Kin: A real people's history of our nation

by Nick Brodie

From convicts, goldminers and sailors, to high country horsemen, nurses and soldiers – and almost everyone in between – KIN is about generations of real people living real lives.

Join historian and archaeologist Nick Brodie as he traces his family back to their first arrivals in Australia. As their lives intersect, KIN provides a unique historical insight into Australia’s past: colonies grow and wars are fought as Nick follows his people and their children across land and sea, in their everyday occupations and through their hardships and most memorable events. Follow Nick’s journey to discover how his kinfolk lived the bigger story of the history of Australia, as their stories become both his and ours

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Australia, Historical, Biography Memoir

304 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2015

Reviews

[Mark Cully · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get the appeal of the approach of this book, but it’s tendentious to argue that the lives of ancestors of any one individual somehow constitutes a “real person’s history of Australia” and has more validity than those that cast a wider net.

[Sandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressive. A novel history of Australia shaped by the “overlapping ancestral tales” inherited by historian Nick Brodie. A rich social history of Australia from European colonization to the Second World War. Highly recommended for those interested in Australian social history and/or family history. Inspiring for those who fancy doing their own Who Do You Think You Are?

[Sally O'wheel]

What a great book. It so much inspires me to try a similar exercise. Only thing is, I'm not a historian and can't put it all in such rich context as Nick Brodie can. This is an Australian history through the lens of his family history. I loved it.