In this bestselling account of the colonization of Australia, Robert Hughes explores how the convict transportation system created the country we know today. Digging deep into the dark history of England’s infamous efforts to move 160,000 men and women thousands of miles to the other side of the world in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Hughes has crafted a groundbreaking, definitive … definitive account of the settling of Australia.
Tracing the European presence in Australia from early explorations through the rise and fall of the penal colonies, and featuring 16 pages of illustrations and 3 maps, The Fatal Shore brings to life the incredible true history of a country we thought we knew.
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I love history and what an eyo pener to Australia’s history in reading The Fatal Shore. My Pop recommended it decades ago and it left a great impression on me re what governments prioritize. Such a sad thing to be banished to a foreign country never to see the homeland again just for stealing stuff, not just for murder, but for stealing. I …
An outstanding history of the founding of Australia. Well-written and fascinating, I thoroughly enjoyed this work.
The definitive history of the settling of Australia – extremely informative and very well written.
Great history of Australia!
Great history of Australia and the struggles that caused its founding. Informative but too much like a textbook. Long but worth getting through it.
A very comprehensive history of the occupation/habitation of Australia by the British Empire. Descriptions of the brutal conditions and situations under which English citizens found themselves living (and dying) on the other side of the world became a bit tedious. Overall, well written, but a somewhat dense (and at times, over detailed) read for …
This book sounded interesting, but couldn’t get into it.
There was a lot of historical information about the early history of Australia.
Well-written history of Australia. Read with Bill Bryson’s Sunburned Country.
I lived in Australia for over 5 years, so probably had more than average knowledge of the history of the founding as a penal colony for the British.
However this author has done extensive research, including excerpts from diaries etc, to give you the “not cleaned up” version of how it all came to be.
Let’s just say you come away from the book …
The history of settling Australia with prisoners and hardships they went through.
Didn’t finish. Way too detailed. I lost interest after first few chapters. Could have been so good but author got into way too much behind the scenes stuff.
Very well written but too long.
Had no knowledge of the beginning of Australia. I thought it was devastating
and tragic to thousands and thousands of human beings! Merry old England had some atrocities in its past! Occasionally a decent human being tried to make a difference. That was in another time period of history so I can’t really judge from here in such a distant past …
It helps you understand Australia.
Tedious
Let’s take this book in two parts: History and Unmitigated Cruelty. The British wanted to dump their lawbreakers in Ausralia. The plan was simple, and in 1788 they began doing just that. This first half of the book segues easily in to the second half. It seemed the British leaders and overseers were a sadistic, cruel and mindlessly …
recommend with caveat that it is long and extremely detailed coupled with the author employing obscure terms in descriptions when plainer language would have improved readability
Great account of that time period and England’s colonization of Australia.
Fascinating and well-documented. Details are often gruesome but sadly real. Well-written.