Frank Welsh's new history of Australia is the first to be written by a non-Australian, and the first to be based on archival research not only in Australia, but in Britain, the USA, Canada and South Africa. Australian history is clearly placed in a world context, and many previous misconceptions exposed, to form a compelling and enjoyable narrative. Welsh traces the history of the continent from before the arrival of the First Fleet, through the hesitant and haphazard unifying of the continent, and the conflict between the original colonies, through the steady emergence of Australian nationalism at the end of the nineteenth century, the establishment of the White Australia' policy which persisted for so long and which was a key element in, for example, the support which Australia gave to the USA during the Vietnam War, right up to John Howard's controversial premiership.