Showing results by narrator "David Tredinnick" in All Categories

With a Victoria Cross and Medal for Gallantry, Ben Roberts-Smith was the most highly decorated Australian soldier, the best of the best. When he returned to civilian life, he became a poster boy for a nation hungry for warrior heroes. He embodied the myth of the classic Anzac, seven-foot-tall and bulletproof. But as his public reputation continued to grow, inside the army rumours were circulating.

Edward Dickens, the 10th child of England’s most famous author Charles Dickens, has consistently let his parents down. Unable to apply himself at school and adrift in life, the teenaged boy is sent to Australia in the hopes that he can make something of himself - or at least fail out of the public eye. He soon finds himself in the remote Outback. Determined to prove to his parents and more importantly, himself, that he can succeed in this vast and unfamiliar wilderness, Edward works hard at his new life amidst various livestock, bushrangers, shifty stock agents, and frontier battles.

Following the breakdown of a turbulent relationship, Frank moves from Canberra to a shack on the east coast once owned by his grandparents. There, among the sugar cane and sand dunes, he struggles to rebuild his life. Forty years earlier, Leon is growing up in Sydney, turning out treacle tarts at his parents' bakery and flirting with one of the local girls. But when he's conscripted as a machine-gunner in Vietnam, he finds himself suddenly confronting the same experiences that haunt his war-veteran father.

Yearning for what they’d left behind and disillusioned by city living, Jack Ferguson and Harry Turner leave Perth to return to the rough opal-mining environment of Coober Pedy, on the edge of the Stuart Ranges in South Australia. They discover, however, that all is not as idyllic as they remembered. They face harsh conditions, personal trials and a lack of funds. But determination, hard work and a little luck see them begin to establish themselves....

From FM radio to FN Queensland, Goodoo Goodoo is the latest Les Norton adventure. Robert G. Barrett shows again why he is Australia's biggest-selling contemporary author, a hit with both men and women readers.

Michael Clarke is an international cricket legend and one of the most talked about Australians of the 21st century. He was the greatest batsman of his generation and, as captain, possessed the sharpest tactical mind in the game. Bursting onto the scene in 2004 with a Test century on debut, Michael Clarke was Australian cricket's golden boy. And the batting prodigy they nicknamed Pup certainly fulfilled his destiny in a stellar 11-year international career of 115 Tests, 8,643 runs and 28 centuries.

Look out Wagga Wagga. Les Norton's in town and he feels like dancing. Extreme Polo. The wildest game on water. That's what it said on TV. All Les had to do was drive down to Wagga Wagga for an old mate who owed him a favor, Neville (Nizegy) Nixon, and pick up the Murrumbidgee Mud Crabs.

Robert G. Barrett is a master of political incorrectness. For more than a decade now, Robert G. Barrett has been entertaining Australians with the cocky Queenslander Les Norton and his outrageous exploits. In this collection, as well as more great Les Norton stories, Robert G. Barrett offers his views on getting published, getting famous, getting the dole and getting a date. Rider on the Storm and Other Bits is Les Norton at his worst and Robert G. Barrett at his best.

Les figured by tossing $50,000 into the Gull's movie he'd become the next Sam Goldwyn. Only someone put a bomb on the film set. And who gets the blame? Now Norton's a fugitive from the law, desperate to prove his innocence.

The gripping finale to Three Crooked Kings and Jacks and Jokers brings to a close Matthew Condon's best-selling true-crime trilogy. In 1983, the soon-to-be-knighted Police Commissioner Terry Lewis continues to turn a blind eye to the operation of The Joke, a highly organised system of graft payments from illegal gambling, prostitution and illicit drugs. As the tentacles of this fraudulent vice network spread, the fabric holding together the police, judiciary and political system starts to unravel.

Di writes about the Australia she knows, she loves, she’s explored. Rain Music is inspired by her adventures in far north Queensland - its characters, its forgotten history, its modern dilemmas. A brother and sister, Ned and Bella Chisolm, are struggling with a family tragedy that has set them on opposite paths. After Ned takes off to pursue his musical dreams in far north Queensland, he disappears.

Cavalier has heard that his daughter - kidnapped by a notorious Mexican drug warlord - is still alive but is a sex slave for the Mexican drug gang operating in the Golden Triangle. Through his contacts, he manages to uncover the fact that the Mexicans plan to secretly leave Thailand in the next few days on the Bangkok Express, along with their accumulated fortunes from drugs and sex slave trafficking. Their imminent departure is prompted by intel from their insider contacts that the Americans, led by the CIA and involving Navy Seals, may be closing in on them. 

Birdsville is one of the most remote police postings in Australia. It can be lonely and uneventful for weeks, then the dramas come thick and fast: from desert rescues to rising floods, venomous vipers to visiting VIPs. Throw in heat, dust and flies and it's not a job for the faint-hearted, unless you're Senior Constable Neale McShane, who has single-handedly taken care of a beat the size of Victoria for the past 10 years. Recently retired, Neale and his family thrived on the adventures and colourful times.

At the dawn of the 20th century, young Dan Sullivan signs on to fight the Boers, but discovers war has horrors beyond the battle fields. In East Africa, a railway crosses a land with an unimaginable throng of wild animals. It is the golden age of the white hunter - men whose exciting lives entice rich hunters to go in search of big, dangerous game. After many failed attempts, old Bill Freeman sees his chance to make his fortune as a hunter and convinces Dan to join his fledgling safari company. Bill's young granddaughter, Liz, falls in love with Dan and with Africa - but tragedy forces her to return to Australia.

Les always wanted to visit Port Stephens. And nobody liked Fishcake Fishbyrne that much anyway. The first night in town, Les gets arrested by the federal police then collared by a drug-crazed, feminist author. The hit turned out to be a complete nightmare. Next thing, it's a night drive into Newcastle with Eddie to sort out a team of local heavies. Somehow in the middle of all this Les meets Digger.

After the departure of the woman he loves, Frank drives out to a shack by the ocean that he had last visited as a teenager. There, among the sugarcane and sand dunes, he struggles to rebuild his life. Forty years earlier, Leon is growing up in Sydney, turning out treacle tarts at his parents’ bakery and flirting with one of the local girls. But when he’s drafted to serve in Vietnam, he finds himself confronting the same experiences that haunt his war-veteran father. As these two stories weave around each other, we learn what binds Frank and Leon and what may keep them apart.

Four years ago Eliza Dacey was brutally murdered. Within hours, her killer was caught. Wasn’t he? So reads the opening titles of Jack Quick’s new true-crime documentary. A skilled producer, Jack knows that the bigger the conspiracy, the higher the ratings. Curtis Wade, convicted of Eliza’s murder on circumstantial evidence and victim of a biased police force, is the perfect subject. Millions of viewers agree. Just before the finale, Jack uncovers a minor detail that may prove Curtis guilty after all. Convinced it will ruin his show, Jack disposes of the evidence and delivers the finale unedited: proposing that Curtis is innocent.

Australian General Sir John Monash changed the way wars were fought and won. When the British and German High Commands of the First World War failed to gain ascendancy after four years of unprecedented human slaughter, Monash used innovative techniques and modern technology to plan and win a succession of major battles that led to the end of the Great War.But Australia's greatest military commander fought as many battles with those on his side as he did with his enemies.

This book was first published in 1996 under the title Rider on the Storm and Other Bits of Barrett. It was a one-off book that got under the radar and a lot of Robert G. Barrett's readers weren't aware of it. Fifteen years later, to mark the 25th anniversary of the first Les Norton novel, this collection is being republished. It's the original stories re-edited, as well as some classic articles and columns on a range of subjects such as publishing, fame, dates, and the dole. Plus two brand new Les Norton short stories and a feature article, "Bowling for Bukowski".

From the mountains to the valleys, from big cities to tiny towns, to the outback and our islands, Di Morrissey knows this country. She's been there. In The Road Back, Di weaves a tale of reconnection and starting over. Journalist Chris Baxter is at a crossroads. Returning with his teenage daughter to his mother's house in the beautiful township of Neverend, Chris hopes to pick up the pieces after his life takes an unexpected turn. Sometimes taking the road back is the start of a journey forward.