The Commonwealth of Thieves: The Story of the Founding of Australia
on 22 December 2012
This is a really well researched book. (Amazon should make sure it pays its taxes in UK). The detail is incredible and makes you feel you really understand what things were like in the 1780s. The plight of the aborigines is dealt with, and the deeds of the key characters are insightfully described without too many assumptions. It's a long read with much detail, but a super introduction to the first years of the British colonization.
on 23 May 2010
Tom Keneally is arguably one of Australia's greatest writers. The depth of research in this book makes it all the more fascinating, readable and credible. Not having studied any Australian history since my schoolgirl experiences, I looked forward to this book to provide me with insights into the earliest interactions with indigenous Australians and expand my knowledge and understanding of the difficulties and achievements, the mentality and huge mistakes during those founding years of white settlement. I was not disappointed. It is not a dry history text by any means - this book is closer to an oral history written down - human, empathetic, amusing and insightful.
on 20 January 2014
I was expecting a literary representation of the experience of individuals being sent to Australia but this read more like a very well researched but rather dry text book. We were reading it for our book club and most participants didn't finish it but appreciated that it was extremely well researched and an accurate portrayal.
on 16 May 2014
This is indeed an interesting book and for the most part I enjoyed it. I didn't find it a particularly easy read, however. With the enormous cast of characters hard to keep track of and the author's sometimes convoluted grammar necessitating the rereading of numerous sentences. It would also benefit from some maps.
The time period that the book covers is quite narrow and it has left me wanting to find out what happened next. One book leads to another, c'est la vie.
The time period that the book covers is quite narrow and it has left me wanting to find out what happened next. One book leads to another, c'est la vie.
on 1 September 2013
So well researched and interesting. Makes me want to read more of Keneally's work. It was a huge pleasure to read. Highly recommend this to others who are interested in the founding of Australia.
on 30 April 2015
This is a highly personal, intimate kind of history book, concerned very heavily with the stories of many real individuals. These people's crimes, sufferings, hopes, tragedies and victories are given with honest sympathy and impressive detail. There is equal regard for the female and male prisoners, the officers, the Aboriginals, the children and the sailors. It's a moving account of a time when savage punishments were deemed an inescapable necessity, and it could seem miraculous that mercy found a way.
on 25 December 2014
The book arrived in plenty of time and in good condition. I bought this book partly for my history studies but primarily due to my interest in the treatment of indigenous people and the behaviour of those who arrived either by courtesy of the British Crown or those who arrived for a new beginning. I think it will be invaluable for my understanding of the Australian people as part of the British Empire.
on 8 July 2013
Just finished reading it, extremely interesting and informative of life in Australia in the late 18th century for miscreants from Great.Britain in what today we would call petty crime.
on 21 January 2011
The Commonwealth of Thieves is an excellent history book written in the style of a novel. I selected this book to get some historical context in advance of my own trip to Australia and was pulled into the book as if it were a novel, even though the content feels more like a very well researched text book.
The characters are well researched and developed throughout the book, and their stories are a detailed look at the origins of Australia's white population.
The characters are well researched and developed throughout the book, and their stories are a detailed look at the origins of Australia's white population.
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