Stuart Kells

Red Earth is the remarkable history of the Mildura region - the northernmost part of Victoria. 'Mildura' is a Latje Latje word meaning 'red earth' or 'red banks', a reference to the intermittent stretches of red in the cliffs and banks of the Murray River near the junction with the Darling. Beginning with the region's deep history, author and historian Stuart Kells unfurls the fascinating layers of this story, much of which has never been told in book form. For the first time, Kells captures the richness of the pre-colonial history, the migrant experience, the region as a tourist destination and a canvas for arts and culture - and other unique developments that shaped the region and influenced Australia and the world. Irrigation is central to Mildura's story, and Kells presents a new perspective on the Chaffey Brothers' land scheme, and Alfred Deakin's role in it. Above all, the book captures the human stories that are the backbone of the region's history. Red Earth is a richly illustrated landmark book, ambitious in its scope, meticulous in its methods and full of heart and human drama.

What does successful public policy look like, and how has it been achieved in Australia? What strategies are needed to overcome petty partisanship and narrow self-interest? And who gets to decide what a 'better Australia' even looks like? In A Better Australia John Brumby, Scott Hamilton and Stuart Kells examine policy design, implementation and reform, and show what can be achieved when engagement is sincere and intent clear. Leading policymakers and political insiders - Julia Gillard, Malcolm Turnbull, Cheryl Kernot, John Hewson, Ken Wyatt, Christine Milne and more - dissect the development of successful policy in energy, gun control, natural resources taxation, disability insurance, marriage equality, gender equality in the workplace, superannuation, reproductive healthcare reform, Closing the Gap and the pandemic response.A Better Australia takes us behind the scenes of the hard-won policy battles, showing the wide-ranging effects of good policy.

In the 1980s and 90s, amid an explosion in international money flows, a handful of people saw a new financial future and staked claims in it, triggering a battle to control the world's money markets. With phenomenal profits at stake, the conflict would go all the way to the United States Supreme Court, in a case that involved not just the largest Wall Street banks but also the tech behemoths of Silicon Valley.The extraordinary story of Alice Corporation, a company created to reimagine financial markets, brings together an unlikely cast of characters: renowned author Kate Jennings, international banking insider Ian Shepherd, Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, German-born World War II historian Sigrid MacRae, J.P. Morgan deputy chair Roberto Mendoza - and his dog, Stanley.In the tradition of Michael Lewis's Flash Boys and The Big Short, Alice is a story of ground-breaking insights, legal intrigue and improbable friendships. Pinpointing the likely causes of the next financial crisis, Alice reveals the fight to build a safer, fairer financial future.

Australia's oldest university press is also one of our best known and most trusted publishers. Founded in 1921 as a bookshop for students at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne University Press was soon publishing important works that contained the best of national scholarship.Landmark MUP books and series include The Australian Dictionary of Biography, Manning Clark's History of Australia, The Encyclopaedia of New Guinea and the journal Meanjin. These and other MUP publications helped shape how Australians perceived themselves, and how they talked about literature, politics, race, the Pacific, the world wars and public policy.From its inception, MUP grappled with hard questions. How should a university press be governed? To what extent should such a press be concerned with political, polemical and radical works? And can a university press be financially self-sustaining if it focuses on books that commercial publishers overlook? The respective leaders of MUP answered these questions in ways that regularly led the press into controversy.Using a century of MUP publications and archives, Stuart Kells has written a rich and fascinating history of an invaluable Australian institution—one that is widely seen as public property, and whose ups and downs have always been news.

Inside Australia's most venerable book publishing house. Australia's oldest university press is also one of our best known and most trusted publishers. Founded in 1921 as a bookshop for students at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne University Press was soon publishing important works that contained the best of national scholarship. Landmark MUP books and series include The Australian Dictionary of Biography, Manning Clark's History of Australia, The Encyclopaedia of New Guinea and the journal Meanjin. These and other MUP publications helped shape how Australians perceived themselves, and how they talked about literature, politics, race, the Pacific, the world wars and public policy. From its inception, MUP grappled with hard questions. How should a university press be governed? To what extent should such a press be concerned with political, polemical and radical works? And can a university press be financially self-sustaining if it focuses on books that commercial publishers overlook? The respective leaders of MUP answered these questions in ways that regularly led the press into controversy. Using a century of MUP publications and archives, Stuart Kells has written a rich and fascinating history of an invaluable Australian institution-one that is widely seen as public property, and whose ups and downs have always been news.

The remote Kimberley region of Western Australia has a rich history and unique geography. In the 1960s De Beers, the world's largest diamond company, sent gem-hunters to the area but they came away empty-handed. It was a vast region to survey, and they'd overlooked something vital.A few years later, a team of Australian geologists with a tiny budget searched for even tinier mineral clues. Those clues led them to the earth's largest diamond deposit and the world's richest source of rare pink diamonds.Based on in-depth research and interviews-including with Alan King Jones, Bill Leslie and 'the father of Australian diamonds', Ewen Tyler-Argyle: The Impossible Story of Australian Diamonds details the almost overwhelming challenges with realising a diamond mining venture in Australia, shows how these obstacles were overcome, and explores the mine's impact and legacy.

Australia's modern history has long been full of mystery, legend and myth. But what if all the myths are true?The Hourglass Map is a captivating story of adventure, world-making and contested history.It is a story of unlikely friendships and remarkable journeys.And it is a story about the unique nature of stories and the transformative power of words. ∞∞∞∞∞∞In an alternative Australia, the Theory of Everything reigns supreme.The world's greatest minds have built the Consistency Engine - a marvellous, fractal machine - as the physical embodiment of the Theory. The Engine stores all knowledge and purges it of contradictions.Deviations from the official view of history are forbidden.But some people maintain the old beliefs: stories and superstitions that are whispered over cups of Earl Grey tea and slices of lemon-butter bread.Mary Page has always believed the old legends - the Inland Sea, the Mahogany Ship, Lasseter's Reef. She journeys to the centre of the continent to prove she is right, and the Theory is wrong. But the expedition is a disaster. Mary and her party disappear in the central desert.Mary's son, Will, vows to find out what happened to his mother. Pursued by officials and assassins, Will follows his mother's tracks to the heart of the continent. He finds a place where fantasy and reality meet, and where the truth depends on who controls the story.

What was behind the wall and the wire? The local people knew. Fine courtyards. An old swimming pool. Dilapidated tennis courts and a remnant garden, now wild and sprawling.The Abbotsford Convent was a haunted place, left to languish for years after the last of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd had gone. In its prime, it had been a school, a refuge, a retreat, a workhouse and a prison — the single largest charitable institution in the southern hemisphere.In the late 1990s, a proposed high-density development threatened the idyllic riverside location, sparking outrage in the local community and further afield. Years of protesting, negotiating and fundraising followed and the convent, now on Australia's National Heritage List, has started a new life as a vibrant centre for art and culture.The Convent: A City Finds its Heart tells the story of the site's rich history and the efforts to preserve it. It is an uplifting tale of community activism, a tangible reminder that the magic of the past can endure and what people can achieve.

"Messrs. Gow and Kells have made an invaluable contribution, writing in an amused tone that nevertheless acknowledges the firms' immense power and the seriousness of their neglect of traditional responsibilities. The Big Four will appeal to all those interested in the future of the profession--and of capitalism itself." --Jane Gleeson-White, Wall Street Journal With staffs that are collectively larger than the Russian army and combined revenues of over $130 billion a year, the Big Four accounting firms--Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and KPMG--are a keystone of global commerce. But leading scholar Ian Gow and award-winning author Stuart Kells warn that a house of cards may be about to fall. Stretching back to the Medicis in Renaissance Florence, this book is a fascinating story of wealth, power, and luck. The founders of the Big Four lived surprisingly colorful lives. Samuel Price, for example, married his own niece. Between the world wars, Nicholas Waterhouse collected postage stamps while also hosting decadent parties in his fashionable London home. All four firms have endured major calamities in recent decades. There have been hundreds of court cases and legal prosecutions for failed audits, tax scandals, and breaches of independence. The firms have come so close to "extinction level events" that regulators have required them to prepare "living wills." And today, the Big Four face an uncertain future--thanks to their push into China, their vulnerability to digital disruption and competition, and the hazards of providing traditional services in a new era of transparency. This account of the past, present, and likely future of the Big Four is essential reading for anyone perplexed or fascinated by professional services, working or considering working in the industry, or simply curious about the fate of the global economy.

A fascinating and authoritative portrait of the 'Big 4' accounting firms: Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, KPMG. Essential reading for anyone perplexed or fascinated by professional services, or working in the industry, or contemplating joining or engaging a professional services firm. The history of the 'Big 4' firms is one of triumphs and disasters, of pioneers and scoundrels. Today, the firms have an uncertain future - thanks to their push into China; their vulnerability to digital disruption and competition; and the hazards of providing traditional tax and audit services in a new era of transparency.

An intimate partnership of three brothers - Allen, Richard and John Lane - lay at the heart of Penguin Books, the twentieth century's greatest publishing house. In a spirit of daring and creative opposition, the brothers issued quality books on a massive scale and at minuscule prices - and achieved a revolution in publishing. The Lane boys did their best thinking together in bathroom board meetings, where at least one director would always be 'mother naked'. They innovated in countless ways - in the early years, a church crypt served as their office and warehouse. Penguin was an unconventional upstart, bringing literary giants such as Agatha Christie, George Bernard Shaw, Virginia Woolf and Graham Greene to vast new audiences, and it seemed unstoppable. Yet the 1942 death of John Lane brought the troika to a halt. Allen, the enthusiastic frontman who relied on his younger brothers to drive Penguin's success, became more erratic and suspicious over time. Ultimately, he would force Richard out of the company he had cofounded and built.A portrait of a remarkable family and a publishing powerhouse, Penguin and the Lane Brothers also explores the little known story of Richard Lane - the heart and backbone of Penguin, and its strongest influence. Richard's experiences as a youth in Australia shaped his character and outlook; his dedication to the business was matched only by his devotion to his brothers. Relying on unprecedented access to Lane family sources, including Richard's diaries, Penguin and the Lane Brothers sheds new light on the relationship of Allen, Richard and John, so crucial as a driver of Penguin's spirit and success. By turns hilarious and tragic, moving and insightful, this is a groundbreaking counter-history of an unlikely publishing triumph.