A Foolish Passionate Man: A Biography Of Jim Cairns
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Yellowed
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
In the turbulent theatre of Australian politics, few figures burned as brightly — or as controversially — as Jim Cairns, and A Foolish Passionate Man by Paul Ormonde chronicles the remarkable life of this idealist, economist, and Deputy Prime Minister whose principles and passions placed him perpetually at odds with the establishment. From his roots as a Melbourne police officer to his rise as one of the most electrifying anti-Vietnam War voices in the nation, Ormonde details a man who commanded mass movements and shaped the conscience of a generation, only to be undone by a combination of political intrigue and personal scandal. The biography presents the full arc of Cairns's career within the Whitlam Labor government, capturing the pivotal moments that defined and ultimately derailed one of Australia's most intellectually restless political careers. Ormonde writes with the measured authority of an investigative journalist, balancing admiration with unflinching scrutiny as he illustrates the central paradox of Cairns's character — a man of profound moral conviction whose judgement was frequently overruled by his heart. The biography situates Cairns within the broader currents of Cold War politics, the Australian labour movement, and the social upheavals of the 1960s and 70s, rendering his story as much a portrait of a nation in transition as it is of the man himself. Published under the Penguin imprint, this work stands as an essential document of Australian political history, and its final pages leave the reader asking a timeless question: where does passionate idealism end and reckless folly begin?
Author: Paul Ormonde
Format: Paperback
Genre: Biography
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Yellowed
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
In the turbulent theatre of Australian politics, few figures burned as brightly — or as controversially — as Jim Cairns, and A Foolish Passionate Man by Paul Ormonde chronicles the remarkable life of this idealist, economist, and Deputy Prime Minister whose principles and passions placed him perpetually at odds with the establishment. From his roots as a Melbourne police officer to his rise as one of the most electrifying anti-Vietnam War voices in the nation, Ormonde details a man who commanded mass movements and shaped the conscience of a generation, only to be undone by a combination of political intrigue and personal scandal. The biography presents the full arc of Cairns's career within the Whitlam Labor government, capturing the pivotal moments that defined and ultimately derailed one of Australia's most intellectually restless political careers. Ormonde writes with the measured authority of an investigative journalist, balancing admiration with unflinching scrutiny as he illustrates the central paradox of Cairns's character — a man of profound moral conviction whose judgement was frequently overruled by his heart. The biography situates Cairns within the broader currents of Cold War politics, the Australian labour movement, and the social upheavals of the 1960s and 70s, rendering his story as much a portrait of a nation in transition as it is of the man himself. Published under the Penguin imprint, this work stands as an essential document of Australian political history, and its final pages leave the reader asking a timeless question: where does passionate idealism end and reckless folly begin?