Paddy Manning

A book about power, apprenticeship, and succession in the first family of mediaAn heir apparent to the first global media dynasty, Lachlan Murdoch has been waiting to run his father Rupert's empire all his life. In this riveting first biography of a little-understood but hugely influential figure, acclaimed journalist Paddy Manning asks: can the dutiful son hang onto the empire, or will the third generation of Murdoch moguls prove the last?Despite a life in the spotlight, Lachlan's personality, politics, and business acumen remain enigmatic. Is he the ultra-conservative ideologue media reports maintain, or a free-thinking libertarian, as some friends suggest?After emerging victorious from the Murdoch family's turbulent succession wars, Lachlan is stepping up at a time of unprecedented instability. What can we expect from his time at the helm, and does he have what it takes to chart a future for this century-old company? This is a book about the good, the bad, and the ugly of the global media world, and about America in the age of Trump and Murdoch. It is a book about power, apprenticeship, and succession.

Born to Rule is the unauthorised biography that unravels the many layers of the man who has just become the 29th Prime Minister of Australia.The highs and lows of Malcolm Turnbull's remarkable career are documented here in technicolour detail by journalist Paddy Manning. Based on countless interviews and painstaking research, it is a forensic investigation into one of Australia's most celebrated overachievers.Turnbull's relentless energy and quest for achievement have taken him from exclusive Point Piper to Oxford University; from beating the Thatcher government in the Spycatcher trial to losing the referendum on the republic; from defending the late Kerry Packer—codenamed Goanna—in the Costigan Royal Commission to defending his own role in the failure of HIH, Australia's biggest corporate collapse. He was involved in the unravelling of the Tourang bid for Fairfax, struck it rich as co-founder of OzEmail, and fought his own hotly contested battle for Wentworth.As opposition leader he was duped by Godwin Grech's 'Utegate' fiasco; as the most tech-savvy communications minister he oversaw a nobbled NBN scheme. And now he has assumed the leadership of the Liberal Party for the second time after wresting the prime ministership from first-term PM Tony Abbott.Will Turnbull crash and burn as he has before or has his entire tumultuous life been a rehearsal for this moment?

Turnbull's privileged existence, helped by marrying into one of Sydney's most storied families, obscures a tough childhood and precocious talent. Left or right? The future PM? Turnbull has been subject of many profiles, but the full story of his life has never been told. In an unauthorised biography, Paddy Manning reveals the true character of one of Australia's most celebrated overachievers.

From blue collar to billionaire ...Hunter Valley mine electrician Nathan Tinkler borrowed big in 2005, invested in coal and by 2011 was a billionaire. He had gambled on a rising market and won. He lived the high life as only a young man would, buying luxury homes, private jets, racehorses, sports cars and football teams, but his volatility and reluctance to pay his debts were making him enemies. When coal prices slumped in 2012, Tinkler had no cash flow to service his massive borrowings and no allies to help him recover. Within months he was trying desperately to stave off his creditors, large and small, and fighting to save his businesses and his fortune. In this impressive biography, freshly updated, leading business writer Paddy Manning tells the story of Tinkler's meteoric rise to wealth, and captures the drama of his equally rapid downfall. 'Boganaire is much more than a book for readers of business literature. It provides an insight into a bigger and more important subject than Nathan Tinkler- it shows how the easy prosperity from resource riches might be changing our culture and values for the worse.' Paul Cleary, The Australian

Australia's new $50 billion industry--coal seam gas--carries unprecedented environmental risks, but it could be the path to energy salvation by being cleaner than coal, safer than nuclear energy, and a complement to renewables. While big oil and gas companies believe Australia could be the biggest liquid natural gas exporter in the world, farmers and environmentalists are united in their opposition to coal seam gas extraction from the nation's most fertile agricultural lands. Does interfering with thousands of coal seam gas wells poison food resources? Does coal seam gas really aid in tackling climate change? Where will they drill next? Visiting drill sites, boardrooms, pipelines, parliamentary offices, and farm gate protests, this book demonstrates how coal seam gas extraction may be one boom that is happening too fast.