200,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ 

Overnight NZ-wide delivery | πŸ“ Visit our Auckland bookstore β€’ Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

Australia's Second Chance

What our history tells us about our future
By George Megalogenis
0.0 (0 reviews)
4.2 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 217 ratings, 28 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Australia's Second Chance by George Megalogenis examines the pivotal moments in Australia's history when immigration shaped the nation's identity and economy. The book discusses how waves of new arrivals influenced Australia's growth and adaptability, offering insights into how these lessons from the past can inform the country's future prosperity and resilience.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2700
Elsewhere:
$3000
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this insightful book if you're interested in understanding Australia's economic and immigration history. It offers a compelling narrative that explores how past decisions have shaped the nation's present and suggests how harnessing multicultural potential could offer a new path to prosperity. The author's analysis may appeal to those who appreciate both historical context and future possibilities for a nation.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Most nations don't get a first chance to prosper. Australia is on its second. For the best part of the nineteenth century, Australia was the world's richest country, a pioneer for democracy and a magnet for migrants.

Yet our last big boom was followed by a fifty-year bust as we lost our luck, our riches and our nerve, and shut our doors on the world. Now we're back on top, in the position where history tells us we made our biggest mistakes. Can we learn from our past and cement our place as one of the world's great nations?

Our country's most insightful big-picture commentator, George Megalogenis crunches the numbers and weaves our history into a riveting argument, brilliantly chronicling our dialogue with the world and bringing welcome insight into the urgent question of who we are, and what we can become.

Megalogenis slaps history and politics and culture like mortar in and around his knowledge of economics and numbers to build compelling, even thrilling, theses about the country of his birth and where it stands in the world. - Tony Wright, Saturday Age

Timely and significant ... With characteristic lucidity, Megalogenis examines the connection between our collective prosperity and Australia's tendency at different times either to embrace or resist migrants. - James Ley, Weekend Australian

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Australia's Second Chance by George Megalogenis analyses Australia's historical immigration waves and their impact on the nation's prosperity. Reviews commend the author for providing a compelling account of how past immigration policies have shaped Australia, with the argument that fostering another immigration boom could help secure the country's future. Megalogenis is praised for his engaging narrative and insightful exploration of historical and economic trends.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780143783640

Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 17 July 2017

Country: Australia

Imprint: Penguin Random House Australia

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 23.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 266g

Pages: 352

Collections

Australian & Pacific History Education & Reference George Megalogenis History & Archaeology History & Military Non-Fiction Penguin Books

About the Author

George Megalogenis is an author and journalist with three decades' experience in the media. The Australian Moment won the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Non-fiction and the 2012 Walkley Award for Non-fiction, and formed the basis for the ABC documentary series Making Australia Great. He is also the author of Faultlines, The Longest Decade, Quarterly Essay 40- Trivial Pursuit - Leadership and the End of the Reform Era and Quarterly Essay 61- Balancing Act - Australia Between Recession and Renewal.

Also by George Megalogenis

View all
  • Exit Strategy
    In the wake of the pandemic, will we see a new politics of social security and concern for the future? Between the fires and the plague, Scott Morrison had no choice but to adapt his style of leadership. But does he have an exit strategy for Australia from the pandemic? In this original essay, Exit Strategy, George Megalogenis explores the...
    By George Megalogenis
    Paperback
    $3500
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Football Solution
    In a characteristically sweeping and entertaining story, George Megalogenis reveals how football has been shaped by the nation that invented it and how the game we love, in turn, might help resolve Australia's political impasse. A sport unlike any other in the world, football has always been Australia's bellwether. But at a time when politics is increasingly conducted like sports...
    By George Megalogenis
    Paperback
    $3000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Australian Moment
    Winner of the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary Award, 2012 Walkley Book Award, and Australia's bestselling political book of 2012, The Australian Moment is the book of the TV series Making Australia Great. There's no better place to be during economic turbulence than Australia. Brilliant in a bust, we've learnt to use our brains in a boom. Despite a lingering inability...
    By George Megalogenis
    Paperback
    $3000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Minority Report
    What does the new political landscape look like in Australia? Australian politics is shifting. The two-party system was broken at the last federal election, and a minority government is a real possibility in the future. Politics-as-usual is not enough for many Australians. In this richly insightful essay, George Megalogenis traces the how and why of a political re-alignment. He sheds...
    By George Megalogenis
    Paperback
    $3700
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Three Shocks
    Three Shocks
    One of our greatest political journalists charts Australia's course into the new century For decades our politics has failed to keep up with a changing Australia. The federal elections of 2022 and 2025 were an overdue wake-up call to three shocks that have reshaped our national identity: - For the first time since federation, we have a population that's majority...
    By George Megalogenis
    Paperback
    $4000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

Browse lists from our team

The Latest at Book Hero

View all

More from History & Military

View all
  • Behind Enemy Lines
    New Release
    Behind Enemy Lines
    Archie Gibson's initiation into desert warfare almost proved to be his last. Barrelling through the sand dunes at the wheel of his truck, Gibson spied a searing flash of light up ahead, the signature of a feared German 88mm gun firing ... right at him. He leapt from his speeding vehicle just before it was torn apart and turned into...
    By Damien Lewis
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The Cauldron
    How did an elderly cleric overthrow the Shah of Iran and change the world?Why did Bin Laden attack the USA - and why did the USA destroy Saddam?How did Britain and France carve up the Middle East - and why did the Kurds never get their own state? THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE MAKING OF TODAY'S MIDDLE EAST: A SPELLBINDING...
    By Simon Sebag Montefiore
    Hardback
    $4999
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    18% off
    Saving Elli
    One child. Two years in hiding. Three lives in mortal danger. In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's house, another Jewish girl is hidden. Her name is Elli. Her father has been executed at Mauthausen concentration camp. Her mother is fleeing for her life. Elli is next. To save her, resistance couple Frits and Jo Hakkens must risk everything, concealing her...
    By Doug Gold
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    19% off
    Dylan's Pick Dylan's Pick
    Suicidal Empathy
    The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique...
    By Gad Saad
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The Race to the Top of the World
    The epic true story of George Mallory and Edmund Hillary and the quest to be the first to conquer Everest. A captivating story of adventure, daring, despair and triumph from Australia's favourite storyteller. Last century, two men, thirty years apart, set out to become the first to conquer the highest point in the world. Their names are synonymous with adventure...
    By Peter FitzSimons
    Hardback
    $4699
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Man's Search For Meaning
    Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is a profound, thought-provoking memoir and psychological exploration that delves into the harrowing experiences of life in Nazi concentration camps, intertwined with the author’s groundbreaking theories on existential psychology. The book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, offering a beacon of hope and a roadmap for finding purpose...
    By Viktor E Frankl
    Paperback
    $1800
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    17% off
    The Wager
    THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 'The beauty of The Wager unfurls like a great sail... one of the finest nonfiction books I've ever read' Guardian 'The greatest sea story ever told' Spectator 'I cannot think of anyone who would not love this book... It is an extraordinary true story, beautifully...
    By David Grann
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Signed
    On Sale
    16% off
    Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    The Chief and the Empire
    The Chief and the Empire uncovers the extraordinary true tale of Te Tai Tokerau rangatira Te Pahi - the first influential Māori leader to cross the Tasman - whose curiosity about the Pākehā world forged alliances, saved lives, and ultimately cost him his own. On a visit to Sydney in 1805, Te Pahi was feted as a celebrity, building close...
    By Eugene Bingham
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    30% off
    Discipline
    Silence is complicity, but how do we confront the cost of speaking up? Sydney, May 2021. Ashraf is an academic whose career and personal life are in freefall. Hannah is a young journalist struggling to honour the voices of her community. When a Year 12 Al-Bayinnah College student is arrested for protesting a university's ties to an Israeli weapons manufacturer,...
    By Randa Abdel-Fattah
    Paperback
    $2800
    Usually:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    23% off
    The Golden Menhir
    Assurancetourix is entering the legendary Gallic bards' competition to win the golden menhir. But with the Romans keeping a close watch, Asterix and Obelix must protect him at all costs. Their mission? Keep him safe-no matter what... even if it means risking their own ears! First released as a book-disc in 1967, this adventure soon became a rare treasure, long...
    By RenΓ© Goscinny
    Hardback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Mum, I Want to Hear Your Story (Deluxe Edition)
    New Release
    Mum, I Want to Hear Your Story (Deluxe Edition)
    Give Your Mum a Beautiful Gift of Legacy, Love, and Lasting Memories The Official Hear Your Story Collection Mum, I Want to Hear Your Story is your key to discovering everything from your mother's childhood memories to the profound turning points in her life. Each intentional section gives your mum a place to share her life with you while creating...
    By Jeffrey Mason
    Hardback
    $4999
    Elsewhere:
    $5500
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Plunder
    On Sale
    24% off
    New Release
    Plunder
    The last weeks of World War II on the Western Front in Europe witnessed extraordinary scenes of heroism, horror, melodrama, and pathos. In Plunder, Max Hastings presents a cast of fascinating peopleβ€”British, American, and Germanβ€”in a series of great events in which some distinguished themselves through wonderful deeds, others through the basest crimes. The book takes its title from Montgomery’s...
    By Max Hastings
    Paperback
    $2800
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 190,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.