Description
From one of Australia’s leading historians, the compelling story of a singular nation still realizing its independence and influence on the global stage
As a land associated with extremes—from remote desert terrain to some of the world’s deadliest creatures—few countries feel as geographically and culturally independent as Australia.
While pop-culture references to endless summers proliferate, it’s the lesser-acknowledged eras of Australian history that contribute to a complex and still-evolving definition of nationhood: settlements and expansions, indigenous rights movements, and contemporary environmental challenges among them.
Sharp and of-the-moment, The Shortest History of Australia reveals surprising nuances in the familiar national narrative. Historian and professor Mark McKenna’s concise, compelling account paints a portrait of a country still learning the extent of its political independence, reckoning with its past, and looking toward an ever-shifting future of politics, identity, and influence.
Reviews
"A deeply imaginative, beautifully written, individual and original book." — Robert Manne, Emeritus Professor of Politics, La Trobe University
"McKenna’s approach to writing the past, present, and future of Australia is deeply considered and precisely crafted." — Readings
"Mark McKenna’s The Shortest History of Australia found a new way to trace this continent. . . . With every page, the kaleidoscope shifted and a new way of seeing emerged." — Australian Book Review
"The Shortest History of Australia has impressive breadth. Somehow in its pages not only is a history told but yesteryear’s jingoistic myths are dispelled." — The Saturday Paper
"This is a sensitive and scrupulous account that says the cliches about Australian history are failures of imagination." — The Age
"Original, eloquent, and moving—a revelatory journey into the past we thought we knew." — Tom Griffiths, professor of information technology, consciousness, and culture, Princeton University
"In this remarkable book, Mark McKenna offers a concise yet richly layered portrait of Australia. Thoughtful, reflective, and inclusive, The Shortest History of Australia doesn’t flatten the past into a single story, but traces the many threads—First Nations, settler, migrant—that have shaped the nation. With great sensitivity, McKenna also ensures that the country itself—the land, its extremes, and its beauty—is a character, shaping the Australian spirit as much as any historical force. He explores both the tensions that remain and the spirit that endures, offering readers a deeply humane and optimistic account of who we are and how we came to be." — Larissa Behrendt, distinguished professor of law, writer, filmmaker and Indigenous rights advocate