Biography

Even taking into account the idea that a biography, particularly biography from someone with a very recent high public profile, will have a certain "take" on events, FAIR COP is an extremely worthwhile read.  Adore or abhor Christine Nixon she is a woman who achieved astounding heights, and therefore had a long way to fall (be it that she jumped, was pushed, or deserved to trip).  

FAIR COP takes the reader back to Nixon's childhood and then through family life with her policeman father, and very forthright mother, to joining the NSW police force.  It tracks her career, her education and her achievements up to the point at which she retired as Commissioner of the Victorian Police force and ultimately headed the Bushfire Reconstruction Authority formed by the state government following the 2009 bushfires.  

The book constructs, chapter by chapter, Nixon's life and advancements in her career, as well as the factors that formed her policing philosophies.  There's even some glimpses into her personal life - her choices regarding family, her marriage and her home life, as well as what it is like for her husband to be married to such a high profile wife in a world which still seems to have a percentage of ... well idiots ... who behave like the fools that they are at the very thought (yes - this reader is biased) of an individual woman, making choices, setting an agenda, believing in change.  It answers some of the stupid and mindless commentary during her tenure as Police Commissioner (some of us could care less what her weight is like / how tall (or not she is) and all the other mindless crud that leaks from the dark recesses of these idiot's caves).  More importantly, it discusses her philosophy, how she formed her attitude to community policing, and what happens when you attempt to affect change - not just in her case, but earlier in the NSW force as well.  It covers her relationship with Police Member Associates (NSW and Victoria), it talks about the scandals around her media advisor and certain high profile police members, as well as the fight to limit corruption and the Victorian Underworld murders.

And of course it touches on the Bushfire Royal Commission and the revelation that she was both at the hairdressers early in the morning, and ate dinner in the evening.  It also looks at the management structure she'd carefully constructed, it looked at her analysis of what she did / didn't do wrong, and it discusses what she would change.  (For what it's worth, and living in a rural area of Victoria, the Royal Commission seemed to be a lot less about discovering what could be done better and more about looking for blame, all of which resulted in a series of recommendations that, frankly, are underwhelming.  Interestingly the management structure that Nixon had implemented being compatible with those recommended by external experts).

Whilst allowing for the fact that the book is written with Christine Nixon, by journalist Jo Chandler (and interestingly started way before the end of her tenure as Police Commissioner), there's an honesty about the book which is fits with Nixon's persona.  If nothing else FAIR COP seemed like a fair chance for Christine Nixon to finally put her side of the story. 

I do like the occasional political biography, particularly when the subject matter is somebody that is admirable or interesting - regardless of your political persuasion.  As far as I'm concerned, regardless of your political persuasion, Julia Gillard's rise to Deputy Prime Minister in Australia - the first woman to take that position (why it has to have taken that long ... well that's another subject), is worthy of at the very least understanding.

A good biography has to tell something about the subject - and give the reader some insight into their life, their achievements, as well as provide some indication of the elements that make that person up, make them do whatever it is that they do, achieve whatever it is that they achieve.

THE MAKING OF JULIA GILLARD is a book that sheds light on Julia Gillard the person - whether or not that is because her personal persona is somewhat lower profile than other politicians, or whether I just haven't been paying attention.  There is insight into her background, the thinking that formed her attitudes and perceptions, the way that she has chosen and continues to choose to lead both her life and her politics.

I really enjoyed this book.  Learnt something about the person, learnt something about the process.  Learnt a lot about the political system.

Subtitled My Father, Abe Saffron GENTLE SATAN is the story of Alan Saffron - the son of Sydney's "Mr Sin" from the '60s and '70s.  The book does promise to tell some tales of his notorious father, and whilst there is some skirting around the subject, it is probably most notable for what it doesn't, rather than what it does tell.

It's obviously not easy being the son of a notorious, flamboyant, controlling and overwhelming man.  It's also obviously not easy being the wife of an openly unfaithful, controlling and overwhelming man.  But at the heart of this book there's something really odd going on.  On one hand Abe Saffron, would have seemed to be a cruel individual.  His open humiliation of his wife and his son seems to have been vicious and quite cold.  On the other hand there's a wife who won't leave him under any circumstances, who ties his shoelaces and brushes his hair for him - staying because of love and faithfulness.  A son who can't separate himself from his father despite a series of attempts - working for a wage when Abe wanted him counting the money, heading for America to get away from the control.  But under the protestations of the author's desire to keep away there is the money - Abe Saffron had a lot of it and he used it well to control his family, his businesses, his corrupt contacts - he used it to shore up his position.

Mindful that this is the story of somebody's life - told by that person, it's an unpleasant feeling to have to say that the book was an unrewarding / uninteresting read.  There's something slightly offputting about the tone, the understandable sides being taken, both of which not being confidently supported by the actions being described.  The book is told from a very personal point of view, but, for the non-involved reader, there are too many elements which don't come across as clear cut as the author obviously sees things.   Having said that, it's not the story of Abe Saffron - it's the story of Abe's son.  Whilst there are oblique references to highly illegal and irregular activities on the part of his father and there is a coy explanation of why threats to name names were dodged when the book was published; the book never does more than skirt close to the deep water of Abe Saffron, staying mostly in the shallows of Alan's own life.  One thing that can be gleaned is an ambiguous understanding of the author's relationship with his own father - a desperate desire to get away / a willingness to accept the financial support / to seek the personal affirmation. 

Perhaps that's the story of the whole book and the hint as to what Abe Saffron's legacy within his family was. 

All right, all right.  All those people who know me personally can stop snorting with laughter.  The idea of me and a book about the love of shoes doesn't work.  We all know that.  Now if it had been hats, well maybe.  But shoes. I've never seen the point - you've only got one pair of feet after all, and there's nowhere that a reasonably clean Blundstone can't take you if you look like you might bite back.

But I digress.

LIFE, LAW AND NOT ENOUGH SHOES is a memoir from Judith - a top criminal barrister and Associate Professor in Forensics in Western Australia.  But this isn't a soul searching, deeply reflective consideration of a life lived.  It's a light-hearted and sometimes tantalisingly capricious memoir that recounts some stories. 

It's what I'd call a "queue book".  Perfect to tuck into a handbag for a bit of a light read when you have a few moments, the stories range from a few very brief peeks at life as a single mother - struggling to study, through to some of the cases that Judith has been involved with, and finally into some of the outcomes of her change to a career in academia. 

Most of the sections of this book wander around from subject to subject and they are quite brief.  It needs to be read as a retelling of tales, yarns, a story that you'd tell a mate over a glass or two of something.  As already mentioned, it's not deep, it's not soul searching and it doesn't provide a lot of detail on how a woman goes from a single mother of 4 with very little in the way of prospects to the heights of the criminal barrister world in Perth, through to becoming an Associate Professor.  In fact it makes absolutely no attempt to really discuss anything in any depth.  I would have loved to have know a little more about some of the cases and the defendents that Judith has worked for, but these are real cases, about real people and those people have a right to their privacy (and in some cases what dignity they can muster).  I understand extra detail could have been difficult, and ultimately this probably wasn't what the book was aiming for.  For what it is, a bit of light entertainment, it was really enjoyable.

But I really have to clarify:

"There the glitterati dispose of their once-worn Chanels, Diors, Tods, Pradas, Guccis, and most importantly Manolo Blahniks and Jimmy Choos.  [Note to males reading this section: ask a woman, any woman and she will tell you the significance of the preceding sentence]."

Don't, please don't, ask this woman.  No idea.  I mean I understand the words but I have no idea of the significance.  If you can't wear it mucking out a chook shed chances are I've never noticed them.