Chris Wallace
Political Lives
“Politicians’ log cabin stories have become such an important part of politics. But it has not always been so. Chris Wallace traces the intriguing role biography has played in framing our views of our leaders past and present, and examines how it has become such a potent force in the political contest.”
UNSW Press, 2023
Political Lives is an intimate history of image-making and image-breaking in national politics.
What was the story behind Bob Hawke’s famed biography? Why does Paul Keating think biographies of serving politicians are ‘like Polaroids of a busy life’ while John Howard considers them a big mistake? Where is the ‘missing’ Menzies biography? Why are our early prime ministers largely absent from historical memory? Chris Wallace writes Australian political history anew through this account of prime ministers, their biographies and their biographers. Lively and astute, the book takes us into their motivations and relationships, some well-known and some hidden, and in doing so shows us Australian politics in a fresh light.
About the Author
Political historian Dr Chris Wallace is a professor at the Faculty of Business Government and Law, University of Canberra. Wallace was formerly a longstanding member of the Canberra Press Gallery, and her political analysis and commentary currently appears in Nikkei Asia, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Saturday Paper and The Conversation.
