Doing Politics: Writing on Public Life

(Paperback)

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Since the 1980s Judith Brett has been helping to shape Australians conversations about politics, bringing a historians eye to contemporary issues and probing the psychology of our prime ministers. Her writings about Liberal Party leaders have been widely influential, especially her famous 1984 essay Robert Menzies Forgotten People and her prize-winning book of the same name, as well as her analysis of John Howards nationalism.

Brett has interrogated some our most complex issues: multiculturalism, the politics of rural Australia, the republic, mining and climate change, our electoral traditions, the way ordinary people do politics, the decline of universities. Always she writes as a citizen for her fellow citizens, in her distinctive voice: enquiring, accessible and wry.

Doing Politics brings together the finest essays by the author of The Enigmatic Mr Deakin, From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage and the Quarterly Essay The Coal Curse.

Reviews

Judith Brett brings historical depth to her wise insights into contemporary politics. * Laura Tingle *

Brett is a gifted interpreter of politics, past and present, and a sensitive reader of people, individually and en masse.

* Saturday Paper *

Bretts writing is capable of extraordinary clarity, insight and compassion.

* Monthly *

Bretts research is meticulous.

* Adelaide Review *
[Doing Politics explores] how we got into our current political moral morass. Brett is one of the most readable of our public intellectualsIn this timely collection Brett so clearlyand tragicallyencapsulates whats wrong with our politics and our universities today. * Books+Publishing *
'If youre newly enfranchised, or have an existing interest in politics and history, or still cant comprehend the exasperating events of this last decade, please read this vital work. * Readings *
What distinguishes Bretts collection of essays is their scholarly depth and habit of enquiry. They prompt thought before they invite agreementDoing Politics has a broad span, appropriate to its title[It] is the revelation of a lifetimes groundwork in understanding our history, the way we interact, what we value, and the particular structures Australia has built to buttress our democracy, our way of lifeBut more than that, what emergesis a personal account of intellectual and moral formation and growthAnd in case you think she is the earnest swot she confesses to having once been, read her final chapter on The Chook in the Australian Unconscious. Its a bobby-dazzler. * Morag Fraser, Australian Book Review *
Judith Brett, emeritus professor of politics at La Trobe University, public intellectual extraordinaire, well deserves to be salutedDoing Politics is a feastHistorical insight, breadth and intellectual rigour. * Linda Jaivin, Saturday Paper *
[An] outstanding collection of essaysJudith Brett brings [a] nuanced psychoanalytic lens to much of her work on history and public figures, exploring the deep sources of political energy that drive individuals. * Age *
A complex, realistic, and optimistic picture of the past, present, and future of our countrys politics...Doing Politics is essential reading for everyone who believes not only in a better future but a better present, and that we have the tools to build them now. It will leave readers nodding in agreement, infused with Bretts optimism about our countrys political future. * ArtsHub *
Doing Politics is a neat collectionthat could well have been half as long againof one of the most searching writers on the politics of the everyday and everyday politics, not merely here but anywhere. * Guy Rundle, Crikey *

Author Bio

Judith Brett is emeritus professor of politics at La Trobe University and a regular contributor to the Monthly magazine. Her books include Robert Menzies Forgotten People, The Enigmatic Mr Deakin (winner of the 2018 National Biography Award), From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage and four Quarterly Essays.