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Convincing Ground

Learning to Fall in Love with your Country
4.38 goodreads logo

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( 78 ratings, 16 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
Convincing Ground by Bruce Pascoe explores the complex and often disturbing history of the violence and conflict between Indigenous Australians and European settlers. The book presents a compelling narrative, detailing lesser-known events and historical perspectives that have been overshadowed or overlooked in mainstream accounts, aiming to uncover and highlight the persistent truths of Australia's past.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$8800

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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 book if you're interested in Australian history and the complexities of colonial and Indigenous relationships. Drawing from both historical records and oral histories, it offers a profound exploration of cultural resilience and confrontation in the face of colonisation. It's particularly appealing if you appreciate narratives that challenge conventional historical perspectives.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Presents the ongoing debates about identity, dispossession, memory and community. This title draws on the past through a critical examination of major historical works and witnesses accounts and finds uncanny parallels between the techniques and language used there to today's national political stage.

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

Convincing Ground pulses with love of country. In this powerful, lyrical, and passionate work, Bruce Pascoe asks us to fully acknowledge our past and the way those actions continue to influence our nation today, both physically and intellectually.

The book resonates with ongoing debates about identity, dispossession, memory, and community. Pascoe draws on the past through a critical examination of major historical works and witness accounts, finding uncanny parallels between the techniques and language used there to today's national political stage.

He has written the book for all Australians, as an antidote to the great Australian inability to deal respectfully with the nation's constructed Indigenous past. For Pascoe, the Australian character was not forged at Gallipoli, Eureka, and the back of Bourke, but in the furnace of Murdering Flat, Convincing Ground, and Werribee.

He knows we can't reverse the past but believes we can bring in our soul from the fog of delusion. Pascoe proposes a way forward, beyond shady intellectual argument and immature nationalism, with our strengths enhanced and our weaknesses acknowledged and addressed.

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?

Convincing Ground by Bruce Pascoe receives high praise for its lyrical prose and unwavering honesty in addressing Australian history and identity. The book is commended for its determination to acknowledge and correct historical injustices, providing essential insights into the Aboriginal experience. Pascoe's narrative is noted for its unique approach, juxtaposing modern Australian culture and politics with historical contact periods.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780855755492

Publisher: Aboriginal Studies Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 April 2007

Country: Australia

Imprint: Aboriginal Studies Press

Illustration: colour photos

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 23.0mm

Width: 150.0mm

Height: 230.0mm

Weight: 570g

Pages: 272

About the Author

Bruce Pascoe is a widely published and award-winning writer, editor and anthologist. A dictionary of the Wathaurong language has been compiled by the author.

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