Christmas Books: Gavin Atkins

If you haven’t read Keith Windschuttle’s The Fabrication of Aboriginal History: Volume Three: The Stolen Generations then you don’t understand Australian history or, more importantly, the grotesque warping of our current discourse. It’s been fascinating to see the non-reaction of the Left, who seem to have collectively decided (do they decide anything any other way?) that ignoring the book will make it go away.

Thanks to Volume Three, the comment section of a recent article at the ABC’s The Drum about compensating the stolen generations revealed that many commentators were better informed than the writer of the article – an extraordinary reaction at what is essentially a left-wing website. I can’t think of a more important Australian book.

Bill Bryson can write compellingly about anything, and he does so in At Home: A Short History of Private Life. Bryson reminds us that so much collective wisdom at any given time is bunk. By the time you finish this book, you will feel like a smarter person.

For pure entertainment, I recommend Sydney comedian, Anh Do’s autobiography, The Happiest Refugee. It’s not a political book, but is a reminder of a time when we chose the most deserving people to come to Australia. 

Gavin Atkins blogs at asiancorrespondent.com