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What is the nature of human love? Burt enters his office one day to find a large handwritten folder marked "CONFIDENTIAL". The unexpected package has come from an old university mate: a charming, successful, and well-loved Australian man named Ted Harris. Twenty-five years post-university, Ted seems to have it all: a partnership in a successful law firm, respect, wealth, and the perfect wife.

However, as Burt delves deeper into these documents - which turns out to be an intensely personal confessional - he discovers that things are not what they seem, and that Ted harbours a dark and mysterious past relating to his first wife, peculiar Swiss biochemist Yvonne.

In The Other Wife, Manfred Jurgensen uses his unique writing style and several narrative voices to examine the internal conflicts of disease, our responsibility for those we care for, and the very nature of this undefinable thing we call love.

"The seemingly contradictory senses of menace and sensitivity exist in an uneasy ease in Manfred Jurgensen's writing." - Lily Brett

"...complex and confident, ambitious, yet always assured as it explores our solitariness in the midst of social life." - The Canberra Times

"Manfred Jurgensen is a gifted writer who knows how to surprise the reader." - Elizabeth Jackson, Inkwell New York

This updated second edition of The Owner's Guide to the Teenage Brain tells us why 'we are as we are' in the teenage years. It shows teenagers how to get the most out of these years, helps parents understand and provides tips for parents on coping with their sons and daughters as they move towards adulthood.

Knowledge is power. Teenagers who take that power will cope better with the exciting changes and challenges that face them.

So begins the Ted Egan story. Old Phelan presented Ted's mother with a bill:

TO WINDOW BROKEN BY TEDDY EGAN

£5 5s 0d.

Ted was going to have to find the money.

He got it as a paperboy, shouting 'Herooda paper!' on street corners. Jumping on and off the No. 20 tram rattling out of the city of Melbourne into Coburg. Ducking back to the newsagency to get a Women's Weekly for a woman in the Ladies' lounge of Brown's Hotel.

In The Paperboy's War the well-known outback folklorist, singer, songwriter, historian, and television presenter recalls his early days, his priestly vocation, the warmth of family life, the agony of puberty, and Melbourne in the 1940s.

A great and terrible war raged, but here we see it from a unique perspective: the paperboy.

At home the Yanks were taking over leafy Parkville, the dance floors and the women's hearts. Even - black Yanks!

Nights at home would be spent tracing the exploits of brave Timoshenko at Stalingrad, speculating on how 'people who live in paper houses' like the Japanese couldn't cause too much trouble, and gaining an encyclopedic knowledge of divisional shoulder patches, enemy aircraft silhouettes and the classes of warships. Ted Egan rekindles the pride Australians felt for 'the Rats' at Tobruk and those who slugged it out on the Kokoda Trail.

But life and dreams go on, war or no war. Every schoolday the excruciatingly beautiful Norma would hop on the tram at The Grove. Br. 'Slick' Edwards at the Christian Brothers would read Man Shy and there arouse a love of words. The return of cousin Frank, the bronzed Anzac from the Middle East, provided a role model. Aunt Mary's tales of the Murchison Goldfields stirred a wish to travel.

And there was cousin Bill, who had run away to sea at 15, travelled the world and experienced the war at close quarters. He came back wearing Italian suits and gave the young Ted an idea. He too would be a sailor. Ted would leave Melbourne and go to Brazil, via Darwin.

Ted Egan was born in Melbourne and spent the first sixteen years of his life there, the years covered by this book, the first of three telling of his life.

He intended to drop in on the Northern Territorians for a month before going off to become a gaucho in South America, but ended up staying in the Territory for more than 40 years.

Ted Egan studied under lamplight in the outback, gaining a BA from ANU. He is working on a post-graduate historical account of the clash between Aboriginal and western culture when a group of Japanese fishermen and a white policeman were speared to death in 1932. He learned two Aboriginal languages and has taught Aboriginal Studies at Alice Springs High School.

He performs, writes, sings and records his own songs, and collects and records others. He is a television presenter and writer.

He is a member of the Prime Minister's Reconciliation Council.

Awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in 1993 for 'services to the Aboriginal community and contribution to the literary heritage of Australia through song and verse', he lives and works in Alice Springs.

The charismatic Barry Kant hosts a TV reality show in which contestants who have suffered horrific events in their lives share their stories. A ravenous and voyeuristic audience votes for the one who's suffered the worst life experience, the winner receiving the grand prize of $100,000.

Increasingly jaded and still grieving the loss of his beloved wife, Kant meets a new woman whom he believes he can allow himself to love. But after only a few days she unfolds a shocking revelation which changes the course of his life.

The Personality of War - A volume comprising five pieces.

Dresden.

Now an old man, a onetime Air Force flyer recalls his time in the night sky during the bombing of Dresden.

For the incineration of a hundred and forty thousand souls, if things went right, for the destruction of a graceful city, of its old walls and obedient gardens, they flew east. He was the navigator.

Rehearsals for the Death of Taipei.

One day every year Taiwan practiced its defenses against its possible invasion by China, or for its own invasion of China. Here is the moment in Taipei.

Battle Songs.

Music is as much the sound track to certain grainy recollections as it is to silent movies. Here are the popular songs of WW2 and the warfare they recall.

This Perilous Winter in St Moritz.

Holidaying at St Moritz as he had since childhood, German industrialist Herr Genscher rides the cable car to the mountain top to meet his son, and recalls his vacation here on leave from World War Two, as did resting British officers, sharing the ski runs.

The End of All Wars.

Four stories, moments which ended World War Two, moments for a small band of German women who formed a chamber orchestra in a cellar in East Berlin, moments for a fighter pilot in New Guinea who disobeyed the cease-fire, for another pilot who was exercising in clouds over the Arafura Sea when told the war is over, and the end of the War in Vietnam for a soldier so damaged by warfare he brings cruelty home with him as if it were a trophy.

The discovery of the body of Beth Barnard in her Phillip Island farmhouse in 1986, began a homicide investigation that rocked a peaceful community.

It also created an enduring mystery, for no one was ever brought to trial for her brutal death, and the main suspect disappeared - never to be seen again.

Beth Barnard, a popular and attractive 23-year-old, had been having an affair with a local married man.

On the night of her brutal murder, a car belonging to Vivienne Cameron - wife of Beth's lover - was found abandoned near the bridge that connects the famous tourist island to the mainland.

No trace of Vivienne was ever found, and her disappearance has never been adequately explained.

Nevertheless, a Coroner's Court found that Vivienne had killed her rival then jumped to her death into the waters of Westernport Bay. The case was closed but not forgotten.

Ever since their first edition of The Phillip Island Murder, in 1993, Vikki Petraitis and Paul Daley have been regularly contacted by people wanting to know more; people who, like the authors, let the case get under their skin.

More than three decades later the mystery, rumours and arm-chair solutions continue.

The first instalment of The Place Economy reveals the real world social and economic benefits of effective placemaking, exploring the benefits for developers and investors as well as broader societal outcomes. In this book, you will discover in-depth case studies and expert voices from Australia and 10 other countries, including Korea, Singapore, the United States, England, Denmark, Holland, New Zealand, China and Belgium.

 

Together, across 408 pages, our contributors – from fields such as planning, architecture, materials, green space, amenities and cultural connections – present a picture of the prosperity we can all enjoy, as industries, as businesses and, most importantly, as people, if we get to work now.

In Volume 2 of The Place Economy our attention travels from the macro to the micro – from nations to neighbourhoods, countries to communities. Close to 60 experts from eight different countries explore what can be achieved via high-quality visioning, placemaking, planning and design. We examine how spaces are used, analysing the things required to meet community needs, from residents and visitors to commercial entities and private individuals.

 

We give detailed attention to the role place branding plays in enhancing outcomes at all levels and discover the various skills and disciplines required when creating destinations that meet the needs of different people across various geographic and cultural places.

As a project undertaken before, during and in the aftermath of a global pandemic, The Place Economy Volume 3 represents an increased appreciation of our need as humans for place and community.
Spanning 80-plus stories, featuring the work of more than 100 global experts, you will find a celebration of the people, places and ideas that make cities great, alongside close examination of the barriers and challenges still facing communities in Australia and abroad.
As with Volume 1 and 2, every story here presents compelling evidence of the better return on investment that occurs for developers and communities alike when insightful placemaking underpins a vision.

'The Poet' is a tale of obsession, art, and the thresholds between day and night. Manfred is a nondescript insurance clerk, inflexibly honest and imbued with a profound sense of order. He is also a prolific poet, but has never tried to publish - until now.

The novella traces the events and experiences that befall Manfred in the wake of a single moment's carelessness, a mistake that will change his life. He enters a maze he must negotiate, between action and paralysis, inspiration and despair, guilt - and the phantom, love.

We encounter an eccentric stranger bent on a terrible mission, the publisher of a deceitful new author, and the city that forms a living, shifting backdrop to the interior drama, as Manfred struggles with his predicament, his muse, and the labyrinth of his implacable honesty. It is a journey from common daylight into a darkness flickering with both hope and oblivion; a journey across the fragile web of what we understand as sanity.

Seventy short, heart-warming stories of acts of kindness by strangers with contributions by prominent Australiana, including comedian Jean Kittson, writer Peter FitzSimons, news presenter Tracey Spicer, Youth Off the Streets' Father Chris Riley, media personality David Richardson, Wayside Chapel's Reverend Graham Long, politician Pru Goward, Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks, and many others. This is an inspiring look at the best of humanity.

From small acts of charity to selfless acts of kindness, The Power of Good shows that the human spirit is replete with noble and generous deeds.

In a simple way, this Angel brings a fresh look at how to be kind to yourself and to remind you that it's ok when you don't get everything right. Angel will assist you through your journey in life making you aware of the positives and helping you build upon them. To understand how damaging self-talk can be and to use it positively. Looking at life with a positive view, to remind you that your words are powerful, and how to use affirmations in your everyday life. Helping you to understand the value of good choices and taking responsibility for your decisions. This small handbook will plant some seeds for you to think about and maybe act upon, make you aware that you are important, and things can always be improved.

Where will Antonia's search for truth lead and who will suffer?

When film and TV graduate, Antonia Carlyle sets out to make a documentary about eighties band, 'The Tough Romantics', she uncovers new facts surrounding the death of singer song-writer, Genevieve. This leads her to suspect that the man arrested for her murder was not the killer.

One of the three surviving band members believes it is time to settle old ghosts but the other two have gone on to forge solo careers and don't want Antonia to rake up the past. One of them knows who the killer is, the other needs to hide their guilt.

A growing psychic link with the dead girl and the conviction that justice must be done, drives Antonia to face her own demons, uncover the past and confront the present.

The engrossing real life story of how Queen Victoria's favourite son, Prince Alfred, undertook the most ambitious Royal tour, only for Australia's overwhelming joy of having the first Royal on its shores jolted by his decadent behaviour, then shocked by an attempted assassination by a man trained as a priest.

 

The British Empire's youngest and most distant outpost found itself at the epicentre of a new crime and empirical fears about the first inter-continental terrorist group, a conspiracy and a 'lone wolf '. In a resulting 'reign of terror' extraordinary steps were taken to safeguard security with laws on treason and sedition which even the Queen felt went too far, and the would-be assassin was hastily executed in a miscarriage of justice led by opportunistic politicians.

 

This is an extraordinary and atmospheric weaving of the stories - some detailed for the first time - of royal intrigue, sexual appetite, religious bigotry, patriotic vengeance, naked ambition, national security and moral panic. They are stories of royals, immigrants, archbishops, republicans and the founding fathers of Australia and issues that remain with us today.

 

Drawing on Royal, British and Australian archives, the compelling narrative embraces a pivotal time in the evolution of Australia, and on the 150th anniversary reveals how a minute of madness rocked the country to its foundations, with a legacy which helped shape Australia's history and continues to influence and challenge us today.

 

Revelations & insights in The Prince and the Assassin:

- Prince Alfred's spare heir upbringing as 'the chosen one' and prospective King of Australia

- Sexually decadent royal behaviour

- An historic tour which became the model for 50 subsequent royal tours to Australia

- Religious bigotry, violence and death in early Australia

- How a young migrant trained and destined to be a priest became an assassin

- How the biggest crime in Australia shocked, shamed, terrorised and divided the country

- How Henry Parkes, 'founder of federation', suppressed and doctored evidence, hired private spies and criminals for political advantage

- Australia suppressing civil liberties, even making it a crime of treason to discuss republicanism and to not drink a toast to the Queen

- Australian Catholics accused of disloyalty and an Archbishop conspiring against the Government

- Australia's most sensational trial, one of injustice and vengeance for a crime not on the Empire's capital list

- Alfred appealing for his would-be killer to not be executed

- An Australian Government accused of promoting fear for political advantage and committing treason and fraud

Set during the Gold Rush days, The Promised Land concludes Mudrooroo's fantastical voyage through the history of Australia around the time of its colonisation by the British. This is satire at its most cutting, and entertaining.

Sir George Augustus returns to the Great South Land with his young wife, Lady Lucy, intending to establish a mission to educate and 'Christianise' the native people. When he hears that gold has been found on the land, his missionary zeal increases. Accompanied by the mysterious white woman, Amelia Fraser, and a troop of native police, he sets out on an expedition to the diggings. As Sir George journeys into what he hopes is a golden future, his past begins to creep up on him, and those he thought were dead return to confront him.

The final book in the Master of the Ghost Dreaming series.