The Fatal Shore

By Robert Hughes

The Fatal Shore - Robert Hughes
  • Release Date: 1986-12-12
  • Genre: Australian & Oceanic History
Score: 4
4
From 37 Ratings

Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • This incredible true history of the colonization of Australia explores how the convict transportation system created the country we know today.

"One of the greatest non-fiction books I’ve ever read ... Hughes brings us an entire world." —Los Angeles Times


Digging deep into the dark history of England's infamous efforts to move 160,000 men and women thousands of miles to the other side of the world in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Hughes has crafted a groundbreaking, definitive account of the settling of Australia.

Tracing the European presence in Australia from early explorations through the rise and fall of the penal colonies, and featuring 16 pages of illustrations and 3 maps, The Fatal Shore brings to life the history of the country we thought we knew.

Reviews

  • Rich vocabulary

    5
    By khouse97
    A delightful read and the best resource I ever found for building my vocabulary
  • The FatalShore

    5
    By Fishing Preacher
    I was surprised that the average rating of this book was so low. Australia is unique among nations in the manner of its founding and settlement. You will find no “Crocodile Dundee” theatrics here. This book is the most comprehensive treatment of the subject of the founding of Australia. It was not necessarily a pretty picture but sheer determination.
  • Interesting but cumbersome read!

    2
    By BPGuy10
    Was interesting to learn more about how Australia was inhabited by convicts and miscreants from England. But the read was laborious and dull much of the time.Not a book I would read again.