9781763509276.jpg
9781763509276.jpg

Catch and Kill | Joel Deane

$35.00

ISBN: 9781763509276
September 2025
Non-fiction: Politics

FINALIST FOR THE WALKLEY BOOK AWARD

‘This is a story of a particular time in Victorian politics and a particular group of people — Steve Bracks, John Brumby, John Thwaites and Rob Hulls — and how they came together to run the state, and help drive a national reform agenda. But it is also more profound than that. It is about relationships, between people, and between governments, and how power can work as a glue or a corrosive on the fraternal bonds that sustain those relationships.’ – Nick Richardson, Herald Sun

‘Deane’s excellent book is a fascinating history of Labor politics.’ – James Campbell, Herald Sun

‘One of the most impressive recent books on the Labor Party ... A delicious expose of the murky deals, the shadow plays and the puppet masters, the sheer cunning involved in gaining power, using it and losing it.’ — Richard Ferguson, Weekend Australian

‘Fascinating. We glimpse a world of ruthless deal and bitter counter allegiance ... A crisp telling that flashes with moments of the poet’s lyricism and insight.’ – Jonathan Green, The Age

‘Joel Deane writes about politics in the way it should be practised: with a cool head, a warm heart and a sense of humour.’ – George Megalogenis

ISBN: 9781763509276
September 2025
Non-fiction: Politics

FINALIST FOR THE WALKLEY BOOK AWARD

‘This is a story of a particular time in Victorian politics and a particular group of people — Steve Bracks, John Brumby, John Thwaites and Rob Hulls — and how they came together to run the state, and help drive a national reform agenda. But it is also more profound than that. It is about relationships, between people, and between governments, and how power can work as a glue or a corrosive on the fraternal bonds that sustain those relationships.’ – Nick Richardson, Herald Sun

‘Deane’s excellent book is a fascinating history of Labor politics.’ – James Campbell, Herald Sun

‘One of the most impressive recent books on the Labor Party ... A delicious expose of the murky deals, the shadow plays and the puppet masters, the sheer cunning involved in gaining power, using it and losing it.’ — Richard Ferguson, Weekend Australian

‘Fascinating. We glimpse a world of ruthless deal and bitter counter allegiance ... A crisp telling that flashes with moments of the poet’s lyricism and insight.’ – Jonathan Green, The Age

‘Joel Deane writes about politics in the way it should be practised: with a cool head, a warm heart and a sense of humour.’ – George Megalogenis

Joel Deane is the author of Making Progress: how good policy happens with Jenny Macklin; three novels, Judas Boys, Another, and The Norseman’s Song; and three books of poetry, Year of the Wasp, Magisterium, and Subterranean Radio Songs. His work has been shortlisted for the Walkley Book Awards, the Melbourne Prize for Literature, and the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. A former speechwriter for Victorian Premiers John Brumby and Steve Bracks, he lives in Melbourne.