Check out my instagram page where I put regular updates and subscribe here And follow me on my Facebook page where I also post regularlyhere
Barbara Miller re her 2 memoirs – White Woman Black Heart and Secrets and Lies – brief interview find them HERE
As always, it’s such a pleasure to connect with you through our monthly newsletter. I’ve been busy with voluntary work I do and helping my husband with his art gallery as he is an Aboriginal artist – Munganbana. You can glimpse his work here
However I do have a new writing project which is writing the story of a Holocaust survivor called Eva from Austria who has lived in Sydney for a long time now. I have known her for a few years and interviewed her before with the option of maybe one day writing her story. She is now keen to move it forward so I will be in Sydney 23-26 Sept to do more interviews and to meet someone who will make a documentary on her. So the 2 projects will go hand in hand.
I want to thank you for being a part of my reader community and I would love to hear more from you. What led you to pick up one of my books and what would you like to hear from me in future? What have you been reading lately and who are your favourite authors?
Photo of Barbara interviewing Eva on the left and Eva at the Sydney Jewish Museum.
QUOTES ABOUT BOOKS
“The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.” – Rene Descartes
“That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.” – Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake
“I love the way that each book — any book — is its own journey. You open it, and off you go…” – Sharon Creech
“Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.” – Malorie Blackman
PLENTY OF BOOKS TO CHOOSE FROM. GET YOURS TODAY! find them here
Have You Always Dreamed of Being a Published Author? – The Successful Author Kit is for You.
Bestselling author Barbara Miller has produced the following guides to help you on your way to fulfilling your dream. It is called the Successful Author Kit. She knows what it takes to have a successful writing career. You can get the following guides in the kit:
Guide to Choosing Your Niche
Guide to Finding Your Book Topic and Title
Guide to Structuring Your Non-Fiction Book, and as a bonus
List of Resources for Authors
If you would like more information, check it out HERE
My books can be found at the Munganbana Reef and Rainforest Aboriginal Art Gallery at 33 Lake St Cairns, at Cairns Books bookshop at Cairns Central Shopping Centre, on Amazon, and on my website.
Do you like to read on your holidays? Or on weekends? Do you like to munch as you eat or have a favourite spot like an armchair or the beach? Welcome to 2024 and a great year of reading!
Left – My 3 journals for Bible study reflections, prayer musings and sermon notes or reflections on youtube messages you watch. Right – Presenting Munganbana Norman Miller’s book Reef and Rainforest: An Aboriginal Voice Through Art and Story with 200 paintings in it to former Lord Mayor of Brisbane Sallyanne Atkinson at the Writers Festival in Cairns. For more information see
BOOK OF THE MONTH FEATURE
Picking up a new book and losing yourself between its pages for the afternoon — or into the early hours of the morning — is one of life’s simplest pleasures. And 2024 is already shaping up to be a brilliant year for books. Let’s have a look at refinery29.com‘s list of the 27 Best New Books of 2024.
FIND THESE WILLIAM COOPER BOOKS WHCH GO TOGETHER- HERE
FIND THESE WILLIAM COOPER BOOKS WHCH GO TOGETHER- HERE
Have You Always Dreamed of Being a Published Author? – The Successful Author Kit is for You.
Bestselling author Barbara Miller has produced the following guides to help you on your way to fulfilling your dream. It is called the Successful Author Kit. She knows what it takes to have a successful writing career. You can get the following guides in the kit:
Guide to Choosing Your Niche
Guide to Finding Your Book Topic and Title
Guide to Structuring Your Non-Fiction Book, and as a bonus
List of Resources for Authors
If you would like more information, check it out HERE
My books can be found at the Munganbana Reef and Rainforest Aboriginal Art Gallery at 33 Lake St Cairns, at Cairns Books bookshop at Cairns Central Shopping Centre, on Amazon, and on my website.
Happy reading!!
Michele Klawitter 5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Reviewed in the United States on 8 November 2023 Verified Purchase
Barbara Miller’s “Voice Treaty Truth: Has the Christian Voice Been Heard?” offers a comprehensive exploration of Australian race relations, mirroring global trends. It examines the recent divisive referendum for an Indigenous representative body in the constitution, known as a Voice to parliament. As a pastor, sociologist, and historian with extensive experience in First Nations affairs, Miller provides a balanced Christian perspective on this critical issue.
The book fosters understanding of the consequences of colonialism, the Christian role in reconciliation, and the potential for a more united nation. It also sheds light on racism, inequality, and separatism, giving readers insight into these complex issues. “Voice Treaty Truth” is a vital read, providing a deep understanding of the complexities of Australian race relations.
Left – Who were the first Europeans to set foot on Australian soil and where did it happen? Find out in “The European Quest to Find Terra Australis Incognita: Quiros, Torres and Janszoon.” Check it out here.
Right – Available as an audio book – a first-hand account of the Holocaust from a Polish Jewish woman who faced death daily in “If I Survive.” Find out more here.
The Dying Days of Segregation in Australia: Case Study Yarrabahgives a blow-by-blow description of the days of apartheid in Qld and how an Aboriginal community lobbied tirelessly for local government and finally got it in 1984 and their progress to today with land rights and native title. Hear the words of Aboriginal leaders themselves. Find it HERE.
William Cooper Gentle Warrior: Standing Up for Australian Aborigines and Persecuted Jews is the first book by Barbara Miller on William Cooper and tells his amazing story and that of the Australian Aborigines’ League as they work for the uplift of their people and stand up for Jews at Kristallnacht, the start of the Holocaust when Aborigines were not citizens in their own nation. Find it HERE
7 Steps on How to Change Your Nation Community Find out more
My husband Munganbana Norman Miller and I are a creative duo. I am a writer and he is a rainforest Aboriginal artist. However, he is an internationally acclaimed author too. He wants to share his art with you. He says:
I’m giving my art print away for free. No kidding!
As a rainforest Aboriginal artist, I live and breathe the rainforest, hear its soothing sounds and get strength from walking on it barefoot and touching its healing leaves.
The collection on offer is called “The Rainforest Collection”, and is perfect to bring that breath of fresh air and beauty from the rainforest into your life and home.
My prints are part of the 200 paintings in my book “Reef and Rainforest: An Aboriginal Voice Through Art and Story” that won an international award.
Looks like I’m being mobbed with orders but I don’t want to leave you out.
BOOK LAUNCHWED 30 NOV 6PM MUNGANBANA ABORIGINAL ART GALLERY 33 LAKE ST CAIRNS OF BOOK SECRETS AND LIES: THE SHOCKING TRUTH OF RECENT AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL HISTORY, A MEMOIR.
This book was no 1 on Amazon USA in the Civil Rights and Liberties category on the weekend.
This book has previously been launched on zoom only because of COVID so we are taking the opportunity of presenting the prizes for a Big Boomerang Colouring In Competition for primary and high school students in Cairns and region that we have organised to combine events. The competition is to build awareness of a project we are promoting to build a Big Icon in Cairns like the Big Pineapple, the Big Banana, the Big Prawn etc. It would be Australia’s only Big Icon focusing on Indigenous heritage. Prizes for the Colouring In Competition are family passes to Green Island on the Big Cat, Event Movies and Ten Pin Bowling and vouchers for accommodation at Coconut Resort and food at McDonalds and the Coffee Club. Norman and Barbara will also be giving away books.
REVIEW OF SECRETS AND LIES
Secrets and Lies: The Shocking Truth of Recent Aboriginal History, A Memoir, is both a political chronicle and a personal memoir – a journey the young Barbara took into political activism and personal transformation, which became life-long. Barbara Miller shows the political and the personal can be two sides of a life journey of service.There is critical history in this book from an activist on the inside. Yet the book also shows that political activism is not enough. It must be balanced by personal integrity and pursuit. The journey from the political into the personal, with fulfillment in spiritual practice, is also illuminating. Can we do one without the other? I think not, whatever the spiritual practice is.
Barbara’s book bought memories of the days of the Aboriginal Co-ordinating Council (ACC), both of us working at different levels within the ACC to respond to the directions and needs of the old reserve mission controls moving into deeds of grant in trust and ‘self-management’. Barbara’s political background provided essential insight and sound analysis. Mine saw the failure of the services delivered by a racist regime, with the ACC working to meet their legislative responsibilities. Barbara supported this work through research. Hers has been an inspirational journey of service at many levels.
Judy Atkinson, Emeritus Professor, PhD AM
Plenty of books to choose from in the Miller Collection
Left – Norman and Barbara with William Cooper Gentle Warriorbook and right – Lena Goldstein on her 100th birthday as Norman and Barbara present her with Barbara’s book on Lena’s life story – If I Survive.
Would you like the freshness and tranquility of the rainforest in your home? This is an opportunity to have a free gift of a print by rainforest Aboriginal artist Munganbana Norman Miller. Choose your favourite and enjoy. At the same time, help the artist get his beautiful work more widely known. Please feel free to forward on this great opportunity. Check here for more details – https://www.artprintsbymunganbana.com/
Munganbana means Mountain Water and aptly describes his work – powerful and peaceful – and the land from which he comes – crystal cascades and volcanic lakes. Munganbana is of the Jirrbal, Bar-Barrum and Tableland Yidinji tribes of the North Queensland rainforest, a World Heritage-listed area. He specializes in limited edition lino prints, acrylic on canvas, greeting cards, batik wall hangings, batik dress lengths, and silk scarves. Munganbana has a workshop in his own gallery in Cairns, one of the few Aboriginal artist-owned galleries in the region and his work is very popular with international tourists. He regularly does art classes for schools or has school groups come into his gallery for workshops. He has a book with 200 paintings and stories to go with them. See https://munganbana.com.au/books/
BOOK LAUNCHWED 30 NOV 6PM MUNGANBANA ABORIGINAL ART GALLERY 33 LAKE ST CAIRNS OF BOOK SECRETS AND LIES: THE SHOCKING TRUTH OF RECENT AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL HISTORY, A MEMOIR.
This book has previously been launched on zoom only so we are taking the opportunity of presenting the prizes for a Big Boomerang Colouring In Competition for primary and high school students in Cairns and region that we have organised to combine events. The competition is to build awareness of a project we are promoting to build a Big Icon in Cairns like the Big Pineapple, the Big Banana, the Big Prawn etc. It would be Australia’s only Big Icon focusing on Indigenous heritage. Prizes for the Colouring In Competition are family passes to Green Island on the Big Cat, Event Movies and Ten Pin Bowling and vouchers for accommodation at Coconut Resort and food at McDonalds and the Coffee Club. Barbara will also be giving away books.
REVIEW OF SECRETS AND LIESThis passionate and deeply researched book shines a light on what Aboriginal really means. The author’s unique style of gonzo journalism is fascinating, and illustrates the power of on-the-ground reporting. Despite it being a work of history, this story feels incredibly timely, given the ongoing political battles for First Nation rights in other parts of the globe. All told, Secrets and Lies is an eye-opening and fearless reflection on a vital topic.
Self-Publishing Review
BOOK PRICE SLASHED FROM $29.95 TO $7ea
Crazy discount for one more week only. William Cooper Gentle Warrior, a biography and history, is on sale and you can get 10 or more copies for the amazing price of $5 each – much less than what it costs to produce them. I have some special projects coming up that will make books on William Cooper in high demand so get in while you can. They will make great gifts and are good teaching tools. William Cooper started the first national Aboriginal organisation back in the 1930’s and was the father of NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Week.) He led his people on one of the few private protests worldwide against Kristallnacht, the start of the Holocaust. His legacy lives on and this book is highly acclaimed.
Shattered Lives Broken Dreams: William Cooper and Australian Aborigines Protest Holocaust covers the story of the Australian Aborigines’ League, led by William Cooper to protest Kristallnacht which he did on 6 Dec 1938 in a protest march to the German Consulate in Melbourne. They protested because the Nazis murdered 91 Jews, smashed the windows of numerous synagogues and Jewish businesses, set synagogues ablaze, and arrested thousands of Jews who they sent to concentration camps. The book is on my website https://barbara-miller-books.com/ or on Amazon
What was Kristallnacht or the Night of the Broken Glass? This is an excerpt from my book:
What happened that day in 1938 in Australia? A fire, not lit by arsons but by the Australian Government in 1949, burnt the pre-1939 records of the German Consulate in Melbourne. News reports of the 1938 event lay buried in archives for decades. What happened was hidden from our eyes. But when researchers unearthed it, the reverberations were felt as far away as Israel. It catapulted a humble Aboriginal man into the limelight, making him a hero, and it linked the hearts of Jews and Aborigines.
Let’s reconstruct it as best we can. It was Tuesday 6 December 1938. The German Consulate was at 419-425 Collins Street, in the heart of the Melbourne CBD. Collins Street was one of the most desired addresses in the city, and its Victorian architecture was imposing. World War 2 had not yet been declared. An elderly white-haired Aboriginal gentleman with a bushy white moustache named William Cooper made an appointment to see consular officials on 6 December at 11.30 am. However, he was just a name at that point. No doubt the Consulate would have seen the article in the The Argus newspaper on Saturday 3 December alerting them that this appointment was not so routine. The paper revealed that a deputation from the Australian Aborigines’ League (AAL) would meet with the German Consul to protest the “cruel persecution” of Jewish people and ask that they convey it to their government.
Perhaps it was a startled guard who first raised the alarm. A large group of Aborigines was fast approaching. It looked like a mob, not a deputation of two or three. They didn’t appear to have any weapons, but they were striding with purpose and getting closer. Would they try to overrun the Consulate? Bust their way inside? Damage any property? Perhaps their dark skin itself was threatening enough with Nazi Germany’s theories of the supremacy of the white race.
The tension mounted. Gruff voices. Commands. Keep them out! Lock the door! We can’t meet with a rowdy mob! No telling what might happen. Don’t take any chances!
If the Consulate had not been located in a peaceful country like Australia, would warning shots have been fired over their heads – or worse?
By now, William Cooper and the AAL were close enough that the fierce determination in their eyes could be seen. This was the only protest march the AAL ever embarked on, and it was for Jewish people in faraway Europe, not for themselves, even though they were not citizens in their own land. Having lived under racism and discrimination in Australia, they felt empathy with another persecuted group. They were cut to the core by what happened to the Jewish people and wanted it to stop. They wanted to stand up and do whatever was in their power to stop the death and persecution of Jews.
Perhaps the Aborigines were simply met with silence and locked doors that day. Closed hearts; closed minds. Or maybe they received curt orders and shouts to disperse. Maybe William Cooper knocked on the door to no avail. Did he push the AAL’s protest letter under the door or did a security guard receive it? The letter has not survived, but its contents contained the AAL resolution recorded in The Argus:
“At a meeting of the Australian Aborigines’ League, a resolution was passed voicing, on behalf of the aborigines of Australia, a strong protest against ‘the cruel persecution of the Jewish people by the Nazi Government of Germany, and asking that this persecution be brought to an end.’
A deputation of aborigines who are members of the league will wait on the German Consul on Tuesday at 11.30 a.m. to present the resolution and ask him to convey it to his Government.”
Early that morning, they had gathered at William and his wife Sarah’s Footscray home. Today it has been renovated in the style of heritage houses that dated back to the 1880s by new owners. They would like to see it made into a museum as a tribute to William Cooper’s stand. It has a white picket fence, heritage iron lacework under the roof and over the verandah and a small garden in front with green bushes. Its wooden walls are painted yellow ochre with darker yellow ochre window frames. White lace curtains decorate the front windows. It is like a spruced-up step back in time. Amazing that when William Cooper lived here, he could not afford lighting or heating. He had no gas or electricity. He wrote numerous letters to politicians and newspapers by candlelight, sitting up in bed trying to keep warm in the very cold Melbourne winters. He gathered driftwood to keep a fire burning when he could.
William formed the Australian Aborigines’ League in 1932, formalising its structure in 1935. It became the first national organisation for Indigenous people and still exists today under the name of the Aborigines Advancement League. The earliest Aboriginal organisation in Australia was set up in 1924 by Charles Fred Maynard and called the Australian Aborigines Progressive Association (AAPA). Active only until 1927 due to police harassment and internal divisions, it was, nevertheless, a notable achievement.
The Cooper home was the venue for many of the meetings of the AAL, warming themselves in winter over hot soup and sitting close to a fire as they met in the front room of the house. Candles flickered on the mantelpiece. People like Lynch Cooper, William’s son, Thomas James, Shadrach James, Doug Nicholls, Margaret Tucker, Bill and Eric Onus, Caleb and Anne Morgan and white supporters Arthur Burdeau and Helen Baillee were the regulars William and Sarah hosted. These were among the people who likely marched with William that morning to the German Consulate although the AAL did not keep a list of names of those there that day. William would also walk to meeting places as he could not afford a car or public transport. He saved his pension money for stamps for his innumerable letters. But he was a proud man and did not complain …
William probably moved the motion as he was an avid reader of newspapers and tried to keep up with news in Australia and overseas. It was approved. There would have been a passionate discussion as William told them that the Nazis had murdered 91 Jews, smashed the windows of numerous synagogues and Jewish businesses, set synagogues ablaze, and arrested thousands of Jews who they sent to concentration camps. There would have been outrage mixed with tears.”
BOOK OF THE MONTH
Farmers or Hunter-gatherers?: The Dark Emu Debate by Peter Sutton & Keryn Walshe has just been short-listed for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award. This is interesting as it is a criticism of the controversial and acclaimed book called Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe. The book description on Amazon says:
An authoritative study of pre-colonial Australia that dismantles and reframes popular narratives of First Nations land management and food production.
Australians’ understanding of Aboriginal society prior to the British invasion from 1788 has been transformed since the publication of Bruce Pascoe’s Dark Emu in 2014. It argued that classical Aboriginal society was more sophisticated than Australians had been led to believe because it resembled more closely the farming communities of Europe.
In Farmers or Hunter-gatherers? Peter Sutton and Keryn Walshe ask why Australians have been so receptive to the notion that farming represents an advance from hunting and gathering. Drawing on the knowledge of Aboriginal elders, previously not included within this discussion, and decades of anthropological scholarship, Sutton and Walshe provide extensive evidence to support their argument that classical Aboriginal society was a hunter-gatherer society and as sophisticated as the traditional European farming methods.
Farmers or Hunter-gatherers? asks Australians to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal society and culture.
Would you like the freshness and tranquility of the rainforest in your home? This is an opportunity to have a free gift of a print by rainforest Aboriginal artist Munganbana Norman Miller. Choose your favourite and enjoy. At the same time, help the artist get his beautiful work more widely known. Please feel free to forward on this great opportunity. Check here for more details – https://www.artprintsbymunganbana.com/
BOOK PRICE SLASHED FROM $29.95 TO $7ea
For October, William Cooper Gentle Warrior, a biography and history, is on sale and you can get 10 or more copies for the amazing price of $5 each – much less than what it costs to produce them. I have some special projects coming up that will make books on William Cooper in high demand so get in while you can. They will make great gifts and are good teaching tools. William Cooper started the first national Aboriginal organisation back in the 1930’s and was the father of NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Week.) He led his people on one of the few private protests worldwide against Kristallnacht, the start of the Holocaust. His legacy lives on and this book is highly acclaimed.
Hi all you wonderful readers – Well the year is advancing and I hope you’re getting through your to-do list and leaving yourself time out to read your favourite book or spend some time in nature or do whatever refreshes you.
Barbara Miller re her 2 memoirs – White Woman Black Heart and Secrets and Lies – brief interview
HOLOCAUST HANDBOOK FOR SCHOOLS & ADULTS ON THE HOLOCAUST & ANTISEMITISM
I have finished writing this project for a Jewish organisation and it is being edited. The graphic design work will begin soon. We are hoping that it will receive favour from curriculum bodies and teachers will use it. If anyone can help with this project, please let me know.
The photo is of a plaque outside the Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre in Melbourne.
Brief Interview with author Barbara Miller re her books on William Cooper
BELOW COST SALE
WILLIAM COOPER GENTLE WARRIOR
Slashed from $29.95 to $7ea for September only.
Sales of 10 or more copies, the low price of $5 each
$12 Shipping for 1 copy. $2 extra for each additional copy.
Email me for direct sales at bmiller@bigpond.com
REEF AND RAINFOREST: AN ABORIGINAL VOICE THROUGH ART AND STORY
Munganbana’s work in creating this book is a perfect example of … connection to country. He has combined his personal, ancestral and spiritual experiences with a mix of traditional and contemporary art styles to help give us a greater understanding of the beauty, history and importance of the Reef.
Sheriden Morris, Managing Director Reef and Rainforest Research Centre
If I Survive: Nazi Germany and the Jews,100-Year-Old Lena Goldstein’s Miracle Story is available here
Re White Australia Has A Black History
Read about up-to-date information on William Cooper and the people he mentored and how they changed Australian history
The Nazis shatter glass and shatter the lives of European Jews at Kristallnacht, the start of the Holocaust. An Australian Aboriginal, William Cooper, leads the campaign for civil rights for his people who are dying of poverty and mistreatment around him. 1938; two worlds, far apart. Cut to the core after Kristallnacht, can he do anything to stop it?
Title of Book – Gulpilil
‘David is a gateway to a history that we’ve so far denied and not embraced. In this country, he’s more important than Ned Kelly.’ Jack Thompson
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that content inside this publication, contains images and the name of a person who has died. For cultural reasons, he is referred to as David Dalaithngu.
About the Author
David Gulpilil is a Yolngu man beloved around the world as a hunter, dancer, actor and artist. His preternatural acting in the films Walkabout, Storm Boy,Crocodile Dundee, The Tracker and Charlie’s Country – for which he won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes Film Festival and Best Actor at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards in 2014 – has allowed Gulpilil to transmit the worlds of the First Australians to screens with unrivalled magic and melancholy, and made him an icon of cinema.
Secrets and Lies: The Shocking Truth of Recent Australian Aboriginal History, A Memoir (First Nations True Stories)
Barbara Russell, a young woman from a white working-class family. A ruthless Premier Bjelke-Petersen enforcing legal discrimination. How could Barbara stand by and watch the feud of the people with governments and miners strip Australian Aboriginal communities of all they held dear? But what could she do to make a difference?
My book Secrets and Lies is often no 1 best seller on Amazon Australia as an ebook in Discrimination Constitutional Law, Public Law and Civil Law – 3 categories. It is currently no 1 in the Sociology of Race Relations in Amazon US and White Australia Has A Black History was no 2 beside it a couple of days ago.
Left – A fun photo of me putting my hands on Munganbana Norman’s Big Boomerang recently.
Right – I was invited to Courage to Care’s first event in Brisbane 5 June 2014 and am beside the William Cooper exhibit.
Hi all you wonderful readers – I’m blessed to be living in Cairns in the Sunshine state of Queensland and we have only had 3 days of lockdown due to Covid-19 this year, faring much better than crowded cities like Sydney and Melbourne coping with the Delta strain.
In fact, except for the QR code requirement at venues, life has not changed much in Cairns since Covid-19 struck. My best wishes go out to all of you who have had your lives curtailed by many restrictions. A big hug to all of you who have been doing it tough. I only hope that during this time, you’ve been able to use it creatively to try out new things and to catch up on things you didn’t have time to do before. Maybe you even have more time to read books. Anyway, there is light at the end of the tunnel, so all the best.
Below are 2 photos taken by Norman of the Cairns Esplanade at night. Maybe we should be called a City of Lights.
During NAIDOC Week (National Aborigines and Islanders Week), I was interviewed about my new book Secrets and Lies
by Trevour Timms of Bummera Bippera Indigenous radio in Cairns
for National Indigenous Radio.
Here is the short but lively interview:
FREE EBOOK –White Woman Black Heart from 14-18 Sept on amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CCMV6CP
Oppressed Aborigines forced off their land at gunpoint. Over a decade later, one passionate young woman would take up their fight. Melbourne, 1970’s. Twenty-three-year-old university student Barbara Miller always stood her ground, even when it made her an outcast in her own family. So when she became a radical Christian advocate for social change, she didn’t think twice about joining the movement for Aboriginal justice. Boldly relocating to tropical Cape York and linking up with a Black activist and mentor on the frontline, she plunged into a life-changing battle despite the State’s threat of legal prosecution.
14-18 Sept the following ebooks will be reduced to 99c on amazon. The Dying Days of Segregation in Australia –https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GF864Q6
Did the deep north of Australia experience racism, discrimination, and segregation? Yes. But it was different from the deep south of the USA. A system similar to South African apartheid existed on Aboriginal reserves like Yarrabah in Queensland till as recently as 1984.
White Australia Has A Black History https://www.amazon.com/dp/064847223X
Some say he was Australia’s Martin Luther King. William Cooper saw his Aboriginal people dying around him and decided black lives matter. Starvation and discrimination took their toll. He became passionate that they should have a voice in Australia’s federal parliament.
Shattered Lives Broken Dreams – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084Q4SSTX
The Nazis shatter glass and shatter the lives of European Jews at Kristallnacht, the start of the Holocaust. An Australian Aboriginal, William Cooper, leads the campaign for civil rights for his people who are dying of poverty and mistreatment around him. 1938; two worlds, far apart. Cut to the core after Kristallnacht, can he do anything to stop it?
BOOK OF THE MONTH
There were certainly plenty of good books to choose from. The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku is not new but it is certainly acclaimed. It is the WINNER OF THE ABIA BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR 2021.
Life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful. It is up to you. Eddie Jaku always considered himself a German first, a Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed in November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested, and taken to a concentration camp.
Over the next seven years, Eddie faced unimaginable horrors every day, first in Buchenwald, then in Auschwitz, then on a Nazi death march. He lost family, friends, his country. Because he survived, Eddie made the vow to smile every day. He pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom, and living his best possible life. He now believes he is the ‘happiest man on earth’.
Published as Eddie turns 100, this is a powerful, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful memoir of how happiness can be found even in the darkest of times.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ABA NIELSEN BOOK BOOKSELLERS’ CHOICE – ADULT NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021
SHORTLISTED FOR THE INDIE BOOK AWARDS FOR NON-FICTION 2021
LONGLISTED FOR MATT RICHELL AWARD FOR NEW WRITER OF THE YEAR 2021
Interview I did with ABC Radio Cairns for Reconciliation Week on my book Secrets and Lies
REVIEW FEATURE
Authors depend on reviews so I help other authors out with reviews when I can so I have decided to feature a few occasionally in case you’re interested. They are usually inexpensive and quick to read as ebooks on amazon.
Instead of the reviews this month, I have included an exciting opportunity for you with a feature called – BOOKS YOU MIGHT LIKE. They are from other non fiction authors. Check it out now – https://storyoriginapp.com/to/RWP8CwX
Question-What is your favourite book and why in a few words? Or a book that impacted you as a child? Let me know:
bmiller-books@bigpond.com
One of the books that impacted me in childhood was Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, an 1852 anti-slavery novel that had great impact in the US.
CAIRNS – CITY IN A RAINFOREST – PAINTING BY ABORIGINAL ARTIST MUNGANBANA. If you want to see more, go to www.munganbana.com.au
