the country. Ray Warren is the voice of rugby league.’ —Phil Gould ‘I loved rugby league growing up in Sydney ... and you can’t talk rugby league without talking Ray Warren. They are synonymous.’ —Hugh Jackman ‘There are enough well-rehearsed yarns about the footy, boozing, betting, “colourful” identities, misadventures and bending rules in the workplace to keep a reader turning pages.’ —Weekend Australian Ray ‘Rabbits’ Warren is one of the most experienced sports broadcasters in Australia. Andrew Webster is the Chief Sports Writer for the Sydney Morning Herald.

This book focuses on the interface of technology and music, instrumental music and how music contributes to academic skills, social interaction and life skills. The book also looks at indigenous music making.

Frank Brennan has been a long time advocate for human rights and social justice in Australia. This collection of essays brings together some of his major addresses and writings on justice in the Catholic Church and in Australian society. Placing the individual's formed and informed conscience as the centre piece in any work for justice, he surveys recent developments in the Catholic Church including the handling of child sexual abuse claims and the uplifting effect of the papacy of Francis, the first Jesuit pope. He then applies Catholic social teaching and the jurisprudence of human rights to contested issues like the separation of powers and the right of religious freedom, and to the claims of diverse groups including Aborigines, asylum seekers, the dying, and same sex couples. At every step, he is there in the public square amplifying that still, small voice of conscience, especially the voice of those who are marginalised.

In sport, the term ‘good bloke’ doesn't mean what it says. Like ‘fun run’, it often actually means exactly the opposite. Titus O’Reily, the sports historian Australia neither needs nor deserves, examines why our nation’s sportspeople are so readily forgiven for doing terrible things. With ridiculous tales from Australia’s chequered sporting history, A Sporting Chance dissects the scandals big and small, the mistakes made in covering them up and the path athletes tread back to redemption. From the Essendon supplements saga and the sandpaper-loving Australian cricket team to whatever it is Nick Kyrgios has done now, Titus reveals the archetypes at the heart of our greatest sporting scandals. There’s the corrupt cop who gave us the race that stopped a nation and the boxing champion who refused to train. There’s the cashed-up businessmen who bankrupted clubs and the commentators who can’t get their foot out of their mouth. And of course there’s the good blokes, like Wayne Carey, Matthew Johns and Shane Warne, who it seems we’ll forgive for absolutely anything. In his rambling and at times incoherent style, Titus asks the question: are Australians really that forgiving of their sporting heroes? With the rise of social media, women’s sport and the drive towards greater equality, are the good blokes of Australia’s sporting landscape an endangered species?

No Marketing Blurb

No Marketing Blurb

William McInnes, one of Australia's best-loved entertainers and authors, takes a look at the Aussie obsession with sports and pop culture. A chance encounter in an auction house is the jumping-off point for William's inimitable take on our sport-obsessed nation, Australian popular culture and the artefacts and memorabilia that both make us cringe with recognition and laugh with warm affection. His trademark humour and anecdotes litter this collection, making it a true delight. These are truly Aussie stories: about us, and about the things - and the people - in our lives. **Includes BONUS CHAPTERS of two William McInnes classics: A Man's Got to Have a Hobby and Holidays and an extract from his latest hilarious and heartwarming memoir, Fatherhood** PRAISE FOR WILLIAM McINNES' WRITING 'warm, nostalgic, funny and undeniably Australian' SYDNEY MORNING HERALD 'a natural storyteller' SUN-HERALD 'If there is a quintessence of Australianness at its best, William McInnes has distilled it.' THE AGE

The power and the passion The 1980s saw rugby league transform from brutal battlefield to entertainment spectacle. It changed almost beyond recognition. Rugby League in the 1980s was a time of unforgettable moments, major controversies and big personalities. Major on-field rules changes clamped down on violence and unleashed the spectacle. Meantime, progressive officials, in tune with social changes, re-shaped the game off-field too creating a series of pop culture moments. Rugby League in the 1980s: the Power and the Passion captures the characters that made the 1980s so great as well the great games, the premiership deciders and internationals. An absolute must for any rugby league fan of the era.