Paul Keating

Drawing on around 15 hours of new interviews with Keating, coupled with access to his extensive personal files, this book tells the story of a political warrior's rise to power. From the outer suburbs of Sydney through Young Labor and into parliament at just 25 years of age, Keating served as a minister in the last days of the Whitlam government. He broke new ground during his term as treasurer in the 1980s and carried out a four-year prime ministership from 1991 to 1996. The book also explores his passions and interests since leaving office.

Bramston has interviewed more than 100 people who knew and worked with Keating, including his family, parliamentary colleagues, advisers, party officials, union leaders, public servants, and journalists. This includes interviews with Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke, John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott, Doug Anthony, Bill Hayden, Andrew Peacock, Ian Sinclair, John Hewson, Alexander Downer, Peter Costello, Kim Beazley, Simon Crean, Cheryl Kernot, and Bob Carr.

Bramston has secured access to Labor archives, documents key debates in once-secret cabinet papers, reveals caucus minutes for the first time, and draws on the unpublished diaries of Neal Blewett and Bob Carr. He discloses meeting records from the archives of US presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and shares new discoveries from the personal files of Whitlam, Hayden, Hawke, and Howard. Bramston also talks to former British prime minister Tony Blair.

Paul Keating saw political leadership as the combination of courage and imagination, a belief that powered his public career and helps explain his extraordinary triumphs and crushing lows. Keating blazed a trail of reform with a vision for Australia's future that still attracts ardent admirers and staunch critics. This book chronicles, analyses, and interprets Keating's life, drawing lessons for a Labor Party and a country still reluctant to fully embrace his legacy.

Indispensable as an insight into Paul Keating's remarkable life and achievements, Bramston has interviewed everyone, produced fresh revelations and told a gripping story. - Paul Kelly