The Longest Decade
George Megalogenis
Longlisted for Walkley Non-Fiction Book 2006
'The author inhabited the Canberra press gallery for the years from 1988 to 1999 and knows his economics. His analysis of what has happened to politics in this country blows out of the water once and for all the old absolutes of Left and Right …
'Megalogenis offers plenty of statistical detail to deliver a cogent picture of how our times were shaped; yet his book is far from a dry academic discourse. It is full of diverting anecdotes that bring the personality of Australian politics to life and reveal how much our democracy reflects the essential character of its people …
'Megalogenis has coined the most memorable epithet since "the lucky country". "Australia is a quarry with a view, " he suggests. "The danger of the Howard era is that, economically speaking, this is as good as it gets, and that the next generation will awaken to find it has a permanent underclass in its midst."
Guy Humphreys (Boss magazine, Australian Financial Review)'[George Megalogenis] has done something quite remarkable: on the one hand he has produced a scholarly, yet first-hand, understanding of the Paul Keating–Howard years and on the other he has fashioned a riveting analysis of Australia’s recent political and cultural history ... This book is a brilliant primer for those who wish to understand the Keating years and Australia under Howard.’
Ross Fitzgerald (Weekend Australian)‘a strongly argued tale of the supremacy of two starkly different but interlocked characters — the slightly mad genius of Paul Keating and the plodding but surprisingly radical John Howard — who shaped who we are now as a nation.’
Kerry-Anne Walsh (Sun Herald)Howard: I think the country is incredibly confident and self-assured. It believes in itself, it feels affluent, it feels that it matters, their kids have got opportunities, and they think the country stands for something in the world … For want of a better expression, we have recovered the orthodox sense of what it means to be Australian.
Keating: When John Howard says, ‘I’m not John Howard, I’m a hedgehog’, is he John Howard or is he a hedgehog? The Canberra press gallery says, ‘No, no, he’s told us he’s not John Howard, he’s a hedgehog’. So he’s a hedgehog. The fact is, Howard never changed, he was always the same suburban reactionary.
Before 1990s, the decades in Australia used to run to a predictable script of bust, boom, and bust. They’d commence with the economy in the pits, assume the personality of the good times that followed, and conclude with another collapse. Conveniently, this cycle took about ten years to play out.
Paul Keating and John Howard altered the nation’s body-clock. Between them, they have dominated the past 30 years of power, as both treasurers and prime ministers. Typically, they are seen only as antagonists with competing visions of Australia and its place in the world. In The Longest Decade, George Megalogenis argues that they also deserve to be seen as the twin architects of the political, economic and social revolution that took Australia through a period of trauma and recovery, and then on to an era of unprecedented affluence.
Based on exclusive interviews with both Keating and Howard, and on Megalogenis’s many years experience as a member of the Canberra press gallery, The Longest Decade is a brilliant, non-partisan analysis of the forces that shape Australia today — from the rise of working women to the triumph of the McMansion.
This is the story of how an era came to be defined by Keating and Howard, but it is also the bigger story of how Australia became a more complex society, and how the nation’s evolution, in turn, forced its leaders to adapt. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand Australia in the 21st century.
‘The Longest Decade promises to set a new benchmark for books about politics ... the bar will be raised for those who follow.’
Paul Daley (The Bulletin)‘This is an excellent history bursting with policy and personal detail. Megalogenis’ political preferences are discernible, but it does not hinder the enjoyment of a brilliant exposé.’
Andrew McIntyre (IPA Review)'written in clear, jargon-free prose, The Longest Decade is required reading for anyone who wants to understand who we've become, and why.'
Jose Borghino (Marie Claire)‘Megalogenis’s book has much valuable economic and social analysis, along with interviews with Howard and Keating where each talks about his view of the other ... Howard and Keating seem to have taken to conversing with one another through Megalogenis.’
Gerard Henderson (Sydney Morning Herald)‘a complex, closely woven book that is packed with information ... this book is a good read for those wanting to understand two politicians who have made a real difference to modern Australia.’
Michelle Grattan (The Age)' The Longest Decade avoids the scattergun approach of The Howard Factor, effectively analysing the Keating and Howard years from 1990 to 2005.… Megalogenis supports interesting generalisations with sourced data to give the reader the sense of rigour one wants when comparing governments. … Of the two books, The Longest Decade is the superior read. It is more interesting and, unlike the edited collection The Howard Factor, there is a common thread throughout, well supported by hard facts.'
Peter Van Onselen and Wayne Errington (Australian Journal of Political Science)George Megalogenis
George Megalogenis is the author of Faultlines (Scribe 2003) and The Longest Decade (Scribe 2006, updated 2008) and a senior journalist with The Australian newspaper. He spent 11 years in the Canberra press gallery between 1988 and 1999 before returning to The Australian’s Melbourne bureau.
He has a small footprint in each area of the media: newspapers, the Internet, television and radio. Apart from his day job, he runs his own blog, 'Meganomics', on The Australian’s website, is a regular panellist with the ABC’s Insiders program and appears on Melbourne community radio RRR’s Breakfasters program.
The Longest Decade created a record of sorts in 2006 when it was launched by John Howard in Canberra and then Paul Keating in Sydney. The book has been updated and expanded with new chapters covering the end of the Keating–Howard era and the rise of Kevin Rudd.
Website: http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/meganomics/index.php
Extent: 352
Size: 234mm x 153mm
ISBN (10): 1920769 79X
ISBN (13): 9781920769796
RRP: $32.95
Pub date: May 2006
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