 Feminist Leslie Kern asks us to rethink the city.
In Feminist City, author Leslie Kern asks us to imagine what urban spaces might look like if they were designed by women, not men. All forms of urban planning, we learn, are based around assumptions of the typical citizen. “Shockingly,” Kern writes, “this citizen is a man.” Using a mixture of personal anecdote, pop culture references and the latest in feminist research, the reader learns the multitude of ways women use and relate to the city. The first chapter addresses motherhood in the city. As a young mother, Kern felt keenly how cities could be unwelcoming – sometimes downright hostile – to the needs of women caring for children. Other chapters examine female friendships in the city, negotiating the city on your own, the city as a site for protest and women's safety fears in public places. Feminist City doesn't look in any detail at planning issues and how to make cities more female friendly, but rather works as a series of thought provoking riffs on politics, issues of equity and the place of minorities in the urban landscape. While the book doesn't answer the question of how to create a city for women, it helps us imagine how such a place might come into being. Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World, by Leslie Kern. Published by Verso. $29.99 Review by Chris Saliba  Energy industry insider Ketan Joshi gives a bracing history of Australia's climate wars.
In Windfall: Unlocking a Fossil Free Future, renewable industry insider Ketan Joshi gives a teeth gnashing account of Australia's interminable climate debates. Working as a data analyst and communicator at Infigen Energy, Joshi sometimes wound up as collateral damage himself. He was hit with a defamation lawsuit from an anti wind turbine group for live tweeting the innocuous details of a senate inquiry. It was vexatious litigation, designed to suppress and scare. The minutiae of climate science can often make the eyes glaze over. Ketan Joshi does a superb job of explaining the complex and arcane in a manner that is often riveting. Windfall is informative, but also enjoyable and stimulating. What we learn is that the decades wasted in pointless 'debate' have done Australians a great economic disservice. While renewable prices have dipped, greater savings could have been made had not the scare campaigns worked so effectively. The renewable energy industry gets some of the blame, too: they failed to effectively engage at a grass roots level with suspicious communities who felt railroaded into accepting new technologies. Windfall is perfect for the lay reader and non-specialist wanting to know how climate policy went so terribly wrong, and offers hope that a decarbonised future is within reach. Windfall: Unlocking a Fossil Free Future, by Ketan Joshi. Published by New South Books. $29.99 Review by Chris Saliba This review first published at Books + Publishing. Click here.  Ten hard rules on how to win an election.
Journalist and biographer Christine Wallace's How to Win an Election can be read two ways. Firstly, as an autopsy of Labor's shock 2019 defeat, and secondly as a witty yet Machiavellian explainer of how to win at contemporary politics. While the book's tone is often playful and tongue-in-cheek, its aim is deadly serious. The book is divided into 10 key rules for success. Among other things: develop sensible policies that have a chance of getting up, use polling judiciously (the chapter on polling should be mandatory reading), work productively where possible with oppositions, engage positively with journalists, and make good cut through ads (including social media). Another important rule: a leader must be a good performer who connects emotionally with people. While an important requisite of leaders is that they have profound self-belief, this can block clear thinking. Bruised egos can cause leaders to shut down and surround themselves with uncritical supporters. A delicate balance between self-belief and self-restraint is required. he bottom line? Labor lost due to a wooden leader whose strategists failed to read the polling properly. Worst of all, Labor tried to win government with a suite of ambitious policies while in opposition - history shows that serious reform is best done whilst in government. How to Win an Election is essential reading for politicians and their staffers; it will also greatly appeal to voters of all ages and persuasions. How to Win an Election, by Chris Wallace. Published by New South Books. Review by Chris Saliba This review first published at Books + Publishing. Click here. |
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