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Martin Sharp was an integral part of international Pop Art in the 1960s, magnified through his covers for OZ magazine in Sydney and London, his covers for Cream, and posters of Dylan, Hendrix and Donovan. His efforts at making The Yellow House and Luna Park cultural precincts were aided by his screen prints and exhibitions to flaunt the work of others, especially the singer Tiny Tim.

In this first of two volumes, Lowell Tarling offers us a way into the enigmatic and reclusive artist, through interviews with Sharp and all of his trusted friends, including artists Tim Lewis, Peter Kingston, Garry Shead, photographers Greg Weight, Jonny Lewis and William Yang, film-maker Phillippe Mora, actor Lex Marinos, musicians Mic Conway, Jeannie Lewis, Tiny Tim; Richard Neville and Jim Anderson from London Oz.

'Lowell Tarling was a close friend of Martin Sharp and other Yellow House artists for over forty years and has been recording interviews and discussions with Martin and the rest of us all that time. This is an extraordinary archive of primary source material of those heady and life changing times.' - Roger Foley-Fogg (Ellis D Fogg)

'Martin Sharp, through this wonderful collage of interviews, reminds us all, that ETERNITY is just around corner.' - Jonny Lewis

Martin Sharp was an integral part of international Pop Art in the 1960s, magnified through his covers for OZ magazine in Sydney and London, his covers for Cream, and posters of Dylan, Hendrix and Donovan. His efforts at making The Yellow House and Luna Park cultural precincts, were aided by his screen prints and exhibitions to flaunt the work of others, especially the singer Tiny Tim. In this second of two volumes, Lowell Tarling offers us a way into the enigmatic and reclusive artist, through his extensive interviews with Sharp and all of his trusted friends, touching on the many dramas of life at Sharp's home studio, Wirian; his productions and search for meaning with regard to the Luna Park Fire; his spiritual search and death in 2013.

'I think what Lowell has done here is admirable, removing himself from the narrative. This book will be of interest to a wider audience who don't even know who Martin is. I predict this book will become a genuine hit.' - Peter Kingston.

Lowell Tarling recorded Martin Sharp's life, and his effect on his friends, over twenty years. Now two volumes in one, in advance of the film of these books - GHOST TRAIN...

 

Sharp: The Road to Abraxas - Part One, 1942-1979

Sharper: Bringing It All Back Home - Part Two, 1980-2013

 

'Like the Ancient Mariner, it's also a ghastly tale. I could understand the events at Luna Park a bit. I was trying to understand them and then suddenly there was this poetic language working to say: this is a crucificion, Golgotha, death by fire. And then it starts to fit into Apocalyptic vision. It was Abraxas if you like - the dark face and the light face. To look upon Abraxas is blindness. To know it is sickness. To worship it is death. To fear it is wisdom. To assist it not is redemption. I don't know what it means. I've never been able to work it out. You get a Pop Art Parallel. It was the Year of the Child, the place of Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, and the Ghost Train. You then get these events that are caused by plotting, not caring for kids, carelessness, living a human life - the way of the world.' - Martin Sharp, 4 March 1984

Idriess was a trooper with the Light Horse at Gallipoli, all the way to Beersheba, and his diary was published as The Desert Column. Drawing on his military experience, this is one of six manuals written for soldiers and civilians in 1942, when invasion by the Japanese seemed imminent.

 

Written in his characteristic, colloquial, man-to-man style, Mr Idriess here reveals the secrets of the dead shot. What to do and what not to do are impressed upon the budding rifleman. He brings out clearly the importance of apparently trifling points.

 

No more opportune book could have been published. Australia for the first time in its history has been bombed. Invasion looms on our northern frontier. The imperative need now is for rifles, more rifles, yet more rifles - and riflemen.

The Hottest 100 is a national institution.
For 30 years, triple j has held an annual countdown of its listeners' 100 favourite songs of the year, as voted by the public. It has evolved into the single most anticipated musical event of every year for millions of Australians.
The Hottest 100 is so much more than music. It's beaches, barbeques, and bonfires. It's joy and despair, drama and debate, friendship and community. This book is a celebration of everything that makes the world's greatest musical democracy so damn iconic.
Shoulda Been Higher is the definitive account of the Hottest 100 - a comedic chronicle and love letter. It's the complete picture from Augie March to Ziggy Alberts, 'Amazing' to 'Zombie'.

 

As an adult, Jane Sinclair discovered the exchange of letters from 1961 to 1962 between her parents Jean Langley, artist, and John Sinclair, music critic. Jane was five years old when Jean left her husband and took her to London to be close to her lover.

 

Set in England and Australia, at a time when their friends John and Sunday Reed were high-profile arts patrons at their property Heide during a period of sexual liberation and a flowering of the arts, the complex relationship between Jane’s parents emerges through an exchange of long, often heartbreaking letters and journal entries.

 

The powerful words are strengthened by photographs from that period. The distinctive cover design was painted by the author.

 

Letter from Jean to John, 18 Oct 1961: There is no news except that a shocking little upstart called Brett Whiteley won an important art prize in Paris. There is a beautiful Nolan exhibition on (American Sketch Book). Also on show are some pages of his writings and I was most moved. Charles Blackman has his show in about two weeks.

Sideways to the Top is a thought provoking book that explores how 11 women challenged the status quo and took alternative career pathways to the top.

 

The 10 case studies challenge many of the generalisations and stereotypes about how women achieve success, told through the stories of a diverse range of women leaders, including some seen as Australian icons and others with lower profiles who nonetheless have achieved a great deal.

 

The book also features:

- Chapters about the realities and current issues facing women building their careers, linking useful ideas and tools with the realities of those whose stories are told.

- An example of how one multinational corporate is changing the culture and mindset in the business towards accepting diversity as a business imperative.

- A practical checklist and action plan to help women navigate their career.

 

Signs of a Struggle illustrates the creative journey, from working-class North East England to the current Queer-art scene of Sydney, through the eyes of award-winning artist Guy James Whitworth.

 

Uniquely using the fierce and fabulous LGBTIQ community of Sydney as a visual metaphor, Whitworth contemplates life's challenges and triumphs. With dramatic backdrops including a troubled childhood, 80s London in the midst of the AIDS crisis, and activism for global transformation in the modern world, Signs of a Struggle takes the reader on an intimate, raucous and also poignant journey through survival, queerdom, creativity and inspiration unlike any other.

In 2001 Peter Anderson was 37 and had the perfect life: very much in love and recently married with an infant daughter he adored; an intelligent and sensitive man working a job he loved as a popular secondary school teacher and a talented sportsman training for a marathon...

The bubble was about to burst.

Peter was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), a physically crippling disease that destroys nerve cells controlling muscular movement. He was told that over time his body would cease to function - yet his mind, his memory and his feelings would be untouched by the disease. His life expectancy was two years. Incredibly, eleven years on, despite Peter's body wasting away, his mind remains as it has always been: strong and vibrant, intelligent, enquiring, touched with gentle humour.

Silent Body - Vibrant Mind has been written with often unimaginable physical difficulty. An unforgettable story about what matters in life.

In a casino, you don't need luck if you know how to cheat.
Goodbook, the big Aussie and Cliff Door, the suave American, they know how.
An experienced roulette 'crew', they are stealing from casinos across Europe on their way to Malta to hit a new casino due to open in Mdina, the Silent City.
Douglas Browning is a journeyman casino manager with worldwide experience working at the Oceanic, a mega-casino in Atlantic City.
The Oceanic's new owner, billionaire entrepreneur Philip Meadows, asks Browning to take over the new Malta casino as a favour to the local owner, Joe Grima, who is involved in a property development with Meadows.
Browning goes to London to put together a management team for the new casino, before flying out to Malta to review the project.
Goodbook and Door also arrive to prepare for the opening of the new casino.
All three men find themselves in romantic liaisons with demanding women, yet two need to face up to stark reality when their false identities are uncovered.
As the delayed gala opening approaches, another crew turns up to 'take' the new casino, a sinister development that finally brings them all together with electrifying impact - in the Silent City.

In the frosty Melbourne winter, milliner sleuth Catherine Kint looks for distraction in a night at the circus.

When tragedy strikes, she and her barman Boris are drawn into a new mystery.

As they draw back the metaphorical curtain, they're confronted with a troupe in chaos, a culture of secrecy, and a family in crisis.

Add in hula hooping thugs, a desperate suspect, and a nihilistic bully and you have a recipe for carnage even Catherine can't control.

Oh, and then there's Boris' love life - send in the clowns…

Silver Linings is a story of resilience from an Australian woman who knows more than most about what it takes to bounce back from hardship. Alex Fevola grew up with a love of horses and make-up, and a determination to work hard; dabbling in modelling as a teen led to a promising start to a career in photography. A new chapter of her life was just beginning when tragedy struck, and she lost her partner and the father of her newborn daughter, Mia. Then, with barely a moment to grieve, and a young baby dependent on her, Alex almost succumbed to a life-threatening health emergency. Life was to deal Alex Fevola many more lows and highs, not least of which she experienced through her turbulent relationship with AFL football great Brendan Fevola. Now a successful businesswoman and founder of her own make-up brand, mum to four beautiful daughters and reunited with Brendan, Alex Fevola is ready to share her emotional journey. This is a story of triumph over adversity and pain, and making it through to the other side, stronger than before.

Moving beyond humanity's status quo...

The patterns we house, repeat time after time, keeping us disconnected from our true selves, whilst the choices we make impact on all those around us. What if we accept ourselves, let go of the past, take responsibility for our sustainable health and live as we would love NOW?

Would our next generation benefit at the very start of their lives? What contribution will you make to herald in the children of tomorrow? Easy practical advice, sharing golden rules and simple truths for ultimate health before birthing the next generation and beyond...

You'll learn:

- Why myths and stories are just that

- That you already have what you need

- What creates reality and who is in charge

- 5 key elements to create a peaceful mind

- Who to listen to, what to look out for

- 5 golden rules to superb vitality

- When the impossible is possible...

Nurturing the next generation; it's in your hands, what will you do?

In a suburban Sydney pub, a woman tells her younger sister the story of how her life has changed since a serious car accident. She speaks of the blossoming of romance, the rediscovery of her long dormant creativity: her ability to draw. And yet an exhibition comes to nothing, a lover is abandoned. She leaves everything behind.
In the driving monologue of her own narrative, the younger sister attempts to make sense of her life and the events and thoughts that have obsessed the elder since the accident.

A must-read for any man going through the pain of divorce or bringing up their children as a single father. When Mark Tucker's marriage ended suddenly he feared that his life would fall apart. His family as he knew it would never be the same... he became the prime parent of his two daughters. Searching for books to help him through his trauma he found nothing. So he wrote one himself. What happens to Tucker is surprising and uplifting: through the darkness and despair of divorce he finds a strength in himself he didn't know he had. He becomes a better Dad and embraces life in ways he never thought possible. This is a moving, insightful and often hilarious book. It approaches a difficult subject from a practical and also entertaining way.