The Australian Archaeologist's Book of Quotations

Description

Australian archaeology has been involved in a great enterprise over the last sixty years, uncovering the deep past of a desert continent and the history of its first people. This book is a guide to the catchphrases of the discipline. It is a meditation on science and place, culture and politics, deep time and the Dreaming and it is steeped in an appreciation of good writing and a well-turned phrase. Woven in amongst these quotations is the story of how, as a nation, we are coming to terms with ancient Australia. The entries are drawn from letters and journals, histories and poems, newspapers and novels. Each has been chosen because it is a pithy summation of an issue. Combined, they map the development of the field and encourage a dialogue between science and the humanities. Reviewed here in the Australian Book Review

Mike Smith is one of the world's experts in the application of weather science. Meteorologist, entrepreneur, and inventor (recipient of 18 U.S. and foreign patents), Mike works with some of North America's most important companies to save lives and property and creates technology to warn the general public of dangerous weather. Warnings is Mike's first book. He tells, from a first-hand perspective, the story of the creation of the storm warning system that saves so many lives. Billy Griffiths works at the University of Sydney as an historian of Australian and American foreign relations and a tutor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History. His current research interests include the Whitlam era in foreign affairs, the role of the Opposition in Australian politics, and the archaeology of ancient Australia. He has lived in London, Copenhagen and Lyon, as well as Melbourne, Canberra and, his current home, Sydney.

The editors show the diverse and storied influences on the history and practice of archaeology in Australia, from Deuteronomy to Gough Whitlam. Black-and-white photographs of archaeologists, Aboriginal peoples, and Australian landscapes accompany and contextualise the quotations, earthing them and illustrating a handful of archaeological encounters. A pint-sized collection that punches well above its weight, this collection is a must-have for active and armchair adventurers alike. - Ruth A Morgan, Australian Review of Books October 2015