Australian Public Intellectual [API] Network

Network Scholars

Bad Blood: The Contamination of Australia's Blood Supply and the Emergence of Gay Activism in the Age of AIDS

Paul Sendziuk
In May 1983, gay activists picketed Red Cross House in Sydney. They were protesting against a public call by Dr Gordon Archer, director of the Sydney Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS), for ‘promiscuous homosexuals’ to desist from donating blood. The protestors were understandably incensed at the way that Archer’s call, the first of its kind in Australia, stigmatised gay men by directly linking their community with AIDS (and promiscuity), and by implying that all gays had ‘bad blood’.1 Their actions in picketing the Red Cross, however, led to claims in the ...
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Network Review of Books

Breakfastinfur (2002)

Reviewed by Strephyn Mappin in the Aug/Sep 2003 issue.
One of the wonderful things about breakfastinfur, the second volume of Herrmann's White Trash Trilogy, is that it inspires you to read the first, bigjesustrashcan. Though completely satisfying by itself, the book's collection of crazed characters, its breakneck pace and astonishing lack of any form of conventional morality leave you breathless and curious for more. Set in the fictional City -- which bears more than a passing resemblance to Brisbane -- during the time of the first Gulf War, it launches itself with the same velocity as its central character, Mark Throdeus, who just happens to ... read more.

Her Sister's Eye (2002)

Reviewed by Christine Choo in the June 2004 issue.
The daughters of Mertyl Salte, Murilla and Sofie, live in Mundra, a parched country town on a river somewhere or anywhere in Australia in the present. Then, one hot summer day, Archie Corella arrives. A dark heaviness about the town signals that it hides more than it reveals, even in the stark light. Mystery surrounds Caroline Drysdale and the Drysdale men -- why has Caroline not left her big house on the hill? What is behind Murilla's loyalty to Caroline and Caroline's to her? What does Sofie know? Why has Archie come to town? Does he himself know? What do the Red Rose women do? What do ... read more.

Bearded Ladies/Dreamhouse (2002)

Reviewed by Maggie Tonkin in the May 2003 issue.
This composite edition of two of Kate Grenville's early works has been released in the wake of the success of her 1999 Orange Prize winner, The Idea of Perfection. Dreamhouse was written before her first published work, the 1985 Vogel/Australian Award winner Lilian's Story, but not published until 1986. Bearded Ladies was originally published in 1984, and comprises short stories mostly written for her MA in Creative Writing at the University of Colorado. The novel and the short stories are connected through the story 'Country Pleasures' which contains the kernel of the later novel. Both ... read more.

Australia and Israel: An ambiguous relationship (2002)

Reviewed by Philip Mendes in the July 2002 issue.
Chanan Reich is an Israeli political scientist who has spent much of the past twenty years in Australia. His earlier PhD thesis, for example, analysed the role of the Jewish and Greek communities as pressure groups in the Australian political system. Reich's latest work explores the historical relationship between Australia, Australian Jews, and the State of Israel from 1915-1967. This was a period during which relations were largely assymetrical in that Jews in Palestine and subsequently the State of Israel consistently sought the political support of Australia, whilst Australia neither ... read more.

The Tears of Strangers: A Memoir (2002)

Reviewed by Tony Smith in the August 2002 issue.
While many memoirs by prominent people tend to be subjective attempts to give retrospective justification to the shortcomings of their authors, Stan Grant's testimony is honest and objective. His explanation of the personal dilemma facing an Aboriginal man successful in white society is perceptive, powerful and disturbing. Grant owes his high public profile to a career as a reporter on television current affairs programs, but his writing avoids the cynicism that characterises such programs. The Tears of Strangers is no 'grip and grin' celebration of the famous folk Grant interviewed, nor a ... read more.

King of the Australian Coast: The Work of Phillip Parker King in the Mermaid and Bathurst 1817-1822 (2002)

Reviewed by Peter Stanley in the August 2004 issue.
Marsden Hordern's complementary works on two British naval surveyors of the Australian coast have been reprinted after gaining a state history prize apiece. They describe the work of Phillip Parker King and John Lort Stokes who, twenty years apart, led a succession of naval missions to explore and chart the coasts of northern Australia. Hordern's books deserve both the accolade and the fresh circulation following the new editions. The prizes suggest that the popular taste inclines more to what might be regarded as old-fashioned narrative history rather than the clever but esoteric expressions ... read more.

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