A revelatory biography of Australia's longest-serving prime minister.
Robert Menzies claimed the prime ministership in 1939 and led the nation during the early years of the war, but resigned two years later when he lost the confidence of his party. His political career seemed over, and yet he staged one of the great comebacks to forge a new political party with a new philosophy, and to craft a winning electoral approach that was to make him Australia's longest-serving prime minister.
The lessons Menzies learned - and the way he applied them - made him a model that every Liberal leader since has looked to for inspiration. But debate over Menzies' life and legacy has never settled.
Who was Robert Menzies, what did he stand for, and what did he achieve? To find out, Troy Bramston not only researched the official record and published accounts, but also interviewed members of Menzies' family, and his former advisers and ministers. He was also given exclusive access to family letters, as well as to a series of interviews that Menzies gave that had never been revealed before.
Robert Menzies contains important contemporary lessons for the Liberal Party, and for those who want to understand and master the art and science of politics.
'Troy Bramston spent an enormous amount of time finding out all he could about my father, Robert Menzies. This included interviewing me at length. Robert Menzies- the art of politics is accurate, interesting, and easy to read.'
-Heather Henderson, daughter of Sir Robert and Dame Pattie Menzies
'We were all young at the time, even Menzies- but Troy Bramston has caught the flavour of an era he was barely old enough to see. Above all he has registered how Menzies, for all his faults of pomp, circumstance and fervent monarchism, did so much to create the Australia that has since established itself as the envy of the world. After WWII it was Menzies who made sure that a new generation got its education for free. As his reward, the new generation vilified him for the rest of his life. But that's Australia- a rough diamond that flays you if you hold it tight but lights the way ahead like torch. This is a thrilling book about a thrilling man. He had his faults, but his virtues are the bedrock of our inheritance.'
-Clive James
'Troy Bramston's book on Robert Menzies was a good read. It contains an interesting series of reflections on Menzies' relations with other public figures, especially across the political divide. He writes clearly and well. This work is carefully researched.'
-John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia 1996-2007 and author of The Menzies Era
