Scan barcode
Reviews
Still Lucky: Why You Should feel Optimistic about Australia and its People by Rebecca Huntley
smitchy's review against another edition
3.0
Huntley is one of Australia's leading social researchers and she has spent years travelling the country and talking to people from all walks of life about the things that they worry about and care about. Every topic from politics, refugees, house prices and even spoiled kids are looked at and what Huntley finds is that there are the same concerns among people regardless of whether they are young or old, city or country, rich or poor.
Huntley goes into the reasons why we are concerned and also the reasons why we shouldn't be - after all we are still one of the luckiest countries in the world. She looks at where we are now, where we are heading, and where we hope to get as a nation. Above all she assures us that we are not alone in wondering why politicians are acting like children and when the housing bubble will burst?
I found this book is to be interesting but I couldn't say that it is riveting. I picked it up and read a chapter or two and then put it down again for a day or a week until I got through it (I think I have been reading this book off and on for about 2.5 months).It is not a dry book - when I was reading it I found it easy and flowing. It is simply not a book that will grip you unless you have a real interest in the topics. The topics are relevant and Huntley's insights from so many years of research are valuable. I would highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in sociology, politics or modern Australian society.
Huntley goes into the reasons why we are concerned and also the reasons why we shouldn't be - after all we are still one of the luckiest countries in the world. She looks at where we are now, where we are heading, and where we hope to get as a nation. Above all she assures us that we are not alone in wondering why politicians are acting like children and when the housing bubble will burst?
I found this book is to be interesting but I couldn't say that it is riveting. I picked it up and read a chapter or two and then put it down again for a day or a week until I got through it (I think I have been reading this book off and on for about 2.5 months).It is not a dry book - when I was reading it I found it easy and flowing. It is simply not a book that will grip you unless you have a real interest in the topics. The topics are relevant and Huntley's insights from so many years of research are valuable. I would highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in sociology, politics or modern Australian society.
sharolyn's review against another edition
4.0
I haven't ever read anything like this before but heard the author on Conversations with Richard Fidler (612 ABC radio) and it sounded fascinating. It wasn't riveting (not everything needs to be), but it was interesting and thought provoking. Because it has statistics scattered throughout - and it is fairly methodical in it's approach - it is a rather dry read, but interesting nonetheless. It made me realise how absolutely complex society is. Politicians have such an incredibly hard job. So many expectations from so many different directions and people have so little faith in them (often for good reason, but we generally are a little too cynical). I could relate to the chapter about the expectations on/of women when it comes to work/family/life balance. As a stay at home mum it was good to empathise with working women and all throughout the book to hear different perspectives. Difference is truly a gift to society. Working out how to balance these differences and work cohesively is our challenge.
sarah_thornback's review against another edition
5.0
This book should be recommended to everyone. I’m hesitant to listen to audiobooks narrated by the author but this one was pretty good.
architha_thebookishdweeb's review against another edition
4.0
Rebecca Huntley, one of Australia's most famous social researchers, talks about her experience interacting with research groups and explains her findings on various political and demographic topics.
The gender-work ratio and its implications, political trust, financial situations and management are some of the topics discussed here. Australia being a silent country away from mainstream action, it pretty much experiences the same amount of issues faced by every other country.
Spoken in a raw Australian accent by the author herself, it was a bit difficult to follow at first but then once I got used to it, I found that the book was written in a simple manner explaining issues in a simple language.
The gender-work ratio and its implications, political trust, financial situations and management are some of the topics discussed here. Australia being a silent country away from mainstream action, it pretty much experiences the same amount of issues faced by every other country.
Spoken in a raw Australian accent by the author herself, it was a bit difficult to follow at first but then once I got used to it, I found that the book was written in a simple manner explaining issues in a simple language.
julieannec's review
4.0
Think everyone should read this. It's a great overview of the values, beliefs and perceptions of Australians since the nineties up until USA elected Trump.
More...