A devastating new exposé from the bestselling authors of The Bankers and Wasters.In March 2011, the Irish people elected a new government. But how much had really changed? In The Untouchables, Shane Ross and Nick Webb shine a light into dark corners of official Ireland to show that the blame for running the country into the ground goes well beyond Fianna Fáil, and that a dismaying number of the people who should share the blame are still ...

During the years when all seemed well with the Irish economy, a scandal bloomed in front of our faces but went mostly unnoticed: the scandal of public waste. Vast overspending on infrastructure (including a number of white elephants), extravagant use of overpriced consultants, the creation of dozens of quangos whose primary purpose seemed to be jobs for the boys, the culture of junketry that took hold in the semi-state sector and the Oireachtas - these and other dubious practices flourishe...

ESCAPING Mediocrity with the 4 WEEK QTR: Strategic Goal-Setting That Ensures You Stay Laser-Focused on Your Most Impactful GoalsIn a world where the daily grind can easily swallow up even the most ambitious dreams, ESCAPING Mediocrity with the 4 WEEK QTR offers a revolutionary approach to achieving goals with unmatched focus and precision. This guide introduces the Four Week Quarter program, a transformative system that condenses a year's worth of productivity into just four weeks....

'Likely to become the essential short work on modern Australia' Don Watson'Megalogenis is Australia's best explainer … A brilliant read' Annabel CrabbWinner of the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary Award, 2012 Walkley Book Award, and Australia's bestselling political book of 2012There's no better place to be during economic turbulence than Australia. Brilliant in a bust, we've learnt to use our brains in a boom....

In this impressive biography, freshly updated, leading business writer Paddy Manning tells the story of Tinkler's meteoric rise to wealth, and captures the drama of his equally rapid downfall.From blue collar to billionaire . . .Hunter Valley mine electrician Nathan Tinkler borrowed big in 2005, invested in coal and by 2011 was a billionaire. He had gambled on a rising market and won. He lived the high life as only a young man would, buying luxury homes, ...

In September 2005, corporate South Africa was rocked by the violent murder of mining maverick Brett Kebble. In life, he was known as a billionaire patron of the arts, compassionate philanthropist, champion of black economic empowerment, urbane raconteur and generous host. But within six months of his death, Kebble was exposed as the architect of one of the biggest and most convoluted frauds seen by any stock exchange in the world, a flawed genius who lied and cheated and stole so cunningly...

How Labor lost the race -- how Bill Shorten could save the party - and why it matters.In the 2007 election, led by Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard they smashed the Howard government and made the country look fresh and optimistic again. But under the sunny exterior lurked unchecked tensions, corrupt members, factional warlords, leadership woes. Now, Labor's pains have become the Abbott-led Coalition's gain. For journalist and former Young Laborite, Aaron Patrick, Labor at its best is a ...

Between 1995 and 2007, the Republic of Ireland was the worldwide model of successful adaptation to economic globalisation. The success story was phenomenal: a doubling of the workforce; a massive growth in exports; a GDP that was substantially above the EU average. Ireland became the world's largest exporter of software and manufactured the world's supply of Viagra.The factors that made it possible for Ireland to become prosperous - progressive social change, solidarity, major Stat...

Let us take a look back over three decades of outrageous political mishaps – with a new introduction from Sir Ivor Crewe covering Brexitblunder /ˈblʌndə(r)/, n.A gross mistake; an error due to stupidity or carelessness.There are a handful of cock-ups that we remember all too well, from the poll tax to the Millennium Dome. However, the list is longer than most of us realize – and it’s growing. With unrivalled political savvy and a keen sense of irony...

An award-winning journalist details the near-collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland in the late 2000s.For a few brief months in 2007 and 2009, the Royal Bank of Scotland was the largest bank in the world. Then the Edinburgh-based giant—having rapidly grown its footprint to 55 countries and stretched its assets to £2.4 trillion under its hubristic and delinquent former boss Fred Goodwin—crashed to earth.In Shredded, author Ian Fraser explores the seri...

A successful property developer in England, the Sligo-born Tom Gilmartin had ambitious plans for major retail developments in Dublin in the late 1980s. Little did he know that in order to do business in the city, senior politicians and public officials would want a slice of the action … in the form of large amounts of cash. Gilmartin blew the whistle on corruption at the heart of government and the city's planning system, and the fallout from his claims ultimately led to the resignation of...

Britain's rail privatisation was one of the greatest political failures of recent history. A well-functioning industry was torn apart to satisfy political dogma and privatised in a way that not only compromised safety and wrecked performance but also resulted in financial melt-down.In this acclaimed book, an update to his earlier work Broken Rails, Christian Wolmar reveals the causes of the collapse of the railway system, following the Hatfield accident, barely five years after Joh...