'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Sunday 30 June 2013

KBR Recommends: New Non-Fiction, June 2013

Australians All by Nadia Wheatley and Ken Searle, Allen & Unwin, $49.99, 9781741146370

Australians All encompasses the history of our continent from the Ice Age to the Apology, from the arrival of the First Fleet to the Mabo Judgement.
Brief account of the lives of real young Australians opens up this chronological narrative. Some of the subjects of the eighty mini-biographies have become nationally or even internationally famous. Others were legends in their own families and communities.

Meticulously researched, beautifully written and highly readable, Australians All helps us understand who we are, and how we belong to the land we all share. It also shows us who we might be.

Yoko's Diary, edited by Paul Jam, Harper Collins, $12.99, 9781743096314

1945 was a hard time to be a child in Japan. Many had seen their cities destroyed by US bombers. Food, fuel and materials were in short supply. Yet spirits remained high. In April 1945, Yoko Moriwaki started high school in Hiroshima, excited to be a prestigious ′Kenjo′ girl, and full of duty towards her parents, school and country. But the country was falling apart and in four months time her city would become the target for the first atomic bomb ever used as a weapon.

In her diary, Yoko provides an account of that time - when conditions were so poor that children as young as twelve were required to work in industry; when fierce battles raged in the Pacific and children like Yoko believed victory was near. With additions by Yoko′s relatives and fellow students, and an introduction by award-winning author Paul Ham, Yoko′s Diary not only shows us the hopes, beliefs and daily life of a young girl in wartime Japan, it is a touching account of the consequences of the first nuclear bombing of a city.

Car-Sized Crabs and Other Animal Giants by Anna Claybourne, Bloomsbury, $24.99, 978140818183

From gangly giraffes to terrifying tarantulas, meet all the biggest beasts the animal kingdom has to offer. Did you know a crab can grow to the size of a car? Or that an angry elephant can charge at a mighty speed of 40 km per hour?

Packed with amazing facts and covering everything from mammoth mammals and big birds to creepy crawly giants, this essential guide brings the wonderful world of the animal kingdom to life. Features include essential stats and animal scales on every spread.