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ANU Lives Series in Biography
The ANU Lives Series in Biography is an initiative of the National Centre for Biography in the History Program in the Research School of Social Sciences at The Australian National University. The National Centre was established in 2008 to extend the work of the Australian Dictionary of Biography and to serve as a focus for the study of life writing in Australia, supporting innovative research and writing to the highest standards in the field, nationally and internationally. Books that appear in the ANU Lives series are lively, engaging and provocative, intended to appeal to the current popular and scholarly interest in biography, memoir and autobiography. They recount interesting and telling life stories and engage critically with issues and problems in historiography and life writing.
Please note: The following list of titles is sorted by publication date, with the most recent first.
Dictionary of World Biography »
Sixth edition
Jones, Barry Owen (1932– ). Australian politician, writer and lawyer, born in Geelong.
‘True Biographies of Nations?’ »
The Cultural Journeys of Dictionaries of National Biography
Dictionaries of national biography are a long-established and significant genre of biographical and historical writing, existing in many forms across the globe.
Clio’s Lives »
Biographies and Autobiographies of Historians
Including contributions from leading scholars in the field from both Australia and North America, this collection explores diverse approaches to writing the lives of historians and ways of assessing the importance of doing so.
The Histories of Raphael Samuel »
A portrait of a people's historian
In the first integrated biographical study of his work, this book situates British historian Raphael Samuel (1934–1996) in relation to his distinctive form of activist politics as they developed from youthful Cold War communism to the first Britis
Family Experiments »
Middle-class, professional families in Australia and New Zealand c. 1880–1920
Family Experiments explores the forms and undertakings of ‘family’ that prevailed among British professionals who migrated to Australia and New Zealand in the late nineteenth century.
The Seven Dwarfs and the Age of the Mandarins »
Australian Government Administration in the Post-War Reconstruction Era
In the history and folklore of Australia’s Commonwealth Public Service, the idea of the ‘Seven Dwarfs’ has been remarkably persistent.
Ngapartji Ngapartji »
In turn, in turn: Ego-histoire, Europe and Indigenous Australia
In this innovative collection, Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars from Australia and Europe reflect on how their life histories have impacted on their research in Indigenous Australian Studies. Drawing on Pierre Nora’s concept of ego-histoire
Henry Prinsep's Empire »
Framing a distant colony
Henry Prinsep is known as Western Australia’s first Chief Protector of Aborigines in the colonial government of Sir John Forrest, a period which saw the introduction of oppressive laws that dominated the lives of Aboriginal people for most of the
Ten Journeys to Cameron's Farm »
An Australian Tragedy
‘In the whole history of government in Australia, this was the most devastating tragedy.’
The ADB's Story »
‘The Australian Dictionary of Biography captures the life and times and culture of this country in an absolutely distinctive and irreplaceable way. It is the indispensable record of who we are, and of the characters who have made us what we are.
Scholars at War »
Australasian Social Scientists, 1939–1945
Scholars at War is the first scholarly publication to examine the effect World War II had on the careers of Australasian social scientists.
Māori and Aboriginal Women in the Public Eye »
Representing Difference, 1950–2000
From 1950, increasing numbers of Aboriginal and Māori women became nationally or internationally renowned.
Transnational Ties »
Australian Lives in the World
Australian lives are intricately enmeshed with the world, bound by ties of allegiance and affinity, intellect and imagination.