I’ve just finished reading a book. Steady on now folks, its not that much of a surprise as I have read a few in my time. Anyway, I would just like to use this little web site to urge you all to read it. The author is a chap called John Birmingham, author of such serious tomes as "He Died with a Felafel In His Hand" and "The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco". Both very fine books in their own right, but they pale into the background compared to his 1999 work, Leviathan. If you have ever been to Sydney, lived in Sydney, or even heard of Australia this book is something you should read. Just go out and get hold of a copy now. Trust me, you will thank me.
I could write you a review, but I would rather quote from the afterword,
"History is never bloodless. Someone always gets hurt. And I guess, in the end, I couldn’t draw my eyes away from that. Perhaps then, I should make it clear that I love Sydney. She took me in and made me her own when I was just a starving baby writer, living on friends’ brown couches and bludging meals off the Hare Krishnas to get by. I love it that she didn’t care, dirty trollop that she is. She just threw her arms around me and cried, ‘Here I am baby, come an’ get it!’ I love her beaches, her sunshine, her food and her art. I love her arrogance, her greed and promiscuity. I love her parties and the hangovers that inevitably follow. I love that she loves a good fight. That she knows she is better than anyone else. That you can do things her way or you can shove it."