Collection: Nonfiction

A fascinating and revealing new biography of Mary Queen of Scots, drawing on dozens of newly decoded letters. For almost two decades before her execution at Fotheringhay Castle in 1587, Mary Queen of Scots was a prisoner. From her chambers, she wrote countless letters, many encrypted using comple...

A powerful work of reportage and American history in the vein of Caste and How the Word Is Passed that braids the story of the forced removal of Native Americans onto treaty lands in the nation's earliest days, and a small-town murder in the '90s that led to a Supreme Court ruling reaffirming Nat...

A transformative guide to breaking free from unproductive busyness. Why is it that in a world demanding constant connectedness, we somehow feel lonelier, more burned out and more disengaged than ever before? Busy Idiots explores how and why we find ourselves constantly busy - but getting nothing ...

In this intimate and open account - nothing like any rock-and-roll memoir you've ever read - Alex Van Halen shares his personal story of family, friendship, music and brotherly love in a remarkable tribute to his beloved brother and band-mate. In his rough yet sweet voice, Alex recounts the broth...

A dedicated doctor. A devastating diagnosis. A chance for a medical revolution. Skin cancer is this country's most common cancer, and melanoma the deadliest form of it. Richard Scolyer, together with his colleagues at Melanoma Institute Australia, has dedicated years to groundbreaking research an...

Discover a vast treasure trove of botanical knowledge in The Botanist's Library, a superbly illustrated collection of 300+ seminal books and illustrations from throughout history. From the earliest manuscripts penned by visionary naturalists to the modern tomes that continue to shape our understa...

The Big Book of Australian Yarns is master storyteller Jim Haynes' comprehensive collection of factual and fascinating stories and humour. The yarns range from the poignant to the hilarious, from the ridiculously Australian to the unexplained and spooky. There are heroic and inspiring characters,...

This guidebook tells you what to pack, what you can safely leave behind, a why an air compressor's as essential as a chocolate bar on a long drive. With interviews and a peek behind the scenes of the Buch Mechanics and Black As series, Batty spins you some ripper yarns, introduces you to his mate...

Australia's best-loved film critic David Stratton reviews (almost) every feature film from the past three decades in the ultimate guide to modern Australian cinema. From The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert to The Dry, from The Big Steal to The Drover's Wife, he tells us why they're w...

Fascinating and richly illustrated stories of insects in 366 daily entries, from dancing honeybees to the largest spider webs in the world. In this beautifully produced guide, entomologists Gail Ashton and Dominic Couzens present a look at hundreds of insects, as well as what makes each one so im...