Tall Stories: a lively history of the Blue Mountains

by Michael Duffy

Not so much a local history as a lively collection of stories of fascinating people who’ve lived or travelled here, the Aboriginal people, explorers, artists, the visionaries - even a few criminals! This is the only history of the Blue Mountains in print. Michael Duffy writes the best-selling Bella Greaves crime novels set in the Blue Mountains.

Genres: Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2023

About the author

Michael is a court and crime reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Sun Herald.

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[sarahh · Rating 3 out of 5]

more of a 3.5-3.75 star read! enjoyable, informative, and broadly entertaining, but not ground-breaking

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top read! Drove everyone nuts quoting bits from it. Always a good sign.

[V · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection of local myths, legends and everything in between.
Only book I could find with some history of this area.
Great for those who want a bit of background to this district and explains why this area looks so dated and yet is swamped by tourists.
Can be frightening how many murders are in this collection.
Recommended read for anyone visiting the area.

[Brian Yatman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished this very entertaining book while travelling on Blue Mountains train to city, appropriately enough. I’d heard a few of these stories but most of it was strange terrain. Some absolute ratbags and weirdos have made the mountains their home, and I knew that, but it was fun to read the tawdry details.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed these interesting stories of the mountains I have called home for the last 50 years

[Mia Barnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accidental DNF because I ran out of time, but I really enjoyed the style of writing. Easy to consume history but also entertaining.