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Quarterly Essay #34
Stop at Nothing: The Life and Adventures of Malcolm Turnbull; Quarterly Essay 34
What does Malcolm Turnbull stand for? In "Stop at Nothing" Annabel Crabb tells the story of the man who would be prime minister.
Based on extensive interviews with Turnbull as well as those who have worked with him, this is an essay full of revelations. Crabb delves into young Malcolm's university exploits - which included co-authoring a musical with Bob Ellis - and his remarkable relationship with Kerry Packer, the man for whom he was at first a prized attack dog, and then a mortal enemy. She asks whether Turnbull - colourful, aggressive, humorous and ruthless - has what it takes to re-invigorate the Australian Liberal Party in the wake of John Howard. She discusses his vexed relationship with Kevin Rudd, and the looming presence of Peter Costello. This is a scintillating portrait by one of the country's most incisive reporters.
"How would Australia be different if he were prime minister? What are his most closely held policy convictions? I asked dozens of Malcolm Turnbull's political colleagues this question, asking them to name three. Many of them had to pause before responding. 'You'll have to excuse me. I'm eating some chocolate, ' was the best initial response, from a Liberal on the other end of a phone line." -Annabel Crabb, "Stop At Nothing"
Based on extensive interviews with Turnbull as well as those who have worked with him, this is an essay full of revelations. Crabb delves into young Malcolm's university exploits - which included co-authoring a musical with Bob Ellis - and his remarkable relationship with Kerry Packer, the man for whom he was at first a prized attack dog, and then a mortal enemy. She asks whether Turnbull - colourful, aggressive, humorous and ruthless - has what it takes to re-invigorate the Australian Liberal Party in the wake of John Howard. She discusses his vexed relationship with Kevin Rudd, and the looming presence of Peter Costello. This is a scintillating portrait by one of the country's most incisive reporters.
"How would Australia be different if he were prime minister? What are his most closely held policy convictions? I asked dozens of Malcolm Turnbull's political colleagues this question, asking them to name three. Many of them had to pause before responding. 'You'll have to excuse me. I'm eating some chocolate, ' was the best initial response, from a Liberal on the other end of a phone line." -Annabel Crabb, "Stop At Nothing"
168 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2009
106 people are currently reading
372 people want to read
About the author
Annabel Crabb
15 books320 followersAnnabel Crabb has been a journalist since 1997, beginning her career at Adelaide’s Advertiser and moving on to cover politics first for the Age and then for the Sydney Morning Herald, where she was a columnist and sketch-writer. She is the author of Losing It: The Inside Story of the Labor Party in Opposition (2005) and the Quarterly Essay Stop at Nothing: The Life and Adventures of Malcolm Turnbull, which won a 2009 Walkley Award. She is presently the ABC’s chief online political writer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
August 26, 2018
UPDATE: He made a bit of a mess, didn't he? Can't forgive what he did to our ABC. Not a great lagacy at all. He played to too many interests. But Crabb wrote a wonderful profile, she's fantastic.
Australian politics, here I am. Well only thanks to Annabel Crabb. Sure, Turnbull is an interesting person. I mean I don't see myself voting 'right', like ever, but it almost seems like he could be a labor leader. He's intelligent and I'm not feeling sick at the thought of his reinstatement--here at the end of a long winter election--like I was for Tony Abbott. However, who knows if his brilliance is a treasure or a curse. He's quoted, at the end of this extended essay as saying something about how he is unsure if he's in the future or in the past - which is so true. For the most part his cleverness, semblance of empathy, dabble with the arts, grizzly deal-making capacity, uh should make for a fine leader? At least, should fend off more leadership spills, right? Leaving us back to mostly ignoring our politicians, no fun.
Australian politics, here I am. Well only thanks to Annabel Crabb. Sure, Turnbull is an interesting person. I mean I don't see myself voting 'right', like ever, but it almost seems like he could be a labor leader. He's intelligent and I'm not feeling sick at the thought of his reinstatement--here at the end of a long winter election--like I was for Tony Abbott. However, who knows if his brilliance is a treasure or a curse. He's quoted, at the end of this extended essay as saying something about how he is unsure if he's in the future or in the past - which is so true. For the most part his cleverness, semblance of empathy, dabble with the arts, grizzly deal-making capacity, uh should make for a fine leader? At least, should fend off more leadership spills, right? Leaving us back to mostly ignoring our politicians, no fun.
March 2, 2019
“Smart boy, not much dough, abandoned by his mother at eight, left alone a lot as a kid, sent to boarding school, loving but absent father, forced to rely on own brilliance. Brisk university life, period of feckless womanising, moonlights as brilliant young journalist, snapped up by grumpy tycoon. Rhodes scholar, famed barrister, fabulous clever wife, adorable family, filthy-rich banker, substantial philanthropist, stormed into parliament, breezed into cabinet, seized the Liberal leadership … and that’s as far as we’ve got.”
- Annabel Crabb
This just about accounts for all that which Annabel Crabb has applied herself to exploring about Malcolm Turnbull’s life and adventures using her uniquely humorous style that is so incredibly beguiling. The way she writes about Turnbull, with frequent light-hearted jibes and caricature, is effective for so many reasons but principally because it allows a reader to be open-minded where they might otherwise be sensitive. And of course, that the time it was written and edited (2016), many people had reason to be sensitive about the way Australian politics has been run. They still do. But despite this environment being prima facie so utterly unsuitable for subtle criticism, Crabb has been successful in offering just that. Were the reader a extremely committed Turnbull fan, they might disagree with Crabb on numerous points regarding his character, or diminish their importance, and yet you can still picture them taking the underlying sharper criticism in good humour thanks to how approachable Crabb makes the criticism. This is especially impressive because much of her feature piece is about the Man’s character, which is so much more easily contested than things perhaps a little more objective like policy and professional credentials. Therefore, to give just a vague impression of this feature piece by way of a summary introduction, Crabb combines the best of stand-up with the best of veteran political correspondence. However, there are a few other things worth describing at some greater length either for their analytical merit or their entertainment value (and therefore capacity to deliver a lasting impression).
“He was a board member at the Nine Network. He advised Westpac on the handling of its $250 million loan to Channel Ten, which made the bank Ten’s principal secured creditor. He advised Hudson Conway on its bid for the Seven Network. And he had already taken nearly $10 million in fees from Fairfax, being for extensive advice to the doomed Warwick Fairfax, including a recommendation to sell the Age newspaper, which Fairfax ignored.”
Since this feature is essentially a prep for the informed public ahead of the Turnbull prime ministership it’s worth mentioning the more hard-and-fast details that Crabb considers, and one would assume she selected for their relevance to judging his suitability for the highest Australian public office. Above is a similar sort of summary as I provided at the start of this review. However, this time round it is clearly focused on the professional credentials of Malcolm Turnbull, and particularly his credentials as someone who would be able to successfully lead the Australian government to successful economic reform. However, she still acts the consummate journalist and offers an inference about his character that is without explicit statement of whether the inference reveals something positive or negative. As she explains, “chutzpah is a pretty good term to describe Malcolm’s most striking attribute in business, too. Institutionalised shamelessness would also come close”. She appears to expect this to cause a rift between Malcolm and some (probably younger) readers though and aptly proffers Turnbull’s record for philanthropy. Most notably she describes how…
“He and his wife Lucy are compulsive givers to charities, hospitals and church enterprises. Recently he handed a personal cheque for $50,000 to the Sydney Cancer Centre at a function, asking to remain anonymous (and this story did not come from Turnbull). He gave another $50,000 to charity at the 2007 Press Gallery Midwinter Ball. Most years, the Turnbulls give away somewhere in the region of half-a-million dollars.”
This strikes a reasonable (as opposed to contrived) balance.
To move onto the more idiosyncratic and entertaining attributes of her writing though we also arrive at the judgements more likely to affect the reader more concerned with Turnbull’s moral fibre. Again though, Crabb ensures that what she is offering to the reader has a definite relevance rather than being some gratuity that could have the effect of poisoning the Turnbull well ahead of an important period for his garnering of votes. Such an approach is perhaps most clearly visible in her criticism that “In circumstances – like the republic referendum – where he is required to chart a direction for others to follow, Turnbull’s results tend to be poorer”. In circumstances where leaders have been elected and then aborted by their party this is certainly of great concern. The judgements of character she provides in addition also seem to be carefully considered as they are linked to concerns about his ability to successfully lead a government. For example, there may be concerns about future party solidarity when “Good Malcolm is tremendous fun. Bad Malcolm, however, can be anywhere on the scale from distant to vicious, none of it good. Bad Malcolm is well known for blowing up at his staff”. Once again though, she is fair-minded through elaborating on the nearby positives.
“But it’s deeper than that – Turnbull, for all his notorious rages and impatience, does not appear to be driven by hate. And his reaction to people who hate him isn’t automatically to hate in return.”
All this taken together mean that what you have in your hands when you take-up this feature is probably one of the more engrossing Quarterly Essays you’re likely to read. And that is so important in a political climate that has generated even further mistrust in politicians and an associated disinterest in surveying the Australian political scene. I recommend this to anyone looking for a way to begin understanding the forces at work in Australian politics. Though it may seem outdated in 2019, there are some valuable lessons in this feature.
- Annabel Crabb
This just about accounts for all that which Annabel Crabb has applied herself to exploring about Malcolm Turnbull’s life and adventures using her uniquely humorous style that is so incredibly beguiling. The way she writes about Turnbull, with frequent light-hearted jibes and caricature, is effective for so many reasons but principally because it allows a reader to be open-minded where they might otherwise be sensitive. And of course, that the time it was written and edited (2016), many people had reason to be sensitive about the way Australian politics has been run. They still do. But despite this environment being prima facie so utterly unsuitable for subtle criticism, Crabb has been successful in offering just that. Were the reader a extremely committed Turnbull fan, they might disagree with Crabb on numerous points regarding his character, or diminish their importance, and yet you can still picture them taking the underlying sharper criticism in good humour thanks to how approachable Crabb makes the criticism. This is especially impressive because much of her feature piece is about the Man’s character, which is so much more easily contested than things perhaps a little more objective like policy and professional credentials. Therefore, to give just a vague impression of this feature piece by way of a summary introduction, Crabb combines the best of stand-up with the best of veteran political correspondence. However, there are a few other things worth describing at some greater length either for their analytical merit or their entertainment value (and therefore capacity to deliver a lasting impression).
“He was a board member at the Nine Network. He advised Westpac on the handling of its $250 million loan to Channel Ten, which made the bank Ten’s principal secured creditor. He advised Hudson Conway on its bid for the Seven Network. And he had already taken nearly $10 million in fees from Fairfax, being for extensive advice to the doomed Warwick Fairfax, including a recommendation to sell the Age newspaper, which Fairfax ignored.”
Since this feature is essentially a prep for the informed public ahead of the Turnbull prime ministership it’s worth mentioning the more hard-and-fast details that Crabb considers, and one would assume she selected for their relevance to judging his suitability for the highest Australian public office. Above is a similar sort of summary as I provided at the start of this review. However, this time round it is clearly focused on the professional credentials of Malcolm Turnbull, and particularly his credentials as someone who would be able to successfully lead the Australian government to successful economic reform. However, she still acts the consummate journalist and offers an inference about his character that is without explicit statement of whether the inference reveals something positive or negative. As she explains, “chutzpah is a pretty good term to describe Malcolm’s most striking attribute in business, too. Institutionalised shamelessness would also come close”. She appears to expect this to cause a rift between Malcolm and some (probably younger) readers though and aptly proffers Turnbull’s record for philanthropy. Most notably she describes how…
“He and his wife Lucy are compulsive givers to charities, hospitals and church enterprises. Recently he handed a personal cheque for $50,000 to the Sydney Cancer Centre at a function, asking to remain anonymous (and this story did not come from Turnbull). He gave another $50,000 to charity at the 2007 Press Gallery Midwinter Ball. Most years, the Turnbulls give away somewhere in the region of half-a-million dollars.”
This strikes a reasonable (as opposed to contrived) balance.
To move onto the more idiosyncratic and entertaining attributes of her writing though we also arrive at the judgements more likely to affect the reader more concerned with Turnbull’s moral fibre. Again though, Crabb ensures that what she is offering to the reader has a definite relevance rather than being some gratuity that could have the effect of poisoning the Turnbull well ahead of an important period for his garnering of votes. Such an approach is perhaps most clearly visible in her criticism that “In circumstances – like the republic referendum – where he is required to chart a direction for others to follow, Turnbull’s results tend to be poorer”. In circumstances where leaders have been elected and then aborted by their party this is certainly of great concern. The judgements of character she provides in addition also seem to be carefully considered as they are linked to concerns about his ability to successfully lead a government. For example, there may be concerns about future party solidarity when “Good Malcolm is tremendous fun. Bad Malcolm, however, can be anywhere on the scale from distant to vicious, none of it good. Bad Malcolm is well known for blowing up at his staff”. Once again though, she is fair-minded through elaborating on the nearby positives.
“But it’s deeper than that – Turnbull, for all his notorious rages and impatience, does not appear to be driven by hate. And his reaction to people who hate him isn’t automatically to hate in return.”
All this taken together mean that what you have in your hands when you take-up this feature is probably one of the more engrossing Quarterly Essays you’re likely to read. And that is so important in a political climate that has generated even further mistrust in politicians and an associated disinterest in surveying the Australian political scene. I recommend this to anyone looking for a way to begin understanding the forces at work in Australian politics. Though it may seem outdated in 2019, there are some valuable lessons in this feature.
April 1, 2019
I never really looked into the politics of my own country that much - America is just so much crazier and more sensational. At the end of the day, even now, Aussies are better at leaving politics to the politicians. Since identifying more consciously as a conservative personally - this was after the general awkwardness of the Abbott government - I aligned myself with the Liberals only by default. I am now much more inclined towards the Australian Conservatives rather than the Liberals.
Anyway, I didn't know much about Malcolm Turnbull. He seemed like any other Liberal politician. I was never up to date with the day-to-day going-on of the Australian parliament. Naturally, then, it was my wife who chose this book; she is a somewhat-conservative Catholic Labour supporter. She also likes the writer and commentator, Annabel Crabb.
All in all, I enjoyed this book. It never comes off an obnoxious hit-piece, which is quite significant since Crabb is a Left wing writer. It is often very funny and occasionally quite moving in its humane treatment of the complicated personage that was our mercurial two-time prime minister until Treasurer Scott Morrison ousted him. Crabb provides a brief but informative overview of Turnbull, some of his more memorable moments, his triumphs and failures, and the overall direction that Australian politics seems to be heading in.
Anyway, I didn't know much about Malcolm Turnbull. He seemed like any other Liberal politician. I was never up to date with the day-to-day going-on of the Australian parliament. Naturally, then, it was my wife who chose this book; she is a somewhat-conservative Catholic Labour supporter. She also likes the writer and commentator, Annabel Crabb.
All in all, I enjoyed this book. It never comes off an obnoxious hit-piece, which is quite significant since Crabb is a Left wing writer. It is often very funny and occasionally quite moving in its humane treatment of the complicated personage that was our mercurial two-time prime minister until Treasurer Scott Morrison ousted him. Crabb provides a brief but informative overview of Turnbull, some of his more memorable moments, his triumphs and failures, and the overall direction that Australian politics seems to be heading in.
January 8, 2019
This was a really enjoyable and insightful book on the former Prime Minister of Australia. I discovered things I did not know about him and saw the mechanisations of the left v's the right wings of the Liberal Party. Each time I read a biography of a former politician I become frustrated that they don't allow us (the public) to se the real them as opposed to the political image. I am sure if they did it would result in ore votes. A very well written book.
June 3, 2025
Found it in the street library and read it in a day. Crabb's wit made it worth reading.
September 1, 2016
An excellent, albeit compact, analysis of Australia’s 29th Prime Minister. Upon reading this book it’s very evident that Annabel Crabb was a worthy winner of the Walkley Award for feature writing for this extended essay, as it’s beautifully written, succinct, fair and factual, combined with Crabb’s unmistakable charm and wit. An excellent book -- not because of voting allegiances or intentions, but because it’s a genuinely good read.
June 14, 2016
This story of a man who is prepared to do most anything to get and achieve his goals is spectacularly well written.
I am no Turnbull fan. No L/NP fan. But, let's not kid ourselves... Annabel Crabb can write.
No matter how distasteful I find the subject matter I'll always read what she has written.
I am no Turnbull fan. No L/NP fan. But, let's not kid ourselves... Annabel Crabb can write.
No matter how distasteful I find the subject matter I'll always read what she has written.
September 3, 2018
An extended version of Crabb's Quarterly Essay, it is wonderfully prescient. Very neatly, Crabb moves from interesting anecdote to anecdote, laying out a complicated character and the deep reservations of the Liberal Party towards Turnbull that would eventually be his undoing.
May 10, 2017
Fun, Turnbull is an interesting character and Crabb annoys me less in this than she usually does
December 13, 2018
I read this at the end of 2018, a few months after the Liberal party had dumped Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in favour of the supposedly 'moderate' but really 'populist' Scott Morrison. After the by-election for Wentworth, where the Liberal party took a drubbing in a historically safe Liberal seat. After the massive win of the labor Party in the Victorian election and after Scott Morrison called an early end to Parliament for the year, so the Manus & Nauru doctors bill could not be voted upon and thus expose the Liberal Party to the embarrassing proposition of being outvoted in the House of Reps - not for 90 years has a sitting Govt lost a vote. So I thought, I might read that book of Annabel Crabb's to see what this Malcolm Turnbull phenomenon was all about. It would appear the Liberal Party would rather self-destruct than have him as leader.
It is an easy book to read and I read it pretty much in one sitting. The pace is light, witty, fast. The writing is a luscious, wordy, colloquial feast of anecdotes, political analysis and political history of strategies good and bad. You would want to be reasonably well versed in recent political events as the book offers only a basic chronology and fleshing out of events. That suited me though. I didn't want to get bogged down in explanatory history. I was much more interested in the personality and influences and experiences that had shaped the person, Malcolm Turnbull.
It is a clever book and I particularly enjoyed her balance between the grand sweeping story of his personality, the current state of Australian Politics, and the crazy whimsy and 'what if's' that can change the course of political history. The role of Andrew Robb in the loss of the ETS was fascinating and new to me.
This book, slightly longer than a quarterly essay, is worth an afternoon of your time.
It is an easy book to read and I read it pretty much in one sitting. The pace is light, witty, fast. The writing is a luscious, wordy, colloquial feast of anecdotes, political analysis and political history of strategies good and bad. You would want to be reasonably well versed in recent political events as the book offers only a basic chronology and fleshing out of events. That suited me though. I didn't want to get bogged down in explanatory history. I was much more interested in the personality and influences and experiences that had shaped the person, Malcolm Turnbull.
It is a clever book and I particularly enjoyed her balance between the grand sweeping story of his personality, the current state of Australian Politics, and the crazy whimsy and 'what if's' that can change the course of political history. The role of Andrew Robb in the loss of the ETS was fascinating and new to me.
This book, slightly longer than a quarterly essay, is worth an afternoon of your time.
January 6, 2026
Stop at Nothing by Annabel Crabb is a compelling and highly readable portrait of Malcolm Turnbull that succeeds less by myth-making and more by careful, curious storytelling.
Crabb is at her best here. Her voice is sharp, humane, and quietly amused, allowing the narrative to move with confidence while never tipping into reverence or cruelty. She has a rare ability to hold complexity without flattening it, and that skill serves Turnbull’s story well. The result is a portrait that feels balanced and intelligent rather than partisan.
What I appreciated most were the smaller, revealing details. The insights into Turnbull’s early life, his restless ambition, and his deep sense of personal destiny add texture to a public figure often reduced to slogans or political moments. Even readers familiar with his career will find new angles, particularly around the internal contradictions that shaped both his successes and frustrations.
This is not a full biography and it does not try to be. At times I wanted a little more space given to the consequences of power rather than the mechanics of ascent. Still, as an essay, it achieves exactly what it sets out to do. It explains how Turnbull came to be who he is, and why that mattered when it did.
A thoughtful, engaging listen that rewards attention and showcases Annabel Crabb’s talent for making Australian political life feel both intelligible and human
Crabb is at her best here. Her voice is sharp, humane, and quietly amused, allowing the narrative to move with confidence while never tipping into reverence or cruelty. She has a rare ability to hold complexity without flattening it, and that skill serves Turnbull’s story well. The result is a portrait that feels balanced and intelligent rather than partisan.
What I appreciated most were the smaller, revealing details. The insights into Turnbull’s early life, his restless ambition, and his deep sense of personal destiny add texture to a public figure often reduced to slogans or political moments. Even readers familiar with his career will find new angles, particularly around the internal contradictions that shaped both his successes and frustrations.
This is not a full biography and it does not try to be. At times I wanted a little more space given to the consequences of power rather than the mechanics of ascent. Still, as an essay, it achieves exactly what it sets out to do. It explains how Turnbull came to be who he is, and why that mattered when it did.
A thoughtful, engaging listen that rewards attention and showcases Annabel Crabb’s talent for making Australian political life feel both intelligible and human
January 27, 2020
This is a well written and researched examination of its subject. Annabel Crabb is always highly intelligent, insightful and engaging, and she has used those qualities adeptly here. All things considered, the book has aged well, and it is interesting to note that many of Crabb's observations actually came to fruition as Turnbull's political career came to an end (particularly as to the need to manage and keep onside the conservative wing of the party, Turnbull's infamous loathing of campaigning and other examples). Turnbull has lived an interesting life and is an interesting person. There are many fun anecdotes throughout the book, however, many are a little dry if you aren't familiar with the business/corporate world. Even with this, and the age of the book, still recommendable to anyone interested in learning something about Turnbull's background.
July 1, 2017
Considerably updated compared with the original QE, and still just as excellent. Almost a new piece of writing save for a couple sections, with much more content concerning Turnbull's fall as Opposition leader, to his rather steady and predictable rise to the Prime Ministership, and finally a satisfying amount of insight into his Prime Ministership up until just before the 2016 election. Crabb remains the best writer/commentator on Turnbull, and this edition is well worth reading, even if you have already read QE34, like I had.
June 15, 2024
3.5 stars. Very repetitive in the beginning third, quite funny in the second third, ready for it to be done by the last third. I am biased because I don’t particularly enjoy essays, noting this was originally published in the QE. If Turnbull had finally had his own mandate as opposed to easing into Abbott’s (as mentioned in the book), perhaps we could’ve been a more innovative, climate change-believing country. But as Turnbull is quoted at the end: “I’m either ahead of my time or behind it. I just don’t know which.”
November 26, 2017
Interesting read
An interesting book about the life and times of Malcolm Turnbull, good for bedtime reading. However the book suffers from excessive focus on political opinions. The book certainly put me to sleep!
An interesting book about the life and times of Malcolm Turnbull, good for bedtime reading. However the book suffers from excessive focus on political opinions. The book certainly put me to sleep!
November 15, 2018
Great book about Australia's ex-PM. I admire his stubbornness and persistence in accomplishing something that he perceived as right things to do. These attributes, however, impacted his career as a politician.
November 11, 2019
I really enjoyed reading about Malcolm Turnbull and his past. I guess the problem with this book, is that it was written whilst Malcolm Turnbull was Prime Minister and talks about what he is going to do as PM. As we know, he is no longer PM as he was dumped in yet another Canberra blood letting.
December 15, 2019
Very fast paced account of Turnbull’s life. Paints a fascinating picture of his ruthless ambition.
July 9, 2020
This book gives a good insight into Malcolm Turnbull's life and his actions as politician.
I also liked the bits of contemporary political history connected with Malcolm Turnbull's political life.
I also liked the bits of contemporary political history connected with Malcolm Turnbull's political life.
November 9, 2021
Great read and even if it was updated more than 5 years ago it still has relevance as Turnbull is still a player.
November 23, 2021
Enjoyed this book, you can tell the author is fond of the subject
May 28, 2022
Very entertaining and insightful look into a man who probably won't be shutting up any time soon.
May 26, 2023
Good insight into this complex character.
November 15, 2024
Held up so well on a re-read . Such a fascinating quarterly essay.
January 25, 2021
An entertaining, informative and quick read
What a unique individual our Malcolm is ! Wish we had more independent thinkers in Parliament. This was an efficient introduction to an entertaining life
What a unique individual our Malcolm is ! Wish we had more independent thinkers in Parliament. This was an efficient introduction to an entertaining life
August 10, 2016
I read the version of this book that was released in the lead-up to the 2016 Australian election, which has had a few updates and additions since the previous version as a Quarterly Essay (which came out seven years and a leadership spill ago). This was released at the same time (and same publisher) as a companion book on Bill Shorten – so there was opportunity to read biographies of both contenders for the Prime Ministership prior to the election (I just didn’t get to it in time.)
First and foremost, I have to disclose that I read this mainly due to my appreciation of Annabel Crabb – specifically the podcasts she does with fellow journalist Leigh Sales, many of which feature Crabb mentioning the book she was trying to write about Turnbull. So really with a book like this, it’s important to maybe be clear about motive – as I wanted to focus more on the book itself, rather than my own feelings about Turnbull (which themselves shifted but didn’t really sway through reading it.)
I think the main thing that comes through in this book is the ability of Crabb to navigate the very thin line of seeming either too praising or too critical of Turnbull. In her other dealings with him – such as her TV show where she visits politicians’ homes to cook meals with them – she has gained a lot of criticism for the way she has behaved (weirdly, from both sides of the political divide). So while Crabb finds some very surprising and intriguing aspects about Turnbull and his life before and outside of politics, she is able to balance it with something that, well, explains why I’m still a bit ambivalent about him as a leader. She has also tracked down a lot of inside sources, who speak both on and off record, about the man we don’t see in front of cameras, which reveal some interesting insights.
It was really interesting just how much material Crabb could fit in a comparatively short book – it covered a broad range of topics and examples of Turnbull’s dealings with people – and yet I didn’t feel cheated that it didn’t pry too far into matters he would have been nervous about sharing. However at times I felt like the book was a little choppy and bitsy – I think its history as one format being turned into another, and then updated (to a very intense deadline for a very busy lady) has resulted in a book that could have had its edges smoothed. I feel that being such an immediate book of its time - I read it merely months after release and it’s already in need of updating following the election – as many political books like this are. I do feel that Crabb has enough material for a big biography of Turnbull (the type that come out in hardcover and to much fanfare).
The strange thing about this book is I felt like there wasn’t a conclusion – but then again, in the lead up to an election it was difficult to provide an objective one. I think now reading it with the hindsight of knowing he won the election neither spoils the story (as he now faces the challenges of a senate that will take careful managing, let alone his own party factions) nor does it enhance the story, as Crabb paints the story of a person who is, if nothing else, interesting regardless of which job he’s doing.
First and foremost, I have to disclose that I read this mainly due to my appreciation of Annabel Crabb – specifically the podcasts she does with fellow journalist Leigh Sales, many of which feature Crabb mentioning the book she was trying to write about Turnbull. So really with a book like this, it’s important to maybe be clear about motive – as I wanted to focus more on the book itself, rather than my own feelings about Turnbull (which themselves shifted but didn’t really sway through reading it.)
I think the main thing that comes through in this book is the ability of Crabb to navigate the very thin line of seeming either too praising or too critical of Turnbull. In her other dealings with him – such as her TV show where she visits politicians’ homes to cook meals with them – she has gained a lot of criticism for the way she has behaved (weirdly, from both sides of the political divide). So while Crabb finds some very surprising and intriguing aspects about Turnbull and his life before and outside of politics, she is able to balance it with something that, well, explains why I’m still a bit ambivalent about him as a leader. She has also tracked down a lot of inside sources, who speak both on and off record, about the man we don’t see in front of cameras, which reveal some interesting insights.
It was really interesting just how much material Crabb could fit in a comparatively short book – it covered a broad range of topics and examples of Turnbull’s dealings with people – and yet I didn’t feel cheated that it didn’t pry too far into matters he would have been nervous about sharing. However at times I felt like the book was a little choppy and bitsy – I think its history as one format being turned into another, and then updated (to a very intense deadline for a very busy lady) has resulted in a book that could have had its edges smoothed. I feel that being such an immediate book of its time - I read it merely months after release and it’s already in need of updating following the election – as many political books like this are. I do feel that Crabb has enough material for a big biography of Turnbull (the type that come out in hardcover and to much fanfare).
The strange thing about this book is I felt like there wasn’t a conclusion – but then again, in the lead up to an election it was difficult to provide an objective one. I think now reading it with the hindsight of knowing he won the election neither spoils the story (as he now faces the challenges of a senate that will take careful managing, let alone his own party factions) nor does it enhance the story, as Crabb paints the story of a person who is, if nothing else, interesting regardless of which job he’s doing.
November 1, 2015
Riotous. Much more entertaining than David Marr's recent profile of Bill Shorten. Marr's a splendid raconteur, so the conclusion must be that international jet-setting, espionage trials and media empire carve-ups are simply better source material than factional in-fighting in the Victorian labour movement.
Some particular favourites from the numerous wonderful anecdotes:
1) the Cat incident
2) his conversation with Kinnock during the Spycatcher trial "Kinnock sounded quite alarmed. 'But the real villain is the PM, not Michael. He's sick you know. So's Rothschild for that matter. They're both old men, this business could kill them.' I was quite surprised at this touch of humanity. It was so unlike a politician to be concerned about the health of his opponents. I didn't know what to say, so I made a joke. 'Oh well, Comrade, everyone has to make sacrifices for the revolution. Why not start with Havers and Rothschild?' I heard a gasp at the other end."
3) Conrad Black's comment during the split with Kerry Packer "Black rang me, to try to persuade me [to resign]. I said 'Conrad, if you want to be an assassin, you have to get blood on your hands.' He said to me, and I thought it was quite a good answer: 'You don't just want me to have blood on my hands, you want my bloody prints on the dagger.'"
The conclusion I came away with is that given the choice between dinner with Shorten or Turnbull, you'd definitely go with Malcolm. As for who'd make the better PM, the good people of Australia get to choose in about a year's time. Neither man has a history of winning open popularity contests (Bill prefers the silent knife, Mal the bully lawyer's threat of litigation). It'll be an fascinating election.
Some particular favourites from the numerous wonderful anecdotes:
1) the Cat incident
2) his conversation with Kinnock during the Spycatcher trial "Kinnock sounded quite alarmed. 'But the real villain is the PM, not Michael. He's sick you know. So's Rothschild for that matter. They're both old men, this business could kill them.' I was quite surprised at this touch of humanity. It was so unlike a politician to be concerned about the health of his opponents. I didn't know what to say, so I made a joke. 'Oh well, Comrade, everyone has to make sacrifices for the revolution. Why not start with Havers and Rothschild?' I heard a gasp at the other end."
3) Conrad Black's comment during the split with Kerry Packer "Black rang me, to try to persuade me [to resign]. I said 'Conrad, if you want to be an assassin, you have to get blood on your hands.' He said to me, and I thought it was quite a good answer: 'You don't just want me to have blood on my hands, you want my bloody prints on the dagger.'"
The conclusion I came away with is that given the choice between dinner with Shorten or Turnbull, you'd definitely go with Malcolm. As for who'd make the better PM, the good people of Australia get to choose in about a year's time. Neither man has a history of winning open popularity contests (Bill prefers the silent knife, Mal the bully lawyer's threat of litigation). It'll be an fascinating election.
February 9, 2017
I enjoyed reading the background of our PM, Malcolm Turnbull, liking and respecting the man depicted in these pages, with some reservation. However, my favourite tidbit is what I learned from these two sentences (p.131): "Cynics call this 'branch-stacking.' Euphemists call it 'growing democracy.'"
The book was an education about the vast differences between business and politics, something we are currently seeing played out in USA, in the extreme.
If you like Australian politics and/or want to learn how Malcolm Turnbull ticks, this book makes for an easy and enjoyable read.
The book was an education about the vast differences between business and politics, something we are currently seeing played out in USA, in the extreme.
If you like Australian politics and/or want to learn how Malcolm Turnbull ticks, this book makes for an easy and enjoyable read.
January 4, 2014
Oh Crabby, i heart you. Bottom line is, there aren;t too many people who know more about the machinations of australian politics than Annabel Crabb and her ability to get inside the worlds of pols like Turnbull, is legendary. And she seems to do it without making enemies. Always a handy trait in a journalist. This book may not change your opinion of Turnbull but at least you'll be making that opinion from a basis of some knowledge.
August 10, 2016
A good read, but one which I'd only recommend to people based in Australia, with a reasonable grasp on the current political context. Without that a lot of it wont make sense, and relevance would also be limited. Still, for Australians looking for some insight into our current Prime Minister it's well worth the read
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