Description
Famous Australian Collection – Set of 4 Hardcover books
The Rise and Fall of Alan Bond by Paul Barry
When Alan Bond won the America’s Cup in 1983, Australia celebrated and welcomed him as a hero. Now, seven years later, the nation’s most famous entrepreneur has become almost a villain. His empire is in ruins, he owes billions of dollars to the banks, and a special investigation has started into his business dealings.
THE RISE AND FALL OF ALAN BOND is the story of how we made this man a hero and why he fell from grace.
It is also the story of an era– when Greed was Good; when banks blindly lent billions of dollars to Australia’s high-flying entrepreneurs to build their paper empires.
Smiling, loud-mouthed, uncomplicated, almost always cheerful, Alan Bond was a rags-to-riches success, a role model for young Australians. The poor immigrant-turned-signwriter who became a multi-millionaire was living proof that, for those who worked hard and believed in themselves, Australia was the land of opportunity.
But there was another Alan Bond– the one who didn’t care a damn for the rules, the one who manufactured profits, the one who paid himself massive fees for services of doubtful value.
Award-winning ABC-TV FOUR CORNERS reporter Paul Barry made headlines in 1989 with his dramatic revelations about Bond Corporation’s business deals and its Cook Islands tax schemes. Now he traces Alan Bond’s scramble to the top of the pile, how he plundered his public companies and how the banks and corporate regulators let him do it.
But the THE RISE AND FALL OF ALAN BOND is not just about a business empire; it is about the man and what drives him on. It is about a boy who longed to see his name in lights, who was desperate to be accepted by establishment, who wanted to be Sir Alan.
The rise and rise of Kerry Packer by Paul Barry
Paul Barry’s THE RISE AND RISE OF KERRY PACKER is a classic piece of Australian non-fiction publishing. Originally released in 1993 when Packer was still alive, it has sold well over a quarter of a million copies and is widely seen as the definitive book on a man who throughout his remarkable life mystified, inspired and challenged those around him. Since Kerry Packer’s death Barry has unearthed a substantial amount of new testimony from those now prepared to come forward. This new edition of the book – THE RISE AND RISE OF KERRY PACKER UNCUT brings the true Packer story to Australia in a way that was never possible for the first edition. This is the real deal about Kerry Packer- unvarnished, uncut, more astonishing than you ever could have imagined.
Twiggy: The High-Stakes Life of Andrew Forrest by Burrell Andrew
Paperback. Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest is the public face of Australia’s once-in-a-lifetime mining boom. A swashbuckling entrepreneur in the finest West Australian tradition, Twiggy took on mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto at their own game – and won.Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest is the public face of Australia’s once-in-a-lifetime mining boom. A swashbuckling entrepreneur in the finest West Australian tradition, Twiggy took on mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto at their own game – and won. Yet he has also been embroiled in two of the most heated debates in recent Australian history- over the treatment of Aboriginal people and the mining super-profits tax. In this unauthorised biography, Andrew Burrell traces Twiggy’s business triumphs and disasters to reveal the complicated man behind the myth. Why do his mining ventures attract so much controversy? And what do his philanthropic schemes tell us about him and his plans for the future?It takes extraordinary force of will, combined with boundless energy and cunning, to create enterprises on such a mammoth scale. With the value of iron ore now integral to the health of the federal budget, Twiggy’s business affects all Australians. This entertaining book gives a unique insight into one of the most powerful men in Australia today.’A riveting investigation of one of our richest businessmen, biggest philanthropists and greatest fast-talkers.’ Laura Tingle’Burrell’s Forrest is the epitome, some would say a caricature, of the Australian self-styled capitalist risk-taker, utterly convinced that ‘what’s good for Twiggy is good for the country!’ But what if it’s not? He didn’t cooperate with the author, but Twiggy should read Twiggy. He might learn something about his methods, about his unapologetically mercenary manner and motivation, indeed about himself – the good, the bad and the ugly. Not just a terrific read, but an important life to have on the national record.’ George Negus Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest is the public face of Australia’s once-in-a-life time mining boom. A swashbuckling entrepreneur in the finest West Australian tradition, Twiggy took on mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto at their own game — and won. Andrew Burrell reveals the complicated man behind the Twiggy myth.
Kerry Stokes: The Boy from Nowhere by Andrew Rule
The compelling and inspirational story of the rags to riches life of Kerry Stokes, a remarkable Australian.
Kerry Stokes is a remarkable Australian. Not because he is one of Australia’s wealthiest and most powerful people, but because of what he overcame to get there and because he has endured when others didn’t. His success and his rise have intrigued the business world for decades but there is so much more to him than multi-million dollar deals or mergers.
Behind the laconic front is a human story as tough and touching as a Dickens tale: Oliver twist with great self-expectations. It is the story of a poor boy who stared down poverty, ignorance and the stigma of his illegitimate birth to achieve great wealth and fulfilment. He’s a backstreets battler who has become a power player. It’s a compelling and inspiring story that, until now, he has not told. Now he oversees a multi-billion dollar media, machinery and property empire. He is renowned for his art collection and for philanthropy, spending millions of dollars to buy – among other things – Victoria Crosses from soldiers’ families to donate to the Australian War Memorial.
But he’s a private man. A man apart. He made his name in the West but kept his distance from the buccaneering band of entrepreneurs who forged fabulous fortunes in Perth from the 1960s until the 1987 crash. Bond went to jail, Holmes a Court died; Connell did both. Lesser lights flickered and faded but Stokes grew stronger, becoming a player alongside Murdoch, Packer and Lowy. His story fascinates all the more because he has spent most of his life guarding it. But now he’s telling it, to one of Australia’s great storytellers.
He is the boy who came from nothing, who had nothing to lose. And now he has everything. It’s a great Australian journey.
