Lessons from History: Leading historians tackle Australia's greatest challenges

by David Lowe (Editor), Carolyn Holbrook (Editor), Lyndon Megarrity (Editor)

In Lessons from History leading historians tackle the biggest challenges that face Australia and the world and show how the past provides context and knowledge that can guide us in the present. Does history repeat itself in meaningful ways, or is each problem unique? Does a knowledge of Australian history enhance our understanding of the present and prepare us for the future? Lessons from History is written with the conviction that we must see the world, and confront its many challenges, with an understanding of what has gone before. Leading historians including Yves Rees, Michelle Arrow, Mahsheed Ansari, Joan Beaumont, Claire Wright, and Frank Bongiorno tackle the biggest challenges that face Australia and the world—climate change, social cohesion, migration, our relationship with China, tensions in the federation, economic crisis, trade relations—and show how the past provides context and knowledge that can guide us in the present and future.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Australia, Politics

432 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2022

About the author

Daivd Lowe is Alfred Deakin Professor and Chair in Contemporary History at Deakin University. He completed a doctorate at Cambridge University and from 1993 to 1994 was Monash Lecturer in Australian Studies at the Sir Robert Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, University of London. He has written on the history of Australia in world affairs, on the life of former External Affairs Minister Percy Spender, and other subjects.

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. The editors make the claim that Australia's problems could be better handled by government if they consulted historians more often. Historians can put things into perspective. You can't solve a problem unless you thoroughly understand it first and to do that you need to know how the problem originated which means researching the past which means learning some history.

There are 22 essays by different historians. Each essay contains a potted history of the background to a current social issue, e.g.domestic violence, China, refugees, etc. My favourite essays were the ones by Frank Bongiorno and Hugh White. Well worth reading. I would have preferred fewer, longer essays because most of them were very short but at least they've made a start. I've always been a great believer in learning from history.

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of essays that deal with topical issues in Australia and individual historians perspective on learnings from the past that could contribute to addressing the issue today. The quality and value of the propositions put forward in the individual essays was variable, however they all providing interesting perspectives. I particularly liked the essays on water policy, foreign aid, inequality, and the far right. In terms of criticism, I'm not sure that the book provided anything new in the way of thought or approaches. Overall it was a worthwhile read that promoted deeper thinking about issues we are currently facing.

[Peter Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a good book with chapters covering probably all topics of current interest to AustraliansThey provide historical background and possible avenues of future development.I glanced at them all but only read a few which appealed to me such as China,Federation and N T development.Overall a good idea and useful to understand the world from our perspective

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

so interesting to read about how the current issues we face as a nation have such a history to them. and since this was written up to 2021, there is so much that has happened that these histories continue to inform.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

As you might expect in a book of this type, some essays are more likely to appeal than others. For me, I like the ones that stretched further back in time than 1980, and I felt short-changed by those that ended with a policy prescription that could be found just as easily in a Saturday-paper article. There were others, however, that combined a concise sweep of events with an analysis of their meaning, and a critique of how they could be used or misused in policy formulation. These were the ones that left me wanting to hear more.

For my complete review, please visit:
https://residentjudge.com/2022/10/19/...