Book Review: ‘The Furphy Anthology 2025’ (reviewed by Antonella Townsend)

January 23, 2026 by 1 Comment

Read Antonella Townsend’s review, published in The Queensland Reviewers’ Collective. It seems Antonella appreciated the originality and humour in the stories of Dips O’Donnell and Emma Westwood.

Almanac Book Reviews: ‘New South Wales Australian Football Hall of Fame – Time On: Journal 2025

January 21, 2026 by 2 Comments

Braham Dabscheck provides an overview of the NSW Australian Football Heritage Society, and reviews their latest publication, ‘New South Wales Australian Football Hall of Fame – Time On: Journal 2025’.

Almanac Book Reviews: ‘Champions of Carlton’ – Miles Wilks

January 14, 2026 by 4 Comments

The ‘Old Blue Bagger’ Peter Fuller thoroughly enjoyed reviewing Miles Wilks’ book ‘Champions of Carlton’ reliving the exploits of many of the greats of Carlton and the past glories of the club.

Almanac Book Review: ‘Woke is Dead’ by Piers Morgan

December 17, 2025 by Leave a Comment

Daring to go where some may dread to tread, RagingBull offers his thoughts on Piers Morgan’s provocative book ‘Woke is Dead’.

Almanac Book Review: ‘On Our Selection: An Alternative History of Australian Cricket’ by Bernard Whimpress

November 28, 2025 by 3 Comments

‘It’s still three blokes deciding the future of a group of eager players who hope and pray they someday earn a baggy green.’ Barry Nicholls offers his insights into ‘On our selection: an alternative history of Australian cricket’ by Bernard Whimpress.

Almanac Books: Books in my life – A reluctance to read

November 14, 2025 by 14 Comments

Barry Nicholls was invited to speak to The Friends of the State Library of South Australia to talk about influential books in his life. Here is the speech he gave on Tuesday November 4 at the Hetzel Lecture Theatre.

RITV Summer Series – Book Review: ‘Bare Knuckles’ by Michael Blucher and John Connolly

November 13, 2025 by 1 Comment

John ‘Knuckles’ Connolly was one of the great rugby union coaches both here in Australia and internationally. RITV reviews his biography of ‘Bare Knuckles’ written by Michael Blucher and John Connolly.

Almanac (Book) Review: ‘The Hugamug Club’ by Andy Thurlow

November 11, 2025 by Leave a Comment

In his retirement years, Andy Thurlow initiated a couple of community-based groups in Tanunda. The Sprocket Rockets is, not surprisingly, a cycling group. The Hugamug Club is more about coffee, cake and caring. This book features the stories of five of its members, all very different from each other but all bound by a common thread – their faith.

Almanac Book Review: ‘Redtails in the Sunset: The untold story of the Central Australian Football Club’

October 31, 2025 by 1 Comment

Reviewing ‘Redtails in the Sunset: The untold story of the Central Australian Football Club’ by Darren Moncrieff brought back many memories for Barry Nicholls of his time working in Alice Springs as he recalls in the review.

Almanac Book Review – ‘Mark Waugh: the biography’ by James Knight

October 30, 2025 by 3 Comments

Cricket enthusiast Dan Hoban revisits the 2002 biography of Mark Waugh (since updated in 2023) which sets out to provide an insight into this enigmatic, wonderfully gifted player.

Almanac Book Review: ‘Playing to Win: Australia and the 1972 Ashes’ reviewed by Ken Piesse

October 24, 2025 by 3 Comments

Barry Nicholls new cricket book ‘Playing to Win: Australia and the 1972 Ashes’ is reviewed by sports journalist and author Ken Piesse.

Almanac Book Reviews: ‘The Eye of the Dragonfly,: My Life Seeing the World Through Sport’ – Tracey Lee Holmes

October 1, 2025 by 2 Comments

Sports journalist and commentator Tracey Holmes has published a book looking at life through her career in sports, ‘The Eye of the Dragonfly: My Life Seeing the World Through Sport’. Roy Hay reviews Tracey’s book.

Almanac Book Reviews: ‘The Coping Stone – The First English Soccer Tour of Australia 1925’ by Paul Nicholls

September 30, 2025 by Leave a Comment

One hundred years ago the first English Soccer tour to Australia occurred. Paul Nicholls has written an account of that tour, ‘The Coping Stone – The First English Soccer Tour of Australia 1925’, and Roy Hay presents his review of the book.

Almanac (Book) Review: Australian Football’s 100-Year Club

September 24, 2025 by Leave a Comment

RagingBull offers his thoughts on Andrew Clark’s book ‘Australian Football’s 100 Year Club’.

Almanac Book Reviews: ‘Fagan’s Way: Tributes & Insights’

September 19, 2025 by 1 Comment

Kieran Fernandez reviews ‘Fagan’s Way: Tributes & Insights’ by Chris McLeod and Sam Harvey, a book that highlights ‘triumph comes to those who persevere’.

Almanac (Cricket) Book Review – Playing to Win: Seeing a bit of Australia in the 1972 Ashes series.

August 15, 2025 by Leave a Comment

Mike Sexton introduces us to Barry Nicholls’ new book, ‘Playing to Win: Australia and the 1972 Ashes’ and reflects on the series and the impact of the dramatic final Test win to level the series.

Almanac Book Review: Braham Dabscheck reviews Brandon Jack’s novel ‘Pissants’

August 13, 2025 by Leave a Comment

Braham Dabscheck reviews Brandon Jack’s frank and pointed novel ‘Pissants’ which focuses on a group of fringe players at a fictitious AFL club.

Almanac Book Review – Helen Garner: The Season

April 14, 2025 by 3 Comments

A brief review of the recently released ‘The Season’ by Helen Garner from Callum Quirk.

Almanac Book Review: ‘Out of the Blue’ by Anthony Field

March 7, 2025 by 1 Comment

RagingBull was transported back to his childhood when he read ‘Out of the Blue’, the autobiography of Anthony Field, the original blue Wiggle.

Almanac (Book) Review: ‘Faraday – A Community Rediscovered’ by Robyn Howarth

February 28, 2025 by 1 Comment

The Faraday school kidnapping, 1972. Robyn Howarth, one of the schoolchildren abducted that day, has written her account of what happened.