NATIONAL TREASURES

Curl up with a book this ANZAC long weekend. We ask seven personalities for their recommendations

PAUL BISHOP, who starred in the TV series Blue Heelers, is appearing in the Queensland Theatre Company’s 2008 productions The August Moon and The Importance of Being Earnest

Aussie Soldier shares tales of bravery, courage and compassion that go deep into the hearts and minds of soldiers, revealing the unique larrikin nature that characterises our national identity. Aussie Soldier is a revealing insight into a very challenging human experience and shows both how resilient and fragile we are in the face of war.

Published by BigSky Publishing Pty Ltd, ISBN 9780980325119.

NATALIE MICHAELS, TV presenter for MTV and Sky News, as well as author of The MENagerie, due for release in autumn

Great Houses of Australia: 50 Homes with a Story to Tell takes you inside some of Australia’s most breathtaking estates. You can imagine you’re an heiress, sun-baking on the jetty of your luxurious Point Piper villa, or drinking afternoon tea at your country estate in Bellevue Hill. This book will delight anyone with a passion for architecture and design.

Published by Cameron House (Bookwise International), ISBN 9781920743567.

TARA RUSHTON, actress appearing in the cult phenomenon internet soap, Kate Modern

I absolutely love The Thorn Birds, not only because I found it incredibly moving but also because of the vivid picture Colleen McCullough paints of rural Australia in the early 20th century. I was captivated by Meggie, who fell into such a consuming and ill-fated love that I couldn’t help but cry with her. One of the great Australian romance novels.

Published by HarperCollins, ISBN 9780732282240.

FRANCIS HOOPER is chief designer of WORLD, a fashion label from New Zealand

Elizabeth Knox’s The Vintner’s Luck is full of captivating poetic prose that’ll keep you occupied over the long weekend. It’s also a good time to read this story about a 19th-century winemaker as the film is in production, directed by Nikki Caro of Whale Rider fame.

Published by Picador (Pan Macmillan), ISBN 9780312264109.

DON BURKE, editor-in-chief of Burke’s Backyard magazine and chairman of the Australian Environment Foundation

I highly recommend Back from the Brink by Peter Andrews. His book sets out a radically new way of approaching land and water management. As with all good ideas, his basic tenets are simple. Back from the Brink explains Andrews’ ideas, then repeats them over and over.

Why? Because his ideas are so counter-intuitive that our bony skulls have difficulty in absorbing them.

Published by ABC Books, ISBN 9780646319019.

JAMES KERLEY is a host on whatUwant and Cash Cab on CHANNEL [V]. His new show with Dave Lawson, The Dave & Kerley Show, starts this month

Spare a thought for what our fathers’ fathers went through, the incredible loss felt back home, the heroes and the history by reading Les Carlyon’s Gallipoli. From the frightening figures to intense descriptions of the trenches, this bloke has gone hard with the research. A few hours readin’ and you’ll understand how Gallipoli shaped who we are as Australians.

Published by Picador (Pan Macmillan), ISBN 9780732911287.

NICK FARR-JONES is the producer of Touch Life, a sporting event in the Hunter Valley held over the ANZAC long weekend that raises funds for Wesley Mission’s aid to the homeless

Where There’s Hope There’s Life shows how ordinary people can end up in dire situations. It introduces readers to 12 homeless women in a way that will change perceptions of the poor and those who live on the streets.

Published by Liguori Publications, ISBN 9780764814105.