The Year it All Fell Down
1st Edition
Published on 22. May 2013
224 pages
978-1-74348-085-4 (ISBN)
Description
'A very readable, occasionally apocalyptic, almanac of ''interesting times.''' The Age
'He writes beautifully and his ability to pick out the human stories among the headlines is what makes the book worth reading.' Weekly Times
'????? He...write[s] like an angel, albeit an avenging one with a taste for the salacious.' Good Reading
In 2011, history was made and the future broken...
One of our most incisive and eloquent observers, Bob Ellis has reviewed the occurrences of 2011 and found it to be a year as important as 1848. He and his collaborators, Damian Spruce and Stephen Ramsey, refresh and repopulate our memories with enormous events already half-forgotten, revealing their coherence and resonance.
From the Arab Spring to the London riots and Occupy Wall Street; from the Christchurch earthquake and the Fukushima meltdown to the possible discovery of the Higgs-Boson 'God' particle; from the shooting of US Senator Gabby Giffords to her vote on the bill that saved America's economy; from Assange fighting extradition to the Murdoch empire on trial; from the last hours of Kim Jong-il and Vaclav Havel to the Breivik massacre in Norway and the executions of Gaddafi and bin Laden - the year 2011 was portentously charged. The shockwaves from these events - and more - continue to reverberate through the corridors of power and even the foundations of the planet.
The Year It All Fell Down is a compulsively readable meditation on the state of our world and its future.
'The scope of world affairs covered is impressive. Ellis's prose is intelligent and often devastatingly acerbic.' Australian Book Review
'Ellis is a stormy petrel, but he's our wild child and he should be celebrated.' Weekend Australian
'He writes beautifully and his ability to pick out the human stories among the headlines is what makes the book worth reading.' Weekly Times
'????? He...write[s] like an angel, albeit an avenging one with a taste for the salacious.' Good Reading
In 2011, history was made and the future broken...
One of our most incisive and eloquent observers, Bob Ellis has reviewed the occurrences of 2011 and found it to be a year as important as 1848. He and his collaborators, Damian Spruce and Stephen Ramsey, refresh and repopulate our memories with enormous events already half-forgotten, revealing their coherence and resonance.
From the Arab Spring to the London riots and Occupy Wall Street; from the Christchurch earthquake and the Fukushima meltdown to the possible discovery of the Higgs-Boson 'God' particle; from the shooting of US Senator Gabby Giffords to her vote on the bill that saved America's economy; from Assange fighting extradition to the Murdoch empire on trial; from the last hours of Kim Jong-il and Vaclav Havel to the Breivik massacre in Norway and the executions of Gaddafi and bin Laden - the year 2011 was portentously charged. The shockwaves from these events - and more - continue to reverberate through the corridors of power and even the foundations of the planet.
The Year It All Fell Down is a compulsively readable meditation on the state of our world and its future.
'The scope of world affairs covered is impressive. Ellis's prose is intelligent and often devastatingly acerbic.' Australian Book Review
'Ellis is a stormy petrel, but he's our wild child and he should be celebrated.' Weekend Australian
More details
Person
Bob Ellis (10 May 1942 - 3 April 2016) was a well-known writer, journalist, filmmaker and political commentator. He wrote books, screenplays, poetry, political speeches, and film reviews.
He had a long and close involvement with politics, covering as a journalist 25 campaigns in Australia, the UK, the US, and writing speeches for Kim Beazley, Bob Carr, Mike Rann, Nathan Rees and Kamahl. In 1994 he stood as an Independent against Bronwyn Bishop, who was then thought likely to lead the Liberal Party.
He co-wrote the classic films Newsfront, Fatty Finn, Man of Flowers and Goodbye Paradise and co-authored the musical play The Legend of King O'Malley, the television miniseries The True Believers and the Ben Chifley play A Local Man. He wrote and directed the feature films Unfinished Business and The Nostradamus Kid and wrote and appeared in the documentary Bastards from the Bush about his long friendship with Les Murray, and Run Rabbit Run, a film about Mike Rann. His film work won numerous nominations and awards for writing and direction, including three Premier's Literary Awards, three AFIs, five AWGIES and a Critics' Circle Award. He was for 40 years a contentious essayist and critic, and in 2002 was voted Columnist of the Year by the Magazine Publishers Association.
Bob wrote several novels and works of non-fiction including the best sellers The Capitalism Delusion, And So It Went, Goodbye Jerusalem, Goodbye Babylon, So It Goes, Night Thoughts in Time of War, The Season, The Hewson Tapes and Letters to the Future.
He had a long and close involvement with politics, covering as a journalist 25 campaigns in Australia, the UK, the US, and writing speeches for Kim Beazley, Bob Carr, Mike Rann, Nathan Rees and Kamahl. In 1994 he stood as an Independent against Bronwyn Bishop, who was then thought likely to lead the Liberal Party.
He co-wrote the classic films Newsfront, Fatty Finn, Man of Flowers and Goodbye Paradise and co-authored the musical play The Legend of King O'Malley, the television miniseries The True Believers and the Ben Chifley play A Local Man. He wrote and directed the feature films Unfinished Business and The Nostradamus Kid and wrote and appeared in the documentary Bastards from the Bush about his long friendship with Les Murray, and Run Rabbit Run, a film about Mike Rann. His film work won numerous nominations and awards for writing and direction, including three Premier's Literary Awards, three AFIs, five AWGIES and a Critics' Circle Award. He was for 40 years a contentious essayist and critic, and in 2002 was voted Columnist of the Year by the Magazine Publishers Association.
Bob wrote several novels and works of non-fiction including the best sellers The Capitalism Delusion, And So It Went, Goodbye Jerusalem, Goodbye Babylon, So It Goes, Night Thoughts in Time of War, The Season, The Hewson Tapes and Letters to the Future.
