{"title":"Helen Pitt","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"luna-park-by-helen-pitt-9781761065118","title":"Luna Park","description":"'All the thrills, spills and tragedy behind that iconic grin, brought to life by a masterful storyteller.' \u003cb\u003eWendy Harmer\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A rollercoaster ride through some of Sydney's brightest and darkest stories. A compelling tale, vividly told, and history every Sydneysider should know.' \u003cb\u003eRichard Glover\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor decades, the young and the young at heart have loved the Luna Park face and its promise of laughs and thrills - and a whiff of danger.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003eHelen Pitt has uncovered Australia's intriguing Luna Park story. It's filled with con men and criminals, crooked cops, failed politicians and movie moguls. Like the circuses, from which amusement parks evolved, this is a tale with elephants, performing snakes and many ringmasters. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe story starts in late 19th-century America, and follows the eight fun parks that opened-and closed-across Australia. The most famous of them all, Sydney's Luna Park, has a history that's truly a roller-coaster ride like its trademark Big Dipper, which was shipped piece by piece from South Australia for its 1935 opening. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the engineering feats of its construction in the dark days of the Depression to the tragic deaths of six boys and a father in the 1979 Ghost Train fire - one of Sydney's most heartbreaking unsolved mysteries - and despite financial disasters, legal battles and closures, Luna Park survives, glittering by the water. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A hugely enjoyable rollercoaster of a book' \u003cb\u003eDelia Falconer\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'An irresistible ride from start to finish'\u003cb\u003e Heather Rose \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A compelling page-turner that will make you look at that beaming grin across Sydney Harbour with fresh eyes' \u003cb\u003eKate Mulvany \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A timely reminder of how lucky we are to still have an amusement park with one of the best locations in the world' \u003cb\u003eSam Marshall\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47288567300332,"sku":"9781761065118","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/f2bbba63fd2db2a61f5666bab4adfd39.jpg?v=1770606627"},{"product_id":"the-house-by-helen-pitt-9781760295462","title":"The House","description":"\u003cb\u003eWinner of the 2018 Walkley Book Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe best-loved building in Australia nearly didn't get off the drawing board. When it did, the lives of everyone involved in its construction were utterly changed: some for the better, many for the worse.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHelen Pitt tells the stories of the people behind the magnificent white sails of the Sydney Opera House. From the famous conductor and state premier who conceived the project; to the two architects whose lives were so tragically intertwined; to the workers and engineers; to the people of Sydney, who were alternately beguiled and horrified as the drama unfolded over two decades.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith access to diaries, letters, and classified records, as well as her own interviews with people involved in the project, Helen Pitt reveals the intimate back story of the building that turned Sydney into an international city. It is a tale worthy of Shakespeare himself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A drama-filled page turner' - \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eIta Buttrose AO OBE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Helen Pitt tells us so much about the building of the Sydney Opera House we've never heard before' \u003cb\u003e- \u003ci\u003eBob Carr, former Premier of NSW\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Australia in the seventies: mullets, platform shoes and, miraculously, the Opera House. At least we got one of them right. A great read.' - \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eAmanda Keller\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'It will fascinate its readers, even those not fortunate enough to be part of Generation Jorn.' -\u003ci\u003e \u003cb\u003eSydney Morning Herald\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'This is the closest you'll get to the Opera House walls talking' - \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eAU Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Thoroughly researched, colourful and shocking.' - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAustralian Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47288928010476,"sku":"9781760295462","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/20341563482814.jpg?v=1770580585"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/helen-pitt.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}