Political Animal

Tony Abbott is poised to become the nation's next prime minister and, more than ever, Australian's are asking- what kind of man is he and how might he run the country? David Marr's Political Animal, with its revelation of 'the punch,' triggered intense scrutiny of Abbott's character in 2012. Now this expanded and updated edition of Marr's dramatic portrait gives the clearest picture yet of Abbott the man and politician. Marr shows him thriving on chaos and conflict. Part fighter and part charmer, Abbott is deeply religious and deeply political. What happens when his values clash with his absolute determination to win? That is the great puzzle of a career than began as a wild university politician in the 1970s and seem destined to end in the Lodge. 'David Marr is as brilliant a biographer and journalist as this country has produced.' Peter Craven, Spectator Australia