The March Of Patriots: The Struggle For Modern Australia

(Paperback)

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The March of Patriots is the inside story of how Paul Keating and John Howard changed Australia. It sees Keating and Howard as conviction politicians, tribal warriors and national interest patriots. Divided by belief, temperament and party, they were united by generation, city and the challenge to make Australia into a successful nation for the globalised age. This book is about the making of policy and the uses of power. It captures the authentic nature of Australian politics as distinct from the polemics advanced by both sides. Its focus is how Keating and Howard as Prime Ministers altered the nation's direction, redefined their parties and struggled over Australia's new economic, social, cultural and foreign policy agendas. A sequel to Paul Kelly's The End of Certainty, it is based on more than 100 interviews with the two key players, politicians, advisers and public servants. It relies heavily on 'on the record' disclosures and new documents from the period. Its theme is that Keating and Howard, as rivals and unrecognised collaborators, are best seen together, and that their legacy is impressive, contradictory and incomplete.

Reviews

"The March of Patriots is brilliant--ambitious in scope and forensic in detail. In a tale of two governments and two remarkable leaders, Paul Keating and John Howard, Paul Kelly gets the key participants on the record about events that defined our nation. It is a fine work of analysis and storytelling." --Laurie Oakes, Channel Nine News
"[Kelly] has woven this material into an excellent book which is surgical in the analysis of the tumultuous politics of the period. He combines a fascinating narrative and an analysis of contemporary politics." --Dean Jaensch, Adelaide Advertiser
"This is one of the most revealing books so far written on contemporary history in Australia." --Geoffrey Blainey, Weekend Australian
"This project is marked by the sheer scale of its research, the sustained momentum of the narrative, the clarity of the analysis, and the confident authority of the insider." --Paul Sheehan, Sydney Morning Herald

Author Bio

Paul Kelly is the author of six books: The Unmaking of Gough, The Hawke Ascendancy, The End of Certainty, November 1975, Paradise Divided and 100 Years: The Australian Story.