The Best Australian Yarns: and other true stories

Description

Best Australian Yarns is a substantial and definitive collection of factual and fanciful Aussie stories, humour and anecdotes - the result of decades of researching popular Aussie culture and history and yarning to mates and other colourful characters from all parts of Australia and all walks of life. This collection includes tall stories from the bush, reminiscences from the racetrack and shearing shed, railway yarns, stories from the world of show business, Aboriginal legends and humour, digger yarns from both world wars, ghost stories, monsters, bunyips and yowies, and many things you never knew about our amazing history and the characters who made it - the pioneers, heroes, convicts, bushrangers, eccentrics and brave and forgotten men and women whose fascinating lives and achievements created the Aussie spirit that we all love. While the stories range from poignant to hilarious, many simply describe unusual coincidences, strange occurrences or simple everyday humorous events with a refreshing understatement that vividly evokes a vanishing Australia where looking for a good laugh was a key component of a cheekier national character and a simpler lifestyle.

Jim Haynes is one of Australia's most successful and prolific Australiana authors. Before becoming a professional entertainer, songwriter, verse writer and singer in 1988, Jim Haynes taught writing, literature, history and drama in schools and universities from outback NSW to Britain. While teaching he gained two masters' degrees in literature, from New England University and the University of Wales. Jim Haynes is the author of many Great Australian titles, including bestselling books on Trucking, Railways, Aviation, Horse Racing and the Sea.