Life Stories

Biographies have long fascinated readers, serving as guides for how to live our own lives or often just giving us an intriguing peek into the world of extraordinary people. In this round-up we look at a comedian with a disability, a magician with a learning disorder, the real man behind Walter White of Breaking Bad and more. But we’re bending the biography rules a bit by also including a book by a philosopher that will prompt you to think about living a better life, a book about Aussies at war and an account of Queensland police leading lives of corruption.

Many readers would know Susan Duncan from her time as the editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly, her journalism and her popular memoirs Salvation Creek and The House at Salvation Creek. Her latest memoir, The House on the Hill carries on from the previous two memoirs. Now in her mid-60s, Susan felt the need to finally confront her mother about the family’s past and events that have never been spoken about. Peppered with stories about her home on the mid-north coast of NSW, the book in written in Duncan’s straightforward style. It’s a bit like hearing stories from an old friend. 

Quentin Kenihan has osteogenesis imperfecta, a rare disorder that makes his bones very fragile. Using a wheelchair to get around, Quentin has always had a determination to never let his disease define him. At the age of seven Quentin burst onto Australian TV screens when a documentary by Mike Willesee was aired. Australia was instantly enamoured of Quentin and we were inspired by his tenacity and quick wit. Quentin: Not all superheroes wear capes is his story. He is a filmmaker, comedian, radio host and actor in Mad Max: Fury Road. But it’s not all red carpets and the high life for Quentin, as he recounts a history of abandonment, drug addiction and suicidal thoughts. But Quentin, now 41, is a survivor. 

William McInnes has been beaming into our lounge rooms for decades in TV shows such as SeaChange, Blue Heelers and The Time of Our Lives. His first book, A Man’s Got to Have a Hobby, made his reputation as a teller of quintessentially Australian stories. His latest book, Full Bore regales us with stories about his life, the Aussie love of sport and the quirks of our culture. A great book for anyone who enjoys a good yarn. 

The TV series Breaking Bad has won a swag of awards.And Bryan Cranston, who played its lead, Walter White, has also gained plaudits. His star began to rise with the TV show Malcolm in the Middle, but as he outlines here, there were many times early in his acting career when his phone didn’t ring. This memoir also provides fascinating detail about how he goes about inhabiting some of the disturbingly dark and tormented characters that he has played.As he says,‘I’m not interested I coasting through it. I want to be invested.’ 

Cosentino is Australia’s premier magician. Born in Victoria, this illusionist loves to lock himself in barrels or fasten his feet to cement blocks and sink into a pool of water.We all applaud wildly  as he bursts out of the water triumphantly with opened locks in hand. But his life hasn’t been all fist-pumping triumphs. Since Cosentino was a little boy he has been compelled to push himself as far as he can go – and then a bit further. As a young boy he slipped between the cracks when being taught to read; he came terrified over the years in his early schooling that he would be asked to read aloud. The life-changing object that turned the little boy into the man he is today was the discovery of a little book of magic on the shelves at a library. Anything is Possible is Cosentino’s story, from his childhood learning difficulties to his adult life as a renowned illusionist. Throughout the book he shares his dreams, the secrets behind some of his tricks and his passion for magic and escapology. 

The ‘Three Crooked Kings’ trilogy by award-winning journalist and writer Matthew Condon took us on a journey of 30 years of corruption by senior members the Queensland police force. Little Fish Are Sweet  tells of the shocking truths that Condon discovered and gives us his personal account of the extraordinary discoveries he made during his research and investigations. 

Other books you don’t want miss out on include Rachael Treasure’s memoir, Down the Dirt Roads. This bestselling Tasmanian author of rural fiction outlines how she became a single mother and lost her family farm – and how she found her way back to happiness. 

Accessible philosopher Peter Singer has released a book of 86 essays called Ethics in the Real World. This is a book to have you thinking over the holiday break with such essays as ‘The Year of the Clone’ or ‘If Fish Could Scream’. Singer is always interesting and intellectually challenging. 

The prolific Peter FitzSimons seems to write two books every day before breakfast. His new book, Victory at Villers-Bretonneux, is about the terrible battles that Anzac soldiers fought to protect this French town in World War I from the onslaught of German soldiers. With this big and well-researched book, FitzSimons brings another important tale of Australia’s military history to our shelves.