Canberra, 1913-1953 /

In 1913, construction began on the new Australian capital city of Canberra; in 1954 the federal government finally decided to consolidate its offices there. Gibbney's study, based on his PhD thesis at Australian National University, is a history of Canberra's development between those dates. It focuses on the planning and construction of the city's elements, political machinations that repeatedly altered American architect W.B. Griffin's original plans, and the social history of the workers and residents. This combination of planning and social history may be useful to some readers but discordant to others. Gibbney relies on government archives and other primary sources, and tends to report events rather than interpret them. The book is illustrated with numerous historical photographs, six color plates, and several maps showing changes in the city's plan and its built area. Primarily useful for upper-division undergraduates and graduate students and scholars in urban planning, urban history, and Australian history. -S. P. Reynolds, Southern Oregon State University