Every year Grattan Institute releases a summer reading list for the Prime Minister. It recommends books and articles that the Prime Minister, or any Australian interested in public debate, will find both stimulating and cracking good reads. We are pleased to announce this year’s list:
Warrior: A legendary leader’s dramatic life and violent death on the colonial frontier – Libby Connors
Coming of Age: Growing up Muslim in Australia – Amra Pajalic and Demet Divaroren (editors)
Creating Cities – Marcus Westbury
Other People’s Money: Masters of the universe or servants of the people? – John Kay
Rising Inequality: A benign outgrowth of markets or a symptom of cancerous political favours? – Paul Frijters and Gigi Foster
Love Poems and Death Threats – Samuel Wagan Watson
The books on this year’s list tackle a range of themes vital to contemporary Australian life and society, from the future of our cities and the integration of cultures and faiths, to love and money. Stories about growing up Muslim in Australia, and early white settlers’ attempts to coexist with Indigenous Australians are powerful reminders of our shared humanity and of the lessons of history. The list includes original thinking about our cities and why they thrive or wither, and two compelling tales about money: one about the financiers who trade in its mysteries, the other about how Australia’s super-rich made so much of it. There is also a new collection of incandescent and joy-filled poems from a remarkable Australian voice.
Watch a recording of the launch event to hear how we chose the books on the list, and what messages the government might take away from them. ABC Presenter Virginia Trioli joined Grattan Institute CEO John Daley in Melbourne to discuss how these titles illuminate some of Australia’s most important debates.