What Goes Up ...
behind the 2007 election
Nicholas Stuart
‘Only Nicholas Stuart’s What Goes Up … provides a nuanced, ambiguous assessment of the new Labor leadership … Of these four (election) books, What Goes Up … is the best and most ambitious instant history, full of good detail.’
Paul Sheehan, Sydney Morning Herald
The 2007 general election wasn’t just critical for the politicians. It has irrevocably placed Australia on a new path to the future.
The critical decisions that shaped the contest were taken in the lead-up to the poll — first by the Liberals, when the party choose to stick with John Howard; then by Labor, when its members decided to unite behind Kevin Rudd.
Now Rudd’s biographer, Nicholas Stuart, takes us behind the scenes and into the back rooms where the plotting and planning took place. This book dissects the background to the electoral contest, examining the vital moves taken by both sides as they jostled for control of the political agenda. Stuart also provides telling snapshots of the key moments that finally swung the result.
If you want to understand where Australia is going, you need to read this book.
Reviews
‘Stuart’s book … interweaves with its account of the political contest reminders that the economic restructuring of Australia, begun under Labor and entrenched under a decade of Coalition rule, has resulted in a deeply unequal society …
‘The other distinguishing note of What Goes Up in this batch of four is that it is the only one that is as much about the rise of Kevin Rudd as it is about the fall of Howard.’
Ray Cassin, Age
‘Stuart’s book is a purely journalistic account … yet this doesn’t necessarily work to its disadvantage … there are nuggets of observation and insight here that are almost impossible to obtain in the quiet hallways of academe …
‘Stuart’s opening account of the Howard government’s final political debacle … speaks volumes about the miserable, furtive lengths to which the Liberal Party had been reduced at the end of its governing days.
‘His closing ruminations on the complex private personality of our new PM offer a better insight into Rudd’s strengths and weaknesses than most of the commentary (whether gushing or hostile) written so far.’
David Burchell, Weekend Australian
» All reviews for this title‘Stuart has dug beneath the surface to follow the year leading up to John Howard’s demise, diligently chronicling them for those less politically savvy. As far as political books go, this one is easy to read and revealing. A good introduction to noughties politics.’
Herald Sun
