Paul Keating has a book 'AFTER WORDS' a collection of his POST-PRIME MINISTERIAL SPEECHES GIVEN BETWEEN 1996 & 2011, and this morning was at the local Potts Point Bookshop for a book signing [yes, he's a local]
what a treat ! he was jolly and chatty and full of interesting ideas and points of view....just like the book.
I had tuned into his recent interview with Leigh Sales on 7.30, so the book was already on the list, but when I discovered his one and only book-signing was to be a stone's throw from home........well, it was too good to resist.
when asked by Sales if an autobiography was in the future, he quipped that Kissinger once told him "Paul, if you're any good, someone else will write a book about you.". Hmmmm.... a few more ex-leaders could take that message on board. (watch the interview here)
AFTER WORDS [appropriate for a guy who ALWAYS had the last word] reveals the breadth and depth of Keating's many interests, be they cultural, historical, or policy-focused, and deals with subjects as broad as international relations, economic policy and politics. Chapters range from a discussion of Utzon's Opera House, the redesign of Berlin, the history of native title, the challenge of Asia, the role of the monarchy, eliminating nuclear weapons and the shape of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 [and wait, there's more!]
Flicking through this reminds me why I got so interested in politics in the first place - Keating really was a visionary and when he's on form, no-one else can touch him.. This would make an excellent christmas present, for a history or politics buff or even a tragic "true believer"...... so hot-foot it up to the bookshop this weekend.... they have a few signed copies floating around.
(open till 8 tonight and 5pm tomorrow)
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