{"product_id":"9781922231338","title":"The Sweet Spot: How Australia Made Its Own Luck - And Could Now Throw It All Away","description":"\u003ci\u003eWinner of the 2012 Ashurst Business Literature Prize\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eThis book will change the way you think about your country...\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Australians now officially have the best living conditions in the world. Our country is both fair and free – and the only developed nation to have avoided a recession in the past twenty years. So how did it happen and why don’t we care? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eThe Sweet Spot\u003c\/i\u003e Peter Hartcher takes readers on a vastly entertaining and thought-provoking tour through Australian politics and history. He shows how a convict colony could have become a banana republic but didn’t, how Australia came through the global financial crisis – it wasn’t just the mining boom – and how we could now throw our success away if we don’t recognise our strengths and demand true leadership of our politicians. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Hartcher argues that Australia’s prosperity was not built on dumb luck. In a time when the authoritarian success story of China is strong, Australia offers a better model: a democratic success story. Is it perfect? Of course not. But on some of the most important and apparently intractable problems of the modern world, Australia, believe it or not, is as good as it gets. And the beaches aren’t bad either. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eLonglisted, 2012 Walkley Book Award\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ‘A compelling and tantalising read. Australians as shrinking violets who can’t embrace their own cleverness, and risk blowing the chance of a golden future.’ —Kerry O’Brien \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ‘A book to promote thought and argument.’ —\u003ci\u003eAge\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ‘A 21st-century reply to Donald Horne’s classic \u003ci\u003eThe Luck Country\u003c\/i\u003e.’ —\u003ci\u003eBookseller + Publisher\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ‘A thoughtful analysis of Australia’s success.’ —\u003ci\u003eHerald Sun\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Peter Hartcher is an award-winning journalist and author, and is currently the political editor and international editor for the \u003ci\u003eSydney Morning Herald.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Schwartz Publishing Pty. Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47180868714736,"sku":"9781922231338","price":12.97,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781922231338_p0.jpg?v=1763633958","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781922231338","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}