Adventurers, Pioneers and Misfits: Australia's Most Amazing True Life Stories by Jim Haynes
From an eccentric musical genius to an escaped convict who ended up in Japan, Jim Haynes reveals some of Australia's most amazing, and sometimes unbelievable, true life stories.
The petty thief . . . who escaped Van Diemen's Land, twice, stole the government brig and set sail for Japan, where, by the Shogun's decree, all foreigners were to be executed.
The world's best cricketer . . . a champion of Aboriginal people who 'invented' Aussie Rules, survived the worst massacre of white settlers in Australia's history and killed himself with a pair of scissors.
The eccentric musical genius . . . who played in the greatest concert halls in the world but pushed his favourite piano stool between venues in a wheelbarrow.
Over the many years Jim Haynes has spent exploring and writing about the quirkier events and people in Australia's history, he has discovered characters who have amazed, surprised and simply baffled him. This is a book about some of those men and women and their remarkable, out-of-the-ordinary and almost unbelievable lives.
As he always does, Jim has discovered that there is more to the story than first meets the eye. Who knew that the first man hanged in Australia made an artefact now valued at over one million dollars? Or that an Australian swimmer was the highest-paid act on the American vaudeville circuit and the star of the first million-dollar movie ever made? And that the father of the first Australian woman to serve in parliament was hanged for murder?
With a light touch, a wry eye and his gifts as a master storyteller, Jim shares the tales and adventures of a group of heroic, feisty, flawed and pioneering characters who have shaped our nation and introduced Australia to the world.
About the Author
Jim Haynes has travelled far and wide to meet and interview the people whose stories make up his books. Before becoming a professional entertainer, song writer and verse writer in 1988, Jim taught writing, literature, history and drama in schools and universities from outback NSW to Britain and back again. His is one of the country's most prolific and successful authors of Australiana.
Paperback | 280 pages
153 x 234 x 22.86mm | 350g
01 Mar 2020
ALLEN & UNWIN
Sydney, Australia
English
176087762X
9781760877620
Condition: Good
A book that has been read but is in good condition. Very minimal damage to the cover including very minor scuff marks on the top-left corner of the back cover, and a minor, but obvious, crease to the bottom-right corner of the front cover, but no holes or tears. All pages are undamaged with no creasing or tearing, no pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text, no writing in margins. No missing pages. The book is in excellent condition between the covers.