false 306090 16 An extraordinary volume--even a masterpiece--about the early history of Australia that reads like the finest of novels. Hughes captures everything in this complex tableau with narrative finesse that drives the reader ever deeper into specific facts & greater understanding. He presents compassionate understanding of the plights of colonists--both freemen & convicts--& the Aboriginal peoples they displaced. One of the very best works of history I have ever read. 1936762 book 1986 The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding total:398|5:141|4:173|3:67|2:15|1:2| 398 1630 753 73 5 1 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 20 12:27:29 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 22 16:14:14 -0800 2008 going to Australia in a week (!), and I can see the writing on the wall as far as things getting crazier before I leave, I wanted to ...more...]]> 0 1 false false Sun May 18 12:32:48 -0700 2008 Sun May 18 13:19:07 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Dec 10 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 21 15:42:05 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 21 15:43:07 -0800 2008 5 1 false false Sat Apr 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 12:06:24 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 04 16:51:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 true false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Sun Sep 13 00:11:13 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 01 22:03:50 -0700 2009 Three more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jun 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 13 06:26:01 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 00:53:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jun 13 00:43:01 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 13 00:43:15 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jul 17 10:56:31 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 17 11:09:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jul 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 24 20:14:58 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 05 15:13:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jul 01 17:09:05 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 01 17:12:12 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jan 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Aug 09 15:13:35 -0700 2008 Wed Jan 07 00:03:30 -0800 2009 Absolutely a masterpiece. Hughes really tackles every aspect of the founding of Australia, which is more interesting than you might think, if you're not exactly packing for Sydney any time soon.

When eminences like Susan Sontag, Arthur Schlesinger and Gore Vidal plug your book with...more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat May 10 20:47:35 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 14 13:49:11 -0700 2009
It creeps up on you, t...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 14 22:34:32 -0700 2008 Thu Jan 29 13:06:26 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Dec 21 18:46:04 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 21 18:54:50 -0800 2008 I really liked the blend of overview and personal experience "The Fatal Shore" achieves in this history. It certainly opened my eyes to the colonization of Australia. Thank goodness for air travel ....eh? I also liked that there was enough in this book to personalize the experience...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1986 Thu Jul 30 15:03:07 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 30 15:09:31 -0700 2009
But it helps me put so much of Australian culture in a historic context on my travels. It a...more...]]> 4 0 true false Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 1993 Fri Oct 16 01:53:20 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 16 01:56:30 -0700 2009 1
This particular book is very well written and serves as a painless introduction to the history of modern Australia.]]> 3 0 false false Tue Apr 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Feb 26 11:56:30 -0800 2009 Tue Apr 07 10:26:34 -0700 2009
This book extends...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Feb 28 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 28 18:28:57 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 28 19:57:50 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1982 Tue Apr 28 09:36:03 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 09:36:03 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Apr 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 24 11:44:09 -0700 2007 Thu Apr 10 15:04:10 -0700 2008
I loved learning in so much detail about the early history of colonized Australia: the penal colonies, the politics, the aborigines. The disciplinary tactics, the brutality,...more...]]>