The Latham Diaries

Features political diaries of one of Australia's most promising national leaders - Mark Latham. This work includes bulletins from the front line of Labor politics. It provides a view into the life of a man, the Party and the nation at a crucial time in Australian history.

Here are the political diaries of one of Australia's most promising national leaders-published within twelve months of his resignation from office-an historic first.

The social life and customs of 17th Century England are vividly portrayed in these extracts from the diary of Samuel Pepys.

During his time in politics Mark Latham not only kept a diary, but also collected quotes and anecdotes that he found inspiring, amusing or enlightening. Here, with an introduction by the author, are words of wisdom and humour, withering ripostes and personal reflections from authors, politicians and public figures-ranging from Ben Chifley to Barry Humphries, from Julius Caesar to Dorothy Parker, and also some of Mark Latham's own memorable turns of phrase. A Conga Line of Suckholes collects together both wit and wisdom, the language of both the academy and the larrikin. It is an essential companion for the reader, writer, browser and public speaker, which will make readers think and laugh.Mark Latham was the Federal Member for Werriwa from 1994 to 2005. He was Leader of the Labor Party between 2003 and 2005. Mark Latham is the author of The Latham Diaries and five other books on Australian public policy, including Civilising Global Capital and From the Suburbs. He lives in the outer suburbs of Sydney with his wife and two children.

In the first Quarterly Essay of 2006, Clive Hamilton throws out a challenge to Australia’s party of social democracy – to both its true believers and right-wing machine men. Will it be business-as-usual and creeping atrophy, or will the Labor Party find a new way of talking to individualistic, affluent Australia? According to Hamilton, Labor and the Left must acknowledge that the social democracy of old – with its strong unions, public ownership of assets and distinct social classes – is dead. Prosperity, more than poverty, is the dominant characteristic of Australia today. Given this, should governments confine themselves to stoking the fires of the economy and protecting the interests of wealth creators? Or is there room for a political program that embodies new ideals but can also withstand economic scare tactics? This is an original and provocative account of our present political juncture by a man of the Left who accuses the Left of irrelevance. Any new progressive politics, Hamilton argues, will need to tap into the anxieties and aspirations of the nation, find new ways to talk about morality, and thereby address deeper human needs. “The Australian Labor Party has served its historical purpose and will wither and die as the progressive force of Australian politics.” —Clive Hamilton, What's Left?

The 1660s represent a turning point in English history, and for the main events - the Restoration, the Dutch War, the Great Plague, the Fire of London - Pepys provides a definitive eyewitness account. Along with lively descriptions of his socializing, his amorous entanglements, his theater-going & music-making. Unequaled for its frankness, high spirits & sharp observations, the diary is both a literary masterpiece & a marvelous portrait of 17th-century life. Acclaimed by 'The Times' as "one of the glories of contemporary English publishing" and by Sir Arthur Bryant as "complete perfection", the Latham and Matthews edition remains the authoritative text and provides the source for this magnificent Folio Society publication.

"This extraordinary collage of sophisticated essays on key terms in urban geography both provides a conventional basis to and recasts innovatively a burgeoning field in the discipline." - Roger Keil, co-Editor, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research "The city is an obvious but confounding object of geographical analysis; urban structure and life are shaped by an astounding array of social, economic, and political dynamics. This volume embraces these complexities of city form in a wide-ranging, readable, well-informed, and highly interdisciplinary analysis of key topics in urban studies. With its fresh approach, this book provides an accessible entry point for the newcomer to urban geography, yet also delivers creative insights for those with greater familiarity." - Professor Steven K. Herbert, University of Washington Organized around 20 short essays, Key Concepts in Urban Geography provides a cutting-edge introduction to the central concepts that define contemporary research in urban geography. Involving detailed and expansive discussions, the book includes: An introductory chapter providing a succinct overview of the recent developments in the field. Over 20 key concept entries with comprehensive explanations, definitions and evolutions of the subject. A glossary, figures, diagrams and suggested further reading. This is an ideal companion text for upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate students in urban geography and covers the expected staples of the subdiscipline from global cities and urban nature to transnational urbanism and virtuality.

Selections from Samuel Pepys' diary offers a vivid picture of seventeenth century British life, and are accompanied by background information concerning his life and times