Review by Choice Review
An account of the making of the first European culture in Australia, at New South Wales, this compilation of extracts of first-person narratives provides an immediacy that is unusual in histories of the early colonization of Australia. Egan, who doubles skillfully as editor and compiler, weaves together various strands of memoir and experience, introducing readers to settlers, convicts, administrators, guards, and others. The first four years of the nascent colony saw the joining of sea and shore, for this is a maritime and oceanic story. The author is aware of this, though he is partial, in his selection of documentary fragments, to what happened ashore, in Sydney and its immediate area. Those who provide the testimonies that form the bulk of this book are nicely identified at the outset, and readers follow them through the narrative. This is not scholarly history, but a fine compilation of vignettes of a particular time and space. Egan provides little commentary and remains largely content to let the fragments speak for themselves. Beautifully illustrated with maps and colored photographs, this book also boasts a reference section containing a brief bibliography and serviceable index. From general readers to specialists. B. M. Gough; Wilfrid Laurier University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
