Dreaming Too Loud

by Geoffrey Robertson

Christopher Hitchens described Geoffrey Robertson as ‘the greatest living Australian' and the satirical magazine Private Eye calls him ‘an Australian who has had a vowel transplant'. Just before he was to cross-examine Princess Diana, the London Times complained that he was ‘anti-establishment, republican and Australian' - in ascending order of horror.

Internationally recognised as one of the world's leading human rights lawyers and as an intellectual inspiration for the global justice movement, he regularly boomerangs back from leading Europe's largest civil liberties practice to the land of his birth and his youth. Just as his Hypotheticals dazzled television audiences, so the speeches and essays collected in this book provoke, disturb and entertain.

Here you will find new heroes in our history, such as the schoolteacher who stopped Ned Kelly's planned terrorist atrocity at Glenrowan, and the squadron leader who led ‘the few' - the airmen who held the Japanese at bay after the fall of Singapore. There are insights into Australian education, the story of wrongly jailed Aboriginal mother Nancy Young, encounters with Vaclav Havel, Rupert Murdoch, Michael Kirby, John Mortimer and Julian Assange, the transcript of a previously banned Hypothetical, reflections on worldwide problems such as torture, terrorism and the Catholic church, and much else besides. With his trademark intelligence, humour and humanity, Robertson's expatriate (but not ex-patriot) vision picks the real winners and losers in the Australian race. - See more at: http://www.randomhouse.com.au/books/g...

Genres: Nonfiction, Australia, History

480 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2013

About the author

Geoffrey Ronald Robertson QC (born 30 September 1946) is a human rights barrister, academic, author and broadcaster. He holds dual Australian and British citizenship.

Robertson is a founder and joint head of Doughty Street Chambers. He serves as a Master of the Bench at the Middle Temple, a recorder, and visiting professor at Queen Mary, University of London.

Reviews

[Lincoln · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geoffrey Robertson is an Australian national treasure and seems to be one of the few people in the world still talking sense. In some ways this collection of his writing is a little dated, yet much of it resonates as if it was written yesterday. Because what Robertson stands for - and has always stood for - is honesty, integrity and above all fairness for all human beings, regardless of race, colour, creed, gender or sexual orientation. Although he doesn’t live full time in Australia and hasn’t for many years, Robertson’s passion for the country is so heartfelt and infectious, it makes me grieve even more for the direction we seem to have headed in recent years. Robertson’s pure humanity is what is so lacking in much of our public discourse of late. He just makes so much calm, clever sense about living together as a supportive caring community and how the proper laws and governance can better enable us to achieve that. It appears as if everything Robertson has done in his life has been aimed at creating a better world - one in which we treat each other with respect and dignity and enjoy basic human rights. Unfortunately, when you consider the ever-widening gap between rich and poor, the moves toward the politics of hatred and the growing tolerance of blatant bigotry and discrimination, we may be further away from his dream than ever before. But he tackles these lofty goals with a stunning intellect and a wickedly Australian sense of humour - he describes Rupert Murdoch as “a great Australian in the sense, perhaps, Attila was a great Hun”. And he reveals some painful truths about our early history that they never taught us in school. This book will also have you reassessing some of our best known historical figures, like Ned Kelly and Arthur Phillip. (Hint: one’s a hero and one’s not) Every Australian should read this book. Every Australian should as grateful to be Australian as Geoffrey Robertson is. In fact, I only wish he would return to live in his homeland full-time. I know this great house that would be just perfect for him and Kathy - it’s called The Lodge.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dreaming Too Loud was a Christmas 2013 present that I've just got around to reading. Geoffrey Robertson QC is a great favourite of mine and he has a staggering intellect, is incredibly articulate and charming. Dreaming Too Loud starts with 61 questions about Australia that I thought I would romp through...I got less than 20 correct. Geoffrey is caustic and critical of the fact that we (Australians) are the only country in the world that reveres a terrorist, Ned Kelly, as our national hero (I'm not sure he's right on that score as I think many countries have revered terrorists...Stalin and Mao but to name but two). There is so much in this book that I did not know about my country and Geoffrey's writing is enlightened, breezy and entertaining. This is a superb book