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Bushrangers: Australia's Greatest Self-Made Heroes
From the first convict runaways to the spectacular showdown that ended Ned Kelly's career, Evan McHugh delivers true tales of daring exploits and audacious deeds.These are incredible stories of the men - and women - who achieved fame not just by what they did, but by the way they did it. There are those who lifted themselves from downtrodden underdogs to heroes, such as Bold Jack Donohue, brave Ben Hall and Captain Thunderbolt as well as villains like Pearce the Cannibal and Mad Dog' Morgan."Bushrangers" is as fast paced as a stolen thoroughbred and as arresting as a squad of troopers. Through extensive first-hand accounts and gripping detail about Australia's lawless past, bestselling author Evan McHugh brings a life cast of roguish characters who blazed their way into Australian history.
- GenresHistory
316 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 27, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 29, 2024
'There was appropriate symbolism in his [Ned] having torn up the train tracks outside Glenrowan. For the Kelly Gang, and for bushranging in general, it was the end of the line.' - Evan McHugh.
An ambitious undertaking, McHugh's Bushrangers is an extensive history on bushranging in Australia during the 19th century. Written chronologically, McHugh documents the life and times of various convicts and second-generation youths whose ill-fated circumstances either forced or inspired them into a life of crime.
This was an eye opening read, to say the least. McHugh does not shy away from the oppressive brutality of Australia’s colonial history and I felt this book was a good foundation for further reading into the topic. It was also a very accessible read, with limited academic jargon (if any at all). That being said, as much as I enjoyed reading this book I can’t say that I loved it.
The fact McHugh was focusing on bushranging as a whole, as opposed to a biography of one or a few individuals, made this an exciting read for me! However, I tend to agree with other reviewers that the execution of this book could have been better – especially in the latter half. Due to McHugh writing chronologically, he often starts telling the story of one bushranger only to then pause halfway through and discuss a different one before eventually returning back to the first. This was not only confusing (considering how many names, places, and dates there were for the reader to remember) but slowed the pacing significantly. While the first few chapters don’t suffer as badly from this because there were fewer bushrangers at the time and less chance of overlap, it did make the chapters post-Gold Rush a slog to read.
Regardless, I still enjoyed the book because of how interesting the information was and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about colonial history in Australia or bushranging in general.
An ambitious undertaking, McHugh's Bushrangers is an extensive history on bushranging in Australia during the 19th century. Written chronologically, McHugh documents the life and times of various convicts and second-generation youths whose ill-fated circumstances either forced or inspired them into a life of crime.
This was an eye opening read, to say the least. McHugh does not shy away from the oppressive brutality of Australia’s colonial history and I felt this book was a good foundation for further reading into the topic. It was also a very accessible read, with limited academic jargon (if any at all). That being said, as much as I enjoyed reading this book I can’t say that I loved it.
The fact McHugh was focusing on bushranging as a whole, as opposed to a biography of one or a few individuals, made this an exciting read for me! However, I tend to agree with other reviewers that the execution of this book could have been better – especially in the latter half. Due to McHugh writing chronologically, he often starts telling the story of one bushranger only to then pause halfway through and discuss a different one before eventually returning back to the first. This was not only confusing (considering how many names, places, and dates there were for the reader to remember) but slowed the pacing significantly. While the first few chapters don’t suffer as badly from this because there were fewer bushrangers at the time and less chance of overlap, it did make the chapters post-Gold Rush a slog to read.
Regardless, I still enjoyed the book because of how interesting the information was and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about colonial history in Australia or bushranging in general.
June 21, 2013
Great read especially if you're into Australian history.
August 5, 2019
Poorly researched - especially when it came to Captain Moonlite.
November 25, 2013
Some interesting stories. I would have liked it if the stories were arranged by person rather then by time period.
January 11, 2016
Contains useful information and starts really well, but gets really bogged down in the post Gold Rush era.
April 28, 2017
A history of bushranging in Australia from the beginning of white settlement to Ned Kelly’s execution and enduring legacy, Bushrangers: Australia's Greatest Self-Made Heroes is a well-written, interesting book. It is thorough in its approach, but not overly bloated. It is highly readable and Evan McHugh has written a (mostly) credible account.
That said, there are some weaknesses. There were a couple of lengthy chapters that became a slog to get through and if they’d been broken into smaller chapters, this might have been avoided. McHugh structures the book by chronology, not personality, which I enjoyed as it allowed for a larger picture of bushranging to appear and for McHugh to analyse why outbreaks were occurring. However, it sometimes meant that the sheer amount of names and gangs was confronting and confusing. I felt that the chapter on the Kelly Gang could have been better, with more context given for the outbreak and less of the author’s opinion intruding on the account. Finally, I found it strange that there was no introduction or conclusion, which meant that McHugh’s narrative felt strangely directionless and incapable of forming an overarching message. In fact, it was only in the ‘Kelly’ chapter that the subtitle of the book got a look-in.
3 stars.
That said, there are some weaknesses. There were a couple of lengthy chapters that became a slog to get through and if they’d been broken into smaller chapters, this might have been avoided. McHugh structures the book by chronology, not personality, which I enjoyed as it allowed for a larger picture of bushranging to appear and for McHugh to analyse why outbreaks were occurring. However, it sometimes meant that the sheer amount of names and gangs was confronting and confusing. I felt that the chapter on the Kelly Gang could have been better, with more context given for the outbreak and less of the author’s opinion intruding on the account. Finally, I found it strange that there was no introduction or conclusion, which meant that McHugh’s narrative felt strangely directionless and incapable of forming an overarching message. In fact, it was only in the ‘Kelly’ chapter that the subtitle of the book got a look-in.
3 stars.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews