Five kids orphaned by a terrible accident . . . A struggling family living in the most isolated spot on earth . . . A single dad battling to cope in a house falling down around his ears . . . A desperately ill woman in the middle of nowhere . . . In the great Outback traditions of mateship, resilience and generosity come these stories of ordinary people who, against seemingly insurmountable odds, help out those who inhabit Australia's vast untamed frontiers. No task is too great and no sacrifice too much for these modern-day heroes. Cheryl flies sick patients from rural areas to emergency medical treatment in cities; Sue is often the only one between life and death for her patients in the Kimberley; Ricky trades city comforts to connect with kids through sport in the dust of the desert and Eileen overcomes great challenges to protect remote land for generations to come. These are some of the men and women who embody the spirit of the Outback. Inspiring, stirring and touching by turn, these people draw on enormous personal reserves to maintain the values of the Outback for the future of all Australians. 'A taste of the great things happening in the outback. Williams has found some real gems.' Weekly Times

Five kids orphaned by a terrible accident ... a struggling family living in the most isolated spot on earth ... a single dad battling to cope in a house falling down around his ears ... a desperately ill woman in the middle of nowhere ...... In the great Outback traditions of mateship, resilience and generosity come these stories of ordinary people who, against seemingly insurmountable odds, help out those who inhabit Australia's vast untamed frontiers. No task is too great and no sacrifice too much for these everyday heroes. Cheryl flies sick patients from rural areas to emergency medical treatment in cities; Sue is often the only one between life and death for her patients in the Kimberley; Ricky trades city comforts to connect with kids through sport in remote communities while Eileen overcomes great challenges to protect remote land for generations to come - these are some of the characters who embody the spirit of the Outback. Inspiring, stirring and touching by turn, these people draw on enormous personal reserves to preserve Outback values for the future of all Australians. 'A wonderful inspiration... moving and heart-warming' Quentin Bryce, Australian Governor-General

An Australian travel classic. Reminiscent of Bruce Chatwin's The Songlines, Wings of the Kite-Hawk will seduce and enthral; it will force you out of the comfortable chair and into the wilds of the bush. This is a set of linked journeys into the Australian landscape: its past and its present, its people and its half-remembered secrets. In each chapter, Nicolas Rothwell takes a precursor and follows him. His guides include famous explorers from the past, Leichhardt, Sturt, Strehlow and Giles -- as well as artists, anthropologists, rodeo riders and even Hell's Angels.Vivid characters weave in and out of the story, inspiring journeys through different states of heart and mind: love, loss, friendship, fear.

Ben Brooksby is a fifth-generation farmer from St Helens Plains in western Victoria. When he was younger, he struggled with anxiety and other mental health issues, as do so many others in rural communities. A simple social media post helped him to turn things around. After he shared a photo on Instagram showing himself naked in a truck full of lentils, he received a huge response, with other farmers wanting to share their own photos - and their stories. As the Naked Farmer movement grew, Ben met people from all around the country who wanted to get naked for mental health. As they got their kits off, they also opened up about their struggles. This is a heartwarming, moving and candid collection of stories of the challenges our farmers are facing, and the way these communities are banding together in response. Proudly supporting the Royal Flying Doctors Mental Health Service

In the tradition of The Ice Master and Endurance, here is the incredible story of the first truly modern explorer, whose death-defying adventures and uncommon modesty make this book itself an extraordinary discovery. Hubert Wilkins was the most successful explorer in history--no one saw with his own eyes more undiscovered land and sea. Largely self-taught, Wilkins became a celebrated newsreel cameraman in the early 1900s, as well as a reporter, pilot, spy, war hero, scientist, and adventurer, capturing in his lens war and famine, cheating death repeatedly, meeting world leaders like Lenin and Stalin, and circling the globe on a zeppelin. Apprenticing with the greats of polar exploration, including Shackleton in the Antarctic, Wilkins recognized the importance of new technologies such as the airplane and submarine. He helped map the Canadian Arctic and plumbed the ocean depths from the icecap. A pioneer in the truest sense of the word, he became the first man to fly across the North Pole, which won him a knighthood; the first to fly to the Antarctic and discover land there by airpla≠ and the first to take a submarine under the Arctic ice. Grasping the link between the poles and changing global weather, Wilkins was a visionary in weather forecasting and the study of global warming. A true hero of the earth, he changed the way we look at our world.

The story of Mary Poppins, the quintessentially English and utterly magical children's nanny, is remarkable enough. She flew into the lives of the unsuspecting Banks family in a children's book that was instantly hailed as a classic, then became a household name when Julie Andrews stepped into the starring role in Walt Disney's hugely successful and equally classic film. Now she is a sensation all over again-both on Broadway and in Disney's upcoming film Saving Mr. Banks. Saving Mr. Banksretells many of the stories in Valerie Lawson's biography Mary Poppins, She Wrote, including P. L. Travers's move from London to Hollywood and her struggles with Walt Disney as he adapted her novel for the big screen. Travers, whom Disney accused of vanity for "thinking she knows more about Mary Poppins than I do," was a poet and world-renowned author as tart and opinionated as Andrews's big-screen Mary Poppins was cheery and porcelain-beautiful. Yet it was a love of mysticism and magic that shaped Travers's life as well as the very character of Mary Poppins. The clipped, strict, and ultimately mysterious nanny who emerged from her pen was the creation of someone who remained inscrutable and enigmatic to the end of her ninety-six years. Valerie Lawson's illuminating biography provides the first full look at the life of the woman and writer whose personal journey is as intriguing as her beloved characters.

Vocal expression is a part of nearly everyone's workday, yet most of us are unaware of how much influence our voice exerts over our effectiveness. McAfee's work shows how we can deliberately marshal the power of our voices to support our intentions, aspirations, and relationships.

What does it take to be a survivor ...? Nick has always been an outsider. Half Aboriginal, half Irish, he escaped from an impoverished fishing town in Western Australia. Now he's running from a drug deal gone wrong, living like a ghost in the Canary Islands and his only friends are the wind and waves. Windsurfing is his obsession, his escape from self-loathing. But when his rig falls apart, like his life, he finds himself drifting alone in the Atlantic. As the sun rises on his last day alive, a yacht appears and offers him a lifeline. But there's a price to pay ... The owner, an enigmatic figure known to his crew as the Master, is the leader of a shadowy cult. He offers Nick a way out of his stalled life--a series of missions: to the haunted Haitian rain-forest, the remote Australian outback, and the wild west coast of Ireland. The puppet master pulls the strings--Nick's quest is to discover why. TOO CLOSE TO THE WIND is an incredible story of survival, an epic travel adventure, a dark journey into the unknown, and a celebration of wind, surf, and the human spirit.

Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.