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Product Description
Daily Express, Peter Burton
from Keneally’s graphic account... the founding of Australia was an epic of endurance rooted in the grossest brutality
Barclay McBain, The Herald
‘An enlivening, informative and judicious book about his country’s troubled origins.’
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 55 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This was the first work on the founding of New South Wales that I had seen since Robert Hughes' masterpeice The Fatal Shore and it was with some reservation concerning the authors stance on history that I purchased this text. My misgivings were scotched after the first few pages. This is a very readable and entertaining history of the Sydney experiment that does justice to both whites and blacks and is interspersed with colourful prose, ironic humour and well rounded biographies of the main characters in what was quintessentially a race dominated crucible. Whilst the narrative covers, in depth, the founding four years or so and is very detailed this work is not simply a carbon copy of The Fatal Shore rather a microscopic study of the crucial years of survival for a colony that would in years later become the great nation of Australia. My only criticism is that for the price the author could have perhaps littered his work with colour plates and illustrations so as to make ownership of this book more of a pleasure.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Tom Keneally is arguably one of Australia's greatest writers. The depth of research in this book makes it all the more fascinating, readable and credible. Not having studied any Australian history since my schoolgirl experiences, I looked forward to this book to provide me with insights into the earliest interactions with indigenous Australians and expand my knowledge and understanding of the difficulties and achievements, the mentality and huge mistakes during those founding years of white settlement. I was not disappointed. It is not a dry history text by any means - this book is closer to an oral history written down - human, empathetic, amusing and insightful.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Commonwealth of Thieves is an excellent history book written in the style of a novel. I selected this book to get some historical context in advance of my own trip to Australia and was pulled into the book as if it were a novel, even though the content feels more like a very well researched text book.
The characters are well researched and developed throughout the book, and their stories are a detailed look at the origins of Australia's white population.
The characters are well researched and developed throughout the book, and their stories are a detailed look at the origins of Australia's white population.
Listmania!
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