The Howard Years edited by Robert Manne

Published early last year, this collection contains a round dozen essays, written by Australian intellectuals and public figures, assessing Howard's time as PM and the changes he's wrought in Australian society. There are a handful of overview pieces, covering some of the key moments and themes of the his time in office (the reconciliation movement, the rise of One Nation, the growing awareness of asylum seekers in Australia, the 'war on terror', etc) and seeking to give an overall political and societal sense of that time, and other essays focusing on particular aspects of government policy. The general tone is highly critical, which is unsurprising given the backgrounds of the assorted writers - and, of course, rightly so, I think - and the result is a collection which neatly draws a number of strands together, producing an overall picture of John Howard and the effect he's had on Australia which fits comfortably with the accepted wisdom of this class of writers/thinkers (who would, of course, be dismissed by Howard himself with any number of familiar, unflattering epithets) as well as with my own views. Though I enjoyed reading The Howard Years, I couldn't help but wonder whether books like it will really do any good, preaching as they largely (if not exclusively) are to the converted...