Buy from our bookstore and 25% of the cover price will be given to a school of your choice to buy more books. *15% of eBooks.
Audiobooks Narrated by Wayne Blair
Browse audiobooks narrated by Wayne Blair, listen to samples and when you're ready head over to Audiobooks.com where you can get 3 FREE audiobooks on us
"Shortlisted for the 2025 Prime Minister's Literary Awards, Australian History
Winner of the 2025 ACT Literary Award, Non-Fiction
Winner of the First Nations History Award, Canberra Critics' Circle Awards 2024
For the first time, the First Nations story of Cook's arrival, and what blackfellas want everyone to know about the coming of Europeans.
Both 250 years late and extremely timely, this is an account of what First Nations people saw and felt when James Cook navigated their shores in 1770.
We know the European story from diaries, journals and letters. For the first time, this is the other side. Who were the people watching the Endeavour sail by? How did they understand their world and what sense did they make of this strange vision? And what was the impact of these first encounters with Europeans? The answers lie in tales passed down from 1770 and in truth-telling of the often more brutal engagements that followed.
Darren Rix (a Gunditjmara-GunaiKurnai man, radio reporter and Archie Roach's nephew) and his co-author Craig Cormick travelled to all the places on the east coast that were renamed by Cook, and listened to people's stories. With their permission, these stories have been woven together with the European accounts and placed in their deeper context: the places Cook named already had names; the places he 'discovered' already had peoples and stories stretching back before time; and although Cook sailed on, the empire he represented impacted the people's lives and lands immeasurably in the years after.
'Warra Warra Wai' was the expression called to Cook and his crew when they tried to make landfall in Botany Bay. It has long been interpreted as 'Go away', but is perhaps more accurately translated as 'You are all dead spirits'. In adding the First Nations version of these first encounters to the story of Australian history, this is a book that will sit on Australian shelves alongside Cook's Journals, Dark Emu and The Fatal Shore as one of our foundational texts."
"Read by Wayne Blair, acclaimed director of Top End Wedding and The Sapphires.
Discover the incredible journey of one of rugby league's most fearsome players.
In the brutal world of rugby league, Mark 'Spudd' Carroll is one of the most fearsome players to ever lace on a boot. An enforcer who would do everything in his power to ensure victory for his team - including a pre-game ritual of eating 16 potatoes, hence the nickname.
An Era of Toughness and Tenacity
Spudd is from a rugged era where, even if concussed, players climbed to their feet and threw themselves back into the fray. In stints with the Panthers, Rabbitohs and Sea Eagles, his search-and-destroy missions each weekend made his matches compulsory viewing.
His brutal encounters with Newcastle rival Paul 'Chief' Harragon are legendary and have been viewed across the globe. In Spudd, both men lift the lid on their volatile relationship, including the day they refused to room with each other when selected for the NSW State of Origin team.
A Decade of Elite Performance
Carroll's career at the elite level spanned over a decade, between 1987 and 1999, and included more than 200 games. He played in three grand finals, tasting premiership success with Manly in 1996 under his mentor and Rugby League Immortal Bob Fulton. He played seven State of Origin matches for NSW, winning a series in 1997. He played 12 Test matches for Australia and was part of the team that won the World Cup at London's famous Wembley Stadium in 1995.
Unfiltered Honesty and Fierce Dedication
Carroll's tough reputation is matched only by his honesty. Spudd calls it as he sees it and doesn't care who he upsets in the process. These qualities caught the eye of actor Russell Crowe, who hired Carroll as his trainer for more than eight years.
Spudd's job was to whip the Oscar-winner into shape for upcoming movie roles. The duo was famous for their heated backyard footy battles, which once left Crowe with a serious leg injury. They remain firm friends."
