A poignant and compassionate work of literary journalism that tackles Australia’s most controversial pastime.Almost 200,000 poker machines sing and flash in pubs, clubs, and casinos in every corner of the country. They’re highly complex devices, their components designed by mathematicians, musicians, animators, and ergonomic experts. They’re also widely considered the most harmful form of gambling, the cause of the majority of gambling addictions. So how did Austra...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 NED KELLY AWARD FOR BEST TRUE CRIMEThe compelling story of South Australia’s disgraced former chief forensic pathologist and the legal scandals in which he became implicated.For nearly three decades, Dr Colin Manock was in charge of South Australia’s forensic pathology services, and played a vital role within the state’s criminal justice system: in cases of unexpected or unexplained death, it was his job to determin...

For nearly three decades, Dr Colin Manock was in charge of South Australia's forensic pathology services. In cases of unexpected or unexplained death, it was his job to determine when a person took their final breath, and whether they had died naturally - or not. But Manock did not have the necessary training for such a specialist role, and made serious errors in several major cases. The full extent of his wrongdoing, and the exact number of cases impacted by it, remain a mystery more than...

Welcome to Ultramarine, which takes a deep dive into the science seeking to understand and protect our precious aquatic world. As anyone who’s rolled out of a boat in diving or snorkelling gear into deep water knows, there’s nothing as thrilling as entering the ocean and peering inside it.

Welcome to Ultramarine, which takes a deep dive into the science seeking to understand and protect our precious aquatic world. As anyone who’s rolled out of a boat in diving or snorkelling gear into deep water knows, there’s nothing as thrilling as entering the ocean and peering inside it.Whether in warm tropical waters or the shiver- inducing briny of temperate and lower marine environments, Earth’s oceans and seas brim with life, wonder and mystery. As 2023 ticks to a close, we w...

THE TRUE CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR AND 18-WEEK SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER'One of the most fascinating books I have read in a long time. Engrossing, a haunting page-turner. A book I could not put down' The Times, BOOKS OF THE YEAR__________Meet the forensic pathologist, Dr Richard Shepherd.He solves the mysteries of unexplained or sudden death.He has performed over 2...

'I need a wife'It’s a common joke among women juggling work and family. But it’s not actually a joke. Having a spouse who takes care of things at home is a Godsend on the domestic front. It’s a potent economic asset on the work front. And it’s an advantage enjoyed – even in our modern society – by vastly more men than women.Working women are in an advanced, sustained, and chronically under-reported state of wife drought, and there is no sign of rain.

Twenty-one of Australia's most startling real-life crimes, from the late 1800s to the present day are collected here in one gripping volume. Using exhaustive research, court records, police statements and original interviews, Larry Writer offers fascinating new insights into the lives of some of Australia's most notorious villains and their victims.

The eternal question 'Who am I?' must be weighed against an even deeper question: 'Who are we?' We are writing each other's stories as much as we are writing our own.In his bestselling book, The Good Life, Hugh Mackay argued that kindness and respect for others are the hallmarks of a life well lived. Now in The Art of Belonging Mackay shows how strong communities develop our moral sense and build our emotional security. H...

The bestselling author of Sweet Poison shows us how to get the better of an education system that is costing a fortune in fees, yet failing to deliver.David Gillespie has six kids. When it came time to select high schools, he thought it worth doing some investigation to assess the level of advantage his kids would enjoy if he spent the required $1.3 million to send them all to private schools.Shockingly, the answer was: none whatsoever.Intrigued, David cont...

Bestselling author of Broken Ground "offers fascinating glimpses" into the real world of criminal forensics from its beginnings to the modern day ( The Boston Globe).The dead can tell us all about themselves: where they came from, how they lived, how they died, and, of course, who killed them. Using the messages left by a corpse, a crime scene, or the faintest of human traces, forensic scientists unlock the mysteries of the past ...

ON 15 MAY 2017, IAN BRADY DIED IN HOSPITAL, ENTIRELY UNREPENTANT OF HIS EVIL CRIMES. WITH HIM ALMOST CERTAINLY DIED THE SECRET OF WHERE THE BODY OF TWELVE-YEAR-OLD KEITH BENNETT, THE LAST OF HIS AND MYRA HINDLEY'S YOUNG VICTIMS, LIES.Ian Brady was one of the most notorious and reviled serial killers in Britain. With his co-conspirator, Myra Hindley, he committed what became known as 'the Moors Murders' in which five children were abducted, assaulted and murdered. Dr Chris Cowley has...