FATHER'S DAY SUGGESTIONS

Father's Day isn't all that far away, just a few weeks.  There have been a couple of recent posts with books that might be of interest as a gift, here are a few more.

Kingdom of the Strong by Tony Cavanaugh

Darian Richards is an ex-cop, a good one. He did whatever it took to solve a crime and stop the bad guy. Whatever it took! But after sixteen years as the head of Victoria's Homicide Squad, he'd had enough of promising victims' families he'd find the answers they needed. He had to walk away to save his sanity. Now Police Commissioner Copeland Walsh has tracked Darian down. He needs him to help clear an old case.

Darian Richards is Australia’s answer to Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch.  Harry fans take a risk and see if Darian fits the bill.  I will be….

 

Graeme Clark The man who invented the bionic ear by Mark Worthing

After watching his father struggle with hearing problems, Graeme knew he wanted to find a solution to deafness.Graeme became a surgeon, and his quiet persistence and methodical approach yielded results that fulfilled his childhood dream. Around the world, hundreds of thousands of people have now received the gift of hearing from the cochlear implant he developed.

 

MP Untold: The Lost Stories of an Australian Surfing Legend by Sean Doherty

In 2004 Sean Doherty wrote a bestselling biography of Australian surfing's cult hero, Michael Peterson. Over the years that followed, and especially after Peterson's death in 2012, hundreds of people – family, friends, surfing stars and complete strangers – contacted Doherty with stories and pictures of the iconic surfer that had never before been shared.

The tales range from the hilarious to the harrowing. There was MP's infamous road trip from the Gold Coast to Phillip Island. The time he discovered the truth about his father.  And his last ever surf, with brother Tommy in 1983, before schizophrenia and drug abuse saw him institutionalised for the next decade.

Now Doherty has compiled these stories, anecdotes and tributes, completing the picture of one of surfing's most talented but tragic figures. Also featuring the classic images of Peterson, along with photographs and letters from his family's private collection, MP Untold presents Australian surfing's cult hero in the words of those who knew him best.

 

Because We Say So by Chomsky Noam

In 1962, the eminent statesman Dean Acheson enunciated a principle that has dominated global politics ever since: that no legal issue arises when the United States responds to a challenge to its 'power, position, and prestige'. In short, whatever the world may think, U.S. actions are legitimate because they say so. Spanning the impact of Edward Snowden's whistle blowing and Palestinian-Israeli relations to deeper reflections on political philosophy and the importance of a commons to democracy, Because We Say So takes American imperialism head on.