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Reviews
(Short lived fame at the Waterstone Bookstore Sydney Airport - July 2007)
Tim Flannery (Australian of the Year 2007): 'If great tragedies tell of great people greatly flawed, then the story told by Guy Pearse in High and Dry is surely the defining tragedy of our times. The tragedy's roots, Pearse thinks, lie in the unbridled influence of perfidious advisers and a leader whose vision was just too limited, and who was perhaps a little too stubborn, to see the great menace threatening his country . . . The overwhelming sense I was left with after reading High and Dry was that of betrayal. Pearse is so clearly a proud Liberal, and a great patriot, who feels deeply the burden that has fallen on him to blow the whistle on a very sorry episode in Australian political history . . . High and Dry is an appeal to the Liberal constituency to "start letting the Party know how you feel". It's a tragedy so diligently and honestly told that Pearse, I think, cannot help but hit his mark.' (For the full review in the Sydney Morning Herald click here)
The late John Button (Former Industry Minister & Leader of the Government in the Senate): ' . . . it is a book about ideas, many of which should have been on the political agenda for years. Ideas, sadly, are not the currency of today's political discourse . . . Pearse has a habit of asking inconvenient questions, ones seldom mentioned by politicians or lazy commentators . . . (His ideas) are lively and provocative, a chink of light in the dark malaise of present Australian politics. And this is a bonus in an important book about climate change and, in the author's words, "the rotten politics underpinning my party's response to it". It's all worth reading and thinking about for those hoping that Australia can grasp something of its potential.' (For the full review click here)
Judges Comments on the Short Listing of High & Dry for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards: 'High and Dry is an important contribution to the national debate on climate change. It is also an eloquent treatise on the corruption of the public policy-making process under the former Howard government. Written by a self-confessed practitioner of the 'dark arts' - Guy Pearse is a former Liberal party insider, lobbyist and ministerial adviser - the book exposes the selective hearing of a seemingly democratic government, and the contamination of a political process that 'thrives in the dark'.
Pearse argues that the economic cost of inaction on climate change is not only far greater than the cost of acting, but also cites instances where the cost of acting could even result in net gain. He argues that the real reason for inaction is that the policymaking process has been hijacked by some of the nation's largest companies which are also the nation's biggest greenhouse polluters. Hence, Howard's curious brand of denial - his eschewal of scientific predictions 'too gloomy for [him] to take seriously' - is supported by advice from a bureaucratic system in which the nation's public servants concern themselves not with the national interest, but with the interests of the major business organisations in their portfolio sector, whom they routinely refer to as their 'clientele'. It is also supported by the failure of a party room in which 'most of the comments are shameless grovelling', and the failure of a market place in which adversely affected industries outside the powerful energy sector are too blind, intimidated, or focussed on short-term profit to press for meaningful change.
Pearse argues that behind all John Howard's numerous sources 'we find the same few arguments, the same few individuals and the same money'. He follows some of that money down 'hundreds of poorly lit trails' to think-tanks, lobbyists, and government departments, where it has even been used to actively underwrite the cost of the so called independent research used to bolster Howard's greenhouse response.
High and Dry is also a powerful personal narrative, in which the author's own odyssey of passion and disillusion gives shape and structure to the work. Pearse's integration of memoir written in the first person with political and scientific analysis is, in literary terms, as impressive as his marshalling of fact - imparting a sense of urgency to every page. Pearse writes: 'the upside of a decade of neglect … is that there is a treasure-trove of stories waiting to be written' - this passionate and courageous work is one of them.'
Greg Barns (former Howard government ministerial chief of staff): 'Guy Pearse's insights into the politics of greenhouse are timely indeed. Pearse has made some enemies with this tell-all account of how the Howard government continues to be dragged kicking and screaming to the table on climate change – but then, as I found out some years ago, it's publish and be damned in the modern Liberal Party. The strength of this book is that it has been so well researched . . . (and) in case you think this is a book simply for political junkies and policy makers, there is an excellent section dealing with community and individual strategies that can be taken . . . High & Dry is a fine debut from a welcome new voice in the climate change debate.' (For the full review see the Hobart Mercury, 22/9/07)
Chris Hammer (The Bulletin Magazine): 'The allegations raised by Pearse are not easily dismissed . . . Because of his pedigree and because of his access this is a book that could do considerable damage'
John Uhr (The Canberra Times): 'Pearse is not so much dumping on the Liberal establishment as trying with all his charming might to save Liberal power-holders from the worst effects of their own bad policy choices . . . A vivid story . . . carefully researched and scholarly analysis . . . '
Chris Johnson (The West Australian): 'What sets Dr Pearse apart from some other Australians just as convinced that the PM is the nation's stumbling block on climate change is that he comes from a position of authority . . . Dr Pearse adds far greater detail to his Four Corners allegations in the more than 400 pages of his first book High & Dry, which has been selling fast since it reached the bookstores . . . '
Deborah Bogle (Adelaide Advertiser): '(Pearse) means to have his message heard. With the political savvy honed over 15 years in the service of the Liberal Party, he has timed the release of his book in the run-up to the federal election.'
Less Positive Reviews (in Jest)
Charles Firth (The Chaser's War on Everything):'Guy Pearse – a Liberal who cares about climate change. He's obviously on the take from the environmental movement. What a complete f*cken fraud!'
Less Positive Reviews (Serious)
Bill Heffernan (NSW Liberal Party Senator, and John Howard's former political hitman): '(Pearse) is just a turncoat for business!'
Matt Brown (Failed 2007 Liberal Party Senate candidate, and former PR man for the oil industry and the Howard government's climate change policy): '(Pearse) is a self-dubbed climate change martyr... (High and Dry is) a flimsy conspiracy theory.' (Not surprisingly, the full review can be found in the IPA Review, October 2007)
Tim Flannery (Australian of the Year 2007): 'If great tragedies tell of great people greatly flawed, then the story told by Guy Pearse in High and Dry is surely the defining tragedy of our times. The tragedy's roots, Pearse thinks, lie in the unbridled influence of perfidious advisers and a leader whose vision was just too limited, and who was perhaps a little too stubborn, to see the great menace threatening his country . . . The overwhelming sense I was left with after reading High and Dry was that of betrayal. Pearse is so clearly a proud Liberal, and a great patriot, who feels deeply the burden that has fallen on him to blow the whistle on a very sorry episode in Australian political history . . . High and Dry is an appeal to the Liberal constituency to "start letting the Party know how you feel". It's a tragedy so diligently and honestly told that Pearse, I think, cannot help but hit his mark.' (For the full review in the Sydney Morning Herald click here)
The late John Button (Former Industry Minister & Leader of the Government in the Senate): ' . . . it is a book about ideas, many of which should have been on the political agenda for years. Ideas, sadly, are not the currency of today's political discourse . . . Pearse has a habit of asking inconvenient questions, ones seldom mentioned by politicians or lazy commentators . . . (His ideas) are lively and provocative, a chink of light in the dark malaise of present Australian politics. And this is a bonus in an important book about climate change and, in the author's words, "the rotten politics underpinning my party's response to it". It's all worth reading and thinking about for those hoping that Australia can grasp something of its potential.' (For the full review click here)
Judges Comments on the Short Listing of High & Dry for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards: 'High and Dry is an important contribution to the national debate on climate change. It is also an eloquent treatise on the corruption of the public policy-making process under the former Howard government. Written by a self-confessed practitioner of the 'dark arts' - Guy Pearse is a former Liberal party insider, lobbyist and ministerial adviser - the book exposes the selective hearing of a seemingly democratic government, and the contamination of a political process that 'thrives in the dark'.
Pearse argues that the economic cost of inaction on climate change is not only far greater than the cost of acting, but also cites instances where the cost of acting could even result in net gain. He argues that the real reason for inaction is that the policymaking process has been hijacked by some of the nation's largest companies which are also the nation's biggest greenhouse polluters. Hence, Howard's curious brand of denial - his eschewal of scientific predictions 'too gloomy for [him] to take seriously' - is supported by advice from a bureaucratic system in which the nation's public servants concern themselves not with the national interest, but with the interests of the major business organisations in their portfolio sector, whom they routinely refer to as their 'clientele'. It is also supported by the failure of a party room in which 'most of the comments are shameless grovelling', and the failure of a market place in which adversely affected industries outside the powerful energy sector are too blind, intimidated, or focussed on short-term profit to press for meaningful change.
Pearse argues that behind all John Howard's numerous sources 'we find the same few arguments, the same few individuals and the same money'. He follows some of that money down 'hundreds of poorly lit trails' to think-tanks, lobbyists, and government departments, where it has even been used to actively underwrite the cost of the so called independent research used to bolster Howard's greenhouse response.
High and Dry is also a powerful personal narrative, in which the author's own odyssey of passion and disillusion gives shape and structure to the work. Pearse's integration of memoir written in the first person with political and scientific analysis is, in literary terms, as impressive as his marshalling of fact - imparting a sense of urgency to every page. Pearse writes: 'the upside of a decade of neglect … is that there is a treasure-trove of stories waiting to be written' - this passionate and courageous work is one of them.'
Greg Barns (former Howard government ministerial chief of staff): 'Guy Pearse's insights into the politics of greenhouse are timely indeed. Pearse has made some enemies with this tell-all account of how the Howard government continues to be dragged kicking and screaming to the table on climate change – but then, as I found out some years ago, it's publish and be damned in the modern Liberal Party. The strength of this book is that it has been so well researched . . . (and) in case you think this is a book simply for political junkies and policy makers, there is an excellent section dealing with community and individual strategies that can be taken . . . High & Dry is a fine debut from a welcome new voice in the climate change debate.' (For the full review see the Hobart Mercury, 22/9/07)
Chris Hammer (The Bulletin Magazine): 'The allegations raised by Pearse are not easily dismissed . . . Because of his pedigree and because of his access this is a book that could do considerable damage'
John Uhr (The Canberra Times): 'Pearse is not so much dumping on the Liberal establishment as trying with all his charming might to save Liberal power-holders from the worst effects of their own bad policy choices . . . A vivid story . . . carefully researched and scholarly analysis . . . '
Chris Johnson (The West Australian): 'What sets Dr Pearse apart from some other Australians just as convinced that the PM is the nation's stumbling block on climate change is that he comes from a position of authority . . . Dr Pearse adds far greater detail to his Four Corners allegations in the more than 400 pages of his first book High & Dry, which has been selling fast since it reached the bookstores . . . '
Deborah Bogle (Adelaide Advertiser): '(Pearse) means to have his message heard. With the political savvy honed over 15 years in the service of the Liberal Party, he has timed the release of his book in the run-up to the federal election.'
Less Positive Reviews (in Jest)
Charles Firth (The Chaser's War on Everything):'Guy Pearse – a Liberal who cares about climate change. He's obviously on the take from the environmental movement. What a complete f*cken fraud!'
Less Positive Reviews (Serious)
Bill Heffernan (NSW Liberal Party Senator, and John Howard's former political hitman): '(Pearse) is just a turncoat for business!'
Matt Brown (Failed 2007 Liberal Party Senate candidate, and former PR man for the oil industry and the Howard government's climate change policy): '(Pearse) is a self-dubbed climate change martyr... (High and Dry is) a flimsy conspiracy theory.' (Not surprisingly, the full review can be found in the IPA Review, October 2007)