Books published by Sydney School of Arts and Humanities

A story about the unity of music set within the complexity of Israel. Nicky Gluch, a young Australian Jewish woman, travels with Americans, works alongside Palestinians and lives, for a time, with an Arab nun. She thinks she wants to be a doctor, that healing people will fulfil a sense of purpose. But in exploring that which divides us - religion, language, country - she finds that which unites us. A remarkably thoughtful memoir about music as 'The Universal Language'.

New Authors - New Writing A skyful of stars, an architect's dream house, vengeance and betrayal, immaculate love. Just a few of the motifs our SSOA writers use in weaving their spirited stories.

A diamond theft. A fateful dancer.Passion, love and money in a story that unfolds through the rhythm of the tango.'A Taste for Diamonds' is a love story that spans two continents, from London to Buenos Aires, as Harriett and the man she loves - the man who loves her in return - face the consequences of getting involved in the international diamond trade.Not everyone's a good guy, as they find out to their peril.Author Diane Harding plumbs the depths of romance and intrigue to bring readers a satisfying ending to a dangerous tale of love.

Geetha Waters' engaging selection of short stories, Waking the Mind, is a reflection on Jiddu Krishnamurti's impact on her education based on her experiences at a school he founded in South India. She credits her passion for inquiry as being sparked the first time she heard Krishnamurti speak when she was six. That talk at the Rishi Valley School had the effect of setting her on an intriguing course of inquiry into the mysterious nature of the mind, the vitality of the natural world, and a creative understanding of life.

'Road to Rishi Konda' by Geetha Waters is a memoir of insight and charm, with a serious educational purpose. The author recalls delightful and stimulating stories from her childhood to throw light on the work of the philosopher J. Krishnamurti as a revolutionary 20th century educator. At once fascinating and enchanting, Geetha Waters' stories centre on a girl growing up in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh in the '60s and '70s. These youthful tales are underpinned by Geetha's deep understanding of childhood education, based both on her academic studies and in practice in her daily life as a mother and childcare professional. Written from a child's perspective, the tales of awakening to life offer the reader an opportunity to appreciate how all children learn, as they draw on a deep well of curiosity that needs to be respected. Geetha describes how Krishnamurti would warn his students about the impact of language & conditioning, urging Geetha and her friends to observe its impact on their minds and lives. Having studied at Macquarie University in Sydney, Geetha Waters now incorporates the stories found in 'Road to Rishi Konda' in the STEP program for children and teachers in South India, a teacher training module based on education in Krishnamurti's interactive style of relating with children. As Geetha writes in the first story of the memoir anthology, setting a thoughtful and playful tone for the whole book: 'I was born in Varkala, in the state of Kerala on the west coast of South India. My maternal grandmother Kochu Parvathi lived about half an hour away in a rural area called Edava. This word can be translated as 'come hither' or 'come here' - and also, as I later imagined, could mean 'this voice', referring to my inner voice. ... I remember we had been digging up tapioca roots from the rocky soil. We had about a dozen covered in dark earth from the ground, and they had to be washed and peeled before being cut up for the cooking pot in the kitchen. It was late afternoon and I had been running around with my cousins all morning. I left my grandmother to clean the tapioca by the well, and then went to sleep on the cool floor where my sister lay in her hammock, slung from a beam on the ceiling. My cousins were still playing in the yard. Every now and again they would run in to swing the cradle. They were all excited for me, because my father was coming to visit us the following day. At just three years old, I had no idea who he was as I could not remember what he looked like. My grandmother was very happy to hear the news, and that was all that mattered to me.' A South Indian by birth and having spent thirty years living in Australia, Geetha now gives to readers all over the world the opportunity to enjoy her stories of growing up at a special time and in a special place.

Political journalist Nick Hunter suddenly loses his memory. He can't find his wallet, his computer password or even his name. When it comes to women it's even more confusing. Does he have a lover or a wife?It doesn't get any easier when he realises his life is in danger as he's been researching a story on corruption at the highest level of political life. Things get even stickier once Nick has a 6-shooter out of his safety deposit box and in his hand, ready to fire in his own defence.Set in the northern and eastern suburbs of Sydney where coffee and sex are almost too freely available, this story will sharpen your senses and set your crime thriller compass on true course.

Di Harding's novel is set in a very contemporary Sydney, taking in multi-layered sights and sounds, from the northern beaches to performances at the Sydney Opera House.The plot spans the complications of what a woman must consider if she is to save her children from domestic violence. And the main character has good reason to hold fears for her life.What would you do if your daughter was missing and you thought your son-in-law was somehow involved? Is there someone who could help you, or would you take matters into your own hands?She does, and so the terror begins - from vile and personal harassment to life threatening acts, until she is ready to commit murder.Her obsession with killing grows in her mind until she begins to plan and plot. Can she actually do it? Then something shocking happens to make up her mind.The story ends on an upbeat for a new life ahead for the family.

Themes of the sea and the emotions, particularly the deeply felt joys and melancholies experienced by men, are a touchstone of this work. Ferdinando Manzo's thoughts are not bound to fluidity; they fly to the greatest heights of exhilaration in poems such as, The sky above us, which displays 'a mantle of stars that burns in my heart' and in the evocative lines of Eclipse: 'the moon rose, bright between the eyelids of the night'. Even the constellation Andromeda is given due recognition, breaking her chains and ready for revenge, before another poem The voice of the universe explores 'a hidden legend as far away as waves in outer space'.A distinctive quality of this collection of poems is its musicality - the sounds of words carefully chosen, and their rhythms. The pleasing effect of the sensuality of sounds, ranging from gentleness to the drama of sex, is in tune with the gamut of human emotion.

The life of the 20th-century philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti was truly astonishing. As this new updated edition shows, people from all over the world would gather to hear him speak the wisdom of the ages. Krishna was born into poverty in a South Indian village, before being adopted by a wealthy English public figure, Annie Besant. As an adult he settled in California, travelling to India and England every year to give public lectures that inspired spiritual seekers beyond any single religion. Biographer Christine Williams carried out research over a period of four years to write this ebook account of Krishnamurti's life. She studied his massive archive of personal correspondence and talks, and interviewed people who knew him intimately. His key message of freedom of the mind resonated with Hindus and Buddhists alike, as well as many humanists in the West. Philosopher, teacher, lover, mystic - Krishnamurti lived all of these roles to the full.