Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #216611 in Books
• Published on: 1992-05-21
• Binding: Paperback
• 409 pages

Synopsis
This study takes the reader beyond the euphemistic and romantic popular misconceptions of Australia to reveal the often invisible past and the present subterfuge of the country. The author recognizes that since its very beginning the history of white Australia has been shrouded in secrecy and silence. He remarks that it is a country with perhaps more cenotaphs per head of population than any other and not one stands for those aborigines who fought and died for their land. After the bicentennial "Celebration of a Nation" the racial and political tragedy of the aboriginal people, from whom Australia was taken violently 200 years ago, continues. It portrays a country of stark contrasts, of visionaries and criminals whose secrets are exposed. The author has twice won British journalism's highest award, that of Journalist of the Year, for his work in Vietnam and Cambodia. He has won the International Reporter of the Year Award and the United Nations Association Media Peace Prize.

Customer Reviews

Will there be no end to cultural journalism?
In order to gain a critial understanding of this book it is important to understand the genre of writing it typifies. Succinctly put, true to its journalistic origins, it is close to the thick description of an ethnographer, but lacking any of the associated methods or comparative data which would have helped to contextualise the claims. Along with other contemporary practitioners of this dubious art, such as Bill Bryson for example, once having read Pilger, one is simply left wondering about the clear (over) reliance on anecdotal evidence. How representative are the claims? Is Pilger any more insightful, or rather less glib and superficial, than the object of his critique i.e. those who have a vested interest in preserving/marketing the officially sanctioned national mythologies of Australia?

Judged by this criteria, Pilger is unsuccessful in his endeavours. A more useful starting point would be to question the extent to which Australian society is the product of an internal developmental process. Some data for contextualising the country in such global terms can, for example, be found in the excellent volume, "How Australia Compares". Complementary to this piece, a more sophisticated [than Pilger]theoretical attempt to flesh out the social forces shaping Australia can generally be found in the work of sociologist Peter Beilharz. Finally, for an informative attempt to weigh up the extent of any ideological manipulation of Australian history, it is worth checking out the edited volume, "The History Wars".

My concern is that without the benefit of understanding causation, process etc, readily available in these aforementioned works, Pilger by extension leaves his readers with nothing other than the cliched inference that all countries attempt to suppress secrets/social divisions for the sake of the upkeep of their nationalism. But in the final analysis, how informative are these kinds of generality, really?

Or rather, to turn against Pilger the kind of simplistic analogy frequently deployed by journalists of his ilk, one might conclude that he has succeeded only in compiling a few raw ingredients, but provided precious little guidance on how to turn them into a satisfying meal.

It shattered me
If you want to know what venal cowards and greedy dirty dealers Australian politicians have been in selling the country out to America and Britain, read this. It'll take away all your illusions about what makes Australia tick. It shattered and shamed me as an Australian. I wish this could be a prescribed schoolbook wherever Australia is taught.

Honest and insightful
Australia has done fantastically well over the last century to promote a highly desirable image - beaches, sun, sport, and serene co-habitation - all encapsulated by Sydney, a breath-taking city. Yet it takes an Australian to reveal the truth beneath this veneer. Pilger takes us deep into the real Australia, a country embarassed by its history and struggling with its future; a country where the lines between politics and business are constantly blurred; a country trying to rid itself of one colonial ruler by prostituting itself to another.

'A Secret Country' was my introduction to John Pilger's uniquely insightful and honest style of journalism. He never fails to cut through the myths we take for granted, and deliver an interesting and challenging perspective; and, with his focus this time on his native land, 'A Secret Country' is no execption.