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Run for Your Life
Tearing up the rules on political memoirs
"Most political memoirs are boring.
Bob Carr tears up the rules. He plunges in, beginning with the despair of a young man pining for a political career, convinced he’s going nowhere, then vaulting to the exhilaration of a premier who, on one day, saves a vast forest and unveils the country’s best curriculum.
He lashes himself for ignoring a cry from a prisoner in a cell and for a breach of protocol with a US Supreme Court judge. He considers talking to the leader of a notorious rape gang and celebrates winning power against the a leader without kids or any interest in sport.
He describes growing up in a fibro house without sewerage and a ‘lousy education’ that produced a lifetime appetite for self-learning. He is candid about dealing with the media, dining with royals, working for Kerry Packer.
He reveals the secrets he learnt from Neville Wran. He is open about his adulation of Gough Whitlam. Floating above all is Bob Carr’s idea of public service in a party, he says, that resembles an old, scarred, barnacled whale.
In an era of bland politicians, here’s one with personality true to his quirky self.
Silence the jet skis! Balance the budget! Liberate the dolphins! Roll out the toll roads! Declare a million hectares of eucalypt wilderness!
Be a politician of character.
All author proceeds from this book are donated to help the children displaced by the Syrian civil war by funding humanitarian aid through the registered charity Australia for UNHCR."
"Most political memoirs are boring.
Bob Carr tears up the rules. He plunges in, beginning with the despair of a young man pining for a political career, convinced he’s going nowhere, then vaulting to the exhilaration of a premier who, on one day, saves a vast forest and unveils the country’s best curriculum.
He lashes himself for ignoring a cry from a prisoner in a cell and for a breach of protocol with a US Supreme Court judge. He considers talking to the leader of a notorious rape gang and celebrates winning power against the a leader without kids or any interest in sport.
He describes growing up in a fibro house without sewerage and a ‘lousy education’ that produced a lifetime appetite for self-learning. He is candid about dealing with the media, dining with royals, working for Kerry Packer.
He reveals the secrets he learnt from Neville Wran. He is open about his adulation of Gough Whitlam. Floating above all is Bob Carr’s idea of public service in a party, he says, that resembles an old, scarred, barnacled whale.
In an era of bland politicians, here’s one with personality true to his quirky self.
Silence the jet skis! Balance the budget! Liberate the dolphins! Roll out the toll roads! Declare a million hectares of eucalypt wilderness!
Be a politician of character.
All author proceeds from this book are donated to help the children displaced by the Syrian civil war by funding humanitarian aid through the registered charity Australia for UNHCR."
- GenresPolitics
299 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 2, 2018
6 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Bob Carr
9 books7 followersBob Carr is the longest continuously serving Premier in New South Wales history.
He served as Leader of the Opposition from 1988 until his election as Premier in March 1995. He was re-elected in 1999 and again in March 2003 securing an historic third four-year term.
He retired from politics in 2005 after over 10 years as Premier.
During these 10 years the State Government set new records for spending on infrastructure, became the first government in the State’s history to retire debt, hosted the world’s best Olympics in 2000 and achieved the nation’s best school literacy levels. Forbes magazine called Bob Carr a “dragon slayer” for his landmark tort law reforms.
As Premier he introduced the world’s first carbon trading scheme and curbed the clearing of native vegetation as anti-greenhouse measures. He was a member of the International Task Force on Climate Change convened by Tony Blair, and was made a life member of the Wilderness Society in 2003. He has also received the World Conservation Union International Parks Merit Award for creating 350 new national parks.
Bob Carr has received the Fulbright Distinguished Fellow Award Scholarship. He has served as Honorary Scholar of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue.
In March 2012 he was designated by Prime Minister Julia Gillard as Australia’s Foreign Minister. He was elected to the Australian Senate to fill a casual Senate vacancy and sworn in to the Senate and Cabinet on March 13, 2012.
He served as Leader of the Opposition from 1988 until his election as Premier in March 1995. He was re-elected in 1999 and again in March 2003 securing an historic third four-year term.
He retired from politics in 2005 after over 10 years as Premier.
During these 10 years the State Government set new records for spending on infrastructure, became the first government in the State’s history to retire debt, hosted the world’s best Olympics in 2000 and achieved the nation’s best school literacy levels. Forbes magazine called Bob Carr a “dragon slayer” for his landmark tort law reforms.
As Premier he introduced the world’s first carbon trading scheme and curbed the clearing of native vegetation as anti-greenhouse measures. He was a member of the International Task Force on Climate Change convened by Tony Blair, and was made a life member of the Wilderness Society in 2003. He has also received the World Conservation Union International Parks Merit Award for creating 350 new national parks.
Bob Carr has received the Fulbright Distinguished Fellow Award Scholarship. He has served as Honorary Scholar of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue.
In March 2012 he was designated by Prime Minister Julia Gillard as Australia’s Foreign Minister. He was elected to the Australian Senate to fill a casual Senate vacancy and sworn in to the Senate and Cabinet on March 13, 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 17, 2018
Run For Your Life fees just a little self-indulgent on Bob Carr’s half, but it’s funny and interesting enough that you can forgive him for it. There’s a lot of defending his record as premier and some old grudges he wants to settle (it’s a political memoir after all), but also a lot of insight as to what makes this man tick with a few funny anecdotes thrown in for good measure.
September 26, 2025
I quite enjoyed Bob Carr's "Run for Your Life". He covered the major initiatives of his long premiership, with most chapters representing a theme or issue that his government took on. He also shed light on his life up to becoming premier, reflections that gave me new insights into 20th century Australia and the figures that shaped it.
I appreciated that Bob writes with more self-deprecation and self-criticism than I have noticed in some other political memoirs. Despite this, his role in every policy initiatives seems slightly inflated, but I guess that's politics. If the buck stops with you, you may as well claim every victory.
I appreciated that Bob writes with more self-deprecation and self-criticism than I have noticed in some other political memoirs. Despite this, his role in every policy initiatives seems slightly inflated, but I guess that's politics. If the buck stops with you, you may as well claim every victory.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews