Sense and Nonsense in Australian History

'John Hirst is the gadfly of Australian history, stinging and provocative' - STUART MACINTRYE

'essential reading for those who want to ponder, let alone write and teach about, Australian history' - ROBERT MURRAY, The Weekend Australian

Sense and Nonsense in Australian History represents a lifetime's original reflection by Australia's most innovative and penetrating historian. Included here are classicessays on the pioneer legend, Australian egalitarianism and colonial culture. These are celebrated critiques ofThe Tyranny of Distance, multiculturalism andnationalistic history, as well as a substantial essay on Aboriginal dispossession and the history wars.

In Sense and Nonsense in Australian History, John Hirst overturns familiar conceptions and deepens our sense of Australia's development from convict society to distinctive democracy.