Summary

An extraordinarily powerful and personal meditation on race, culture and national identity.

In July 2015, as the debate over Aboriginal AFL player Adam Goodes being booed at games raged and got ever more heated and ugly, Stan Grant wrote a short but powerful piece for The Guardian that went viral, not only in Australia but right around the world, shared over 100,000 times on social media.

His was a personal, passionate and powerful response to racism in Australian and the sorrow, shame, anger and hardship of being an Aboriginal man. 'We are the detritus of the brutality of the Australian frontier', he wrote, 'We remained a reminder of what was lost, what was taken, what was destroyed to scaffold the building of this nation's prosperity.'

Stan Grant was lucky enough to find an escape route, making his way through education to become one of our leading journalists. He also spent many years outside Australia, working in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa, a time that liberated him and gave him a unique perspective on Australia. This is his very personal meditation on what it means to be Australian, what it means to be Aboriginal, and what racism really means in this country.

Talking to My Country is that rare and special book that talks to every Australian about their country - what it is, and what it could be. It is not just about race, or about Aboriginal people but all of us, our shared identity. Direct, honest and forthright, Stan is talking to us all. He might not have all the answers but he wants us to keep on asking the question: how can we be better?

Winner of the 2016 Walkley Book Award.

About the Author

Stan Grant is the International Editor at SKY NEWS. From 2001 to 2012 he worked for CNN as an anchor in Hong Kong, before relocating to Beijing as correspondent. As a journalist, he has covered some of the world's biggest news events. He has received a string of prestigious international awards. He is the author of The Tears of Strangers.