Dark Emu injects a profound authenticity into the conversation about how we Australians understand our continent...[It is] essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what Australia once was, or what it might yet be if we heed the lessons of long and sophisticated human occupation. Judges for 2016 NSW Premiers Literary Awards
Dark Emu puts forward an argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians. The evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating, and storing behaviours inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer tag. Gerritsen and Gammage in their latest books support this premise but Pascoe takes this further and challenges the hunter-gatherer tag as a convenient lie. Almost all the evidence in Dark Emu comes from the records and diaries of the Australian explorers, impeccable sources.
Bruces comments on his book compared to Gammages: 'My book is about food production, housing construction and clothing, whereas Gammage was interested in the appearance of the country at contact. [Gammage] doesn't contest hunter-gatherer labels either, whereas that is at the centre of my argument.'
A fantastic night of excellent songs accompanied by guitar and banjo. Everybody from 10 to 70+ years in attendance. An attentive and engaged audience. Humble and adept performers playing original songs. And surrounded by books! This venue is like having a concert in your lounge room. What's not to love?
I originally listened to this as an audiobook, but there were so many ideas and quotable quotes that I wanted to go back to that I quickly decided to buy my own printed copy!
I think this would make a really interesting book club text as a conversation starter between trusted friends who want to go deeper with one another, especially for those who are dissatisfied with the status quo and looking for a spirituality that engages meaningfully with key issues of our time.
I really enjoyed this book, especially as I read it after a recent visit to the beautiful, majestic Blue Mountains. The local references in the book made the story all the more engaging. A light easy read with an interesting plot. It’s not believable but that does not detract from the entertainment, it is after all a fictional novel.
Easy to deal with, quick, efficient & friendly service. Very happy with product
What an amazing night of music. We laughed, we pondered, and we felt the challenges that life brings us with these two wonderful songwriter/performers. 5 stars all round.
A fantastic night of excellent songs accompanied by guitar and banjo. Everybody from 10 to 70+ years in attendance. An attentive and engaged audience. Humble and adept performers playing original songs. And surrounded by books! This venue is like having a concert in your lounge room. What's not to love?
I originally listened to this as an audiobook, but there were so many ideas and quotable quotes that I wanted to go back to that I quickly decided to buy my own printed copy!
I think this would make a really interesting book club text as a conversation starter between trusted friends who want to go deeper with one another, especially for those who are dissatisfied with the status quo and looking for a spirituality that engages meaningfully with key issues of our time.
Easy to deal with, quick, efficient & friendly service. Very happy with product
What an amazing night of music. We laughed, we pondered, and we felt the challenges that life brings us with these two wonderful songwriter/performers. 5 stars all round.
A rather chunky text with some fabulous ideas and highly informative explanations/ introductions. A colleague brought this book to my attention and I borrowed her copy. I had only read approx a quarter and decided that I needed my very own copy. This book needs time, focus and attention to be fully appreciated, absorbed and put into practice. I am definitely looking forward to learning more about creative ways to support mine and my children's mental health AND to encorporating suggestions from the authors into my daily/weekly/monthly routine. So far, the creative processes I have read about seem reasonably easy to implement. I think every household would benefit from this book!
