Collection: Biography

Andrew Kwong was only seven when he witnessed his first execution. The grim scene left him sleepless, anxious and doubtful about his fervour as a revolutionary in Mao's New China. Yet he knew if he devoted himself to the Party and its Chairman he would be saved. That's what his teacher told him. ...

This is a story of Jelena Dokic's survival. How she survived as a refugee, twice. How she survived on the tennis court to become world No. 4. But, most importantly, how she survived her father, Damir Dokic, the tennis dad from hell. Jelena was a prodigious talent, heralded as Australia's greatest...

This biography describes Captain Scott's short life and the explorations which he and his team made. Born in 1868, he joined the Navy as a cadet but asked to be involved in the exploration of the Antarctic after meeting Clements Markham. His bravery remains a part of exploration history. The life...

The hilarious and moving tell-all memoir from the UK's queen of crime drama. Lynda La Plante has lived an illustrious life and has the stories to prove it. From her early days in Liverpool to her unexpected acceptance into RADA, joining peers Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt and Ian McShane; from begin...

For weeks before the invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan was warning that it would happen. When troops finally crossed the border, he was woken in the middle of the night by an employee at Embassy Moscow with a prearranged code. The signal was even more bracing than the c...

Cameron Daddo is curious about confidence. In this book, he weaves together stories from his own life with those of extraordinary Australians to show us how we nurture it, how we lose it and how we can get it back again.

Kosciuszko - our iconic highest mountain - is a name familiar to all Australians. But how many people know who the mountain is named after? Tadeusz Kosciuszko, who lived from 1746 to 1817, is the most famous person Australians probably know absolutely nothing about. A military engineer, freedom f...

Arriving in 1790, Elizabeth and John Macarthur, both aged 23, were the first married couple to travel voluntarily from Europe to Australia, within three years of the initial invasion. John Macarthur soon became famous in New South Wales and beyond as a wool pioneer, a politician, and a builder of...

A book of inspirational stories drawn from Kasey Chambers' life and music career. Kasey has stayed true to herself through painful and challenging times as well as good times that have required a level head. Despite all the success, Kasey has been no stranger to tragedy, but her self-belief and t...

A blockbuster memoir from one of Australia's most powerful voices, Long Yarn Short is the incredible story of a young woman's journey - from being stolen from her family as a child to becoming a top advocate for First Nations young people.