Quotes of the Day

POLITICS
HENDRIK HERTZBERG

A calm voice and a soft heart suffuse the work of Hertzberg, a writer and editor at the New Yorker. This collection covers four decades of commentary and observation, from hippiedom to Iraq. On the spot at political conventions and rallies, his reporting rings true. Because he keeps his distance from the main players (and their "minders"), he is free to call them on their foibles. Perennial Democratic Presidential candidate Richard Gephardt is an earthling whose body has been taken over by aliens: "I keep expecting him to reach under his chin and peel back that immobile, monochromatic, oddly smooth face to reveal the lizard beneath." For Hertzberg, who was Jimmy Carter's chief speechwriter, Ronald Reagan's genius was to "paste a smiley-face on Armageddon's grinning skull." An American liberal, he combines the verve of Joe Klein with the precision of Michael Kinsley. Few in deadline journalism consistently display Hertzberg's grace or humor.

MEN AND WOMEN OF AUSTRALIA
MICHAEL FULLILOVE (ED.)

Several collections of, and books about, Australian speeches have appeared in recent years. Fullilove's is neither the most political nor encyclopedic, but it is the best and most personal. It's cleverly organized, includes some surprising gems and, as a bonus, sits nicely in your hands. "Our speeches are leaner than most, and more direct," writes the one-time speechwriter to former Prime Minister Paul Keating and now director of the global issues program at the Lowy Institute. Although his choices favor Labor leaders such as Keating, Gough Whitlam and John Curtin, there's a good sample from the Tories, including Robert Menzies, Alfred Deakin and John Howard. Each selection is adroitly and briefly introduced. Fullilove laments that today's speechmaking and writing ain't what they used to be, particularly in foreign affairs. Yet in the era of short attention spans, the speech still endures. Why? "Because there is no better way to deploy your arguments and develop your themes—and tell your story," he writes.

VITAL SIGNS, VIBRANT SOCIETY
CRAIG EMERSON

This Australian Labor M.P. is a rare bird. Plenty of pols write books; only some are deep thinkers, fewer still are prepared to serve up ideas that go against party doctrine. An economist with big dreams, Emerson ranges widely and passion-ately from health to education, infrastructure to population policy, tax to trade. He proposes a universal payment to mothers of children aged under three, equity (rather than debt) funding of students in higher education, and a revival of economic activity in the regions. Many have spoken of the nation's complacency; its obsession with material wealth and comfort at the expense of the next generation. Emerson not only aspires to something better and more lasting, he's come up with dozens of practical—some even bold— ways for getting Australia there.

THE LONGEST DECADE
GEORGE MEGALOGENIS

The writer, a newsman at The Australian, argues that antagonists Keating (below) and Howard, the dominant politicians of their generation, are the joint fathers of today's affluence—and partners in the disruptive reforms that have transformed Australia over the past two decades. Some commentators in these matters rely on spleen, others on lofty remoteness. Megalogenis is a data fiend and a diviner of patterns and types. Few know their way around a statistical time series like he does; no one can match his ingenuity in figuring out what to do with it. When Megalogenis describes the rise of the McMansion, for instance, you get acute social observation, street-cred cultural criticism, political nous, personal anecdote, ethnic punditry and a savvy dissection of changes in capital gains tax. There's a sense that Megalogenis—a former Canberra Press Gallery fixture who's never lost touch with the pulse of life in the suburbs—remembers everything and wastes nothing. It shows in his revealing interrogations of the two big-picture fellas.

• Tom Dusevic
• Elegance, originality and insight raise these books above the political horizon