Evan McHugh

Great story a boy called Nipper who lives on the edge of Bondi Beach in 1938. This is his dairy where he must decide whether he is going to continue his education and become someone like his father who works in a bank OR if he is going to be like his brother who works miles away from Bondi on his uncle's farm. Great story in that you know that Black Sunday will eventually happen where so many people were rescued from the sea and Nipper himself became a hero by rescuing his teacher. Very funny and true to life. A bit like the "My Story" books.… (altro)

I generally don't like to read collections of short stories, but this one was an exception. Mainly because of the common denominator (bushmen - and one bushwoman) and the chronological presentation which make the stories blend well together. The book gives an entertaining overview of the lives and times of well-known and lesser-known Australian bushies. An easy read.

Favourite story: A voice in the wilderness, 1937: Bernard O'Reilly (1903-1975). About the heroic rescue of two plane crash survivors near the Queensland-New South Wales border.

Least favourite story: The not so jolly swagman, 1894: Samuel Hoffmeister (18??-1894). About a possible origin of Banjo Paterson's Waltzing Matilda.

Technical note: the frequent switching between two font sizes and margins to differentiate between the main text and the many excerpts was sometimes quite irritating.… (altro)