A dispute about who owns garbage? A court case over who gets to operate San Quentin Prison? A fight regarding use of a church pew? Bizarre as these examples sound, each was a real court case in either the United States or Australia, in which the government took private property. In clear, simple language this volume presents some of the quirkier "takings" cases in the history of the law, which have often left everyone scratching their heads in bewilderment.

Most people don't think much about acquisitions or "takings" of private property by the government--until they receive a letter that their land is about to be taken! This complex subject is made easy to understand in this volume. The author uses zany humor and bizarre examples to describe the history of acquisitions in Australia and the USA, and how they have come to be what they are today. While the book is written from an Australian perspective, it also provides significant insights into...

Now you can save costly attorney fees and handle non-criminal legal matters on your own with this handy guide. Written by an experienced lawyer, this ebook will help you know how to defend against legal claims, or how to bring such claims yourself. It describes how to think like a lawyer, how to understand legal claims, where and how to conduct legal research, how courts work and how to file documents at court and handle court appearances. The second half of the book contains specific guid...

Stopping speeders by throwing logs in front of their car? Having a man walk in front of the car waving a red flag, to warn it is coming? Putting the initials of the driver on a piece of metal to act as his license plate? Giving a driver's license to anyone who has the use of both arms? These are but a few examples from this book of the first laws dealing with new-fangled automobiles.

Why are house prices in many advanced economies rising faster than incomes? Why isn't land and location taught or seen as important in modern economics? What is the relationship between the financial system and land?In this accessible but provocative guide to the economics of land and housing, the authors reveal how many of the key challenges facing modern economies - including housing crises, financial instability and growing inequalities - are intimately tied to the land economy....

When Betty Guard steps ashore in Sydney, in 1834, she meets with a heroine's welcome. Her survival during a four-month kidnapping ordeal amongst Taranaki Maori is hailed as nothing short of a miracle. But questions about what really happened slowly surface within the ,lite governing circles of the raw new town of Sydney. Jacky Guard, ex-convict turned whaler, had taken Betty as his wife to his New Zealand whaling station when she was fourteen. After several years and two children, the fami...

Winner of the 2014 Victorian Premier's Award for non-fiction!Australia is dotted with memorials to soldiers who fought in wars overseas. Why are there no official memorials or commemorations of the wars that were fought on Australian soil between Aborigines and white colonists? Why is it more controversial to talk about the frontier war now than it was one hundred years ago? Forgotten War continues the story told in Henry Reynolds' seminal book The Oth...

In this brilliant, gracefully written, and important new book, former Secretary of the Interior and Governor of Arizona Bruce Babbitt brings fresh thought--and fresh air--to questions of how we can build a future we want to live in.We've all experienced America's changing natural landscape as the integrity of our forests, seacoasts, and river valleys succumbs to strip malls, new roads, and subdivisions. Too often, we assume that when land is developed it is forever lost to the natu...

Discover the Mercedes R171 SLK. Updated in March 2017, this 220-page guide tells you everything about its history; it explains in detail VIN/FIN and data card and comes with a comprehensive buyer’s guide. These are some of the topics covered:Development of the R171Trouble shooting the vario roofM272 balance shaft issuesR171 buyer’s guideThe COMAND systemThe SLK55 AMG and SLK55 Black SeriesThe SLK55 A...

This is the story of how a struggling convict settlement grew into six dynamic colonies and then the remarkable nation of Australia. Told through the key figures who helped build it into the thriving nation it is today, David Hill once again offers up Australian history at its most entertaining and accessible.In his latest book, David Hill traces the story of our nation from its European beginnings to Federation. When James Cook landed on the east coast of Australi...

Pompey Elliott was a remarkable Australian. During the Great War he was a charismatic, controversial, and outstandingly successful military leader. An accomplished tactician and ‘the bravest of the brave’, he was renowned for never sending anyone anywhere he was not prepared to go himself. As a result, no Australian general was more revered by those he led or more famous outside his own command.A man of unimpeachable integrity and unwavering commitment, he was also forthright and v...

This book is a welcome and timely analysis of how global economic and financial powerhouses in Asia also aim to become global cultural cities. It critically examines the tension between top-down policies implemented by strong states to boost urban culture, which are typically focused on the hardware of iconic venues, museums, and opera houses mostly designed by famous western architects, and the need for freedom to enable more organic cultural initiatives rooted in local practices.