The following item by Alex Mitchell appeared in the Naked Eye column in last Sunday’s Sun Herald newspaper:
Take a bow, writer and journalist Antony Loewenstein. He’s written My Israel Question, to be published next month by Melbourne University Press headed by Louise Adler. It is the book every serious-minded Australian has been waiting to read and details the mechanics of Israel’s relentless propaganda war to demonise the internationally backed claims of the Palestinian people. The value of Loewenstein’s book became apparent when Federal Labor MP Michael Danby, an ultra-Zionist, demanded Loewenstein’s publishers should “drop this whole disgusting project” because it was “an attack on the mainstream Australian Jewish community.” When Danby was demanding, “Don’t buy the book”, it hadn’t been completed and he hadn’t read it.
Onya AL
Bit of a stirer and making them natives restless but.
Pete
Good on you, Ant.
you know when the sun herald is running supportive text you are onto something!
Alex Mitchell perfectly summed up a great Australianism : Nobody Likes A Bully. Michael Danby’s attempts at pseudo-censorship will probably be referred to in most of the articles and reviews of your book next month and will add an extra dimension of controversy and interest. Why doesn’t somebody like Danby want a book published that he hasn’t read?
Pity you weren’t being published by ABC and had the board toss you a half million in free publicity.
Good to see Tim Blair is also helping to promote a young Australian writer publishing his first book.
It always pains old Australian writers who’ve never managed to get a book deal, or write a whole book, or even a a few articles or essays longer than a few blog bites, to see the young literary guns making their move.
And you do have to take the publicity where you can get it in Australian publishing, even if it’s off Blair’s site, and even if 70% of Blair’s audience comes from outside Australia.
The point is that plenty of Australian journos regularly check TB’s site, in the same way people slow down to look at car accidents, and the more he tries to whip up his bitter battalions, the more curious the Australian media gets as to what you’ve actually written in your book.
Just remember, the louder they shriek, the more nervous you’re making them.
Are you going to release extracts to Australian bloggers pre-book release?
Thanks Daryl for those words.
As for releasing info to bloggers pre-release, sadly not. Not many Aussie publishers are up to that idea, but rest assured, there will be much more online material re the book in the coming month.
As for Blair and co, blogging and editing a dying mag from his office in Sydney must be so taxing and interesting for the little lad. Now that’s what I call journalism.
Just remember, the louder they shriek, the more nervous you’re making them.
Hear, hear, Darryl.
Chris Masters is countin’ da monaaay as we speak, thanks to none other than Windschuttle, Brunton and Albrechtsen.
Perhaps you could cut in Danby for a couple of quid- or at least a bottle of nice fresh Mogen David wine. None of that old stuff for Danbo.