Hunting History

Mike Bellamy's father Barry is as tough as they come. Widely credited as the inspiration for Barry Crump's back-country character Sam Cash, Barry was a roving worker in rural North Island during the 50s, 60s and 70s. Tough Country is a book about a father by a son, about a bygone era of bushmen, scrub-cutters, hunters and shepherds. It's also a book about the author's own life working the land, and the characters of the 80s and 90s, from tradies and digger-drivers to drain-layers and wharfies.

Serving to Lead, is a brilliant "oeuvre" and provides leadership lessons relevant for every profession. It delivers a compelling personal narrative underpinned by tales of tenacity during adversity and resilience garnered from the battlefield, his time playing professional football, and the corporate world.

The Treasure was originally taken from the Second Temple in 69 AD, just before the Romans sacked Jerusalem and the Temple. The Treasure was split up and hidden in 64 different places in and around Jerusalem. Those locations were documented on the Copper Scroll found with the Dead Sea Scrolls. The first of these scrolls were found by Bedouins in caves at Qumran in 1947. The Copper Scroll was later found in cave number 3 by professionals in 1952.

Many Americans associate the House of David with its bearded barnstorming baseball teams of the 1920s and 30s. Others may recall the sex scandal associated with the group, a scandal that gave newspapers during the first years after World War I some added spice. Still, others may know it as a religious communal society founded in 1903, which has a few adherents today. What is this strange group and how can these diverse images be reconciled?

It's 1957 in Oregon, where prejudice runs rampant. As if finding out that her best friend's dad was thrown in jail for being a Pinko Commie isn't enough, Jessie learns the identity of her own father whom she never knew existed. Even though their lives are in a turmoil, Jessie and her friend Deboyce risk life, limb, and their own freedom to try and save a trapped girl and the lives of 20 other barefoot, enslaved girls who are being worked to near starvation by a tyrant.

As a historical document, this audiobook is far more entertaining than it has a right to be. It's a wonderful, funny, sad peek into the emotional agonies of a sexual era that is happily past. Or is it? You won't know quite whether to laugh, cry, or thank Dr. Wakely for his almost criminally Victorian little 1846 book. Despite stating that it was "for sale by all booksellers", one wonders who would have the nerve to make such a purchase in 1846.