There is an old publishing adage. Books by journalists about journalists don't sell. The infighting between newspapers is endlessly fascinating to the protagonists but to nobody else. It is therefore surprising when booksellers liken such a book's impact and sales to that of Harry Potter.
The book is Gerald Stone's Who killed Channel 9?. Clicking on this and a few of these Googlenews links will give you some idea of the furore the book is generating among the sensitive souls of the Australian media. Last year Macmillan Australia published Schapelle Corby's My Story which dominated the best seller lists. I suspect they have this year's winner too.
Incidentally, my favourite Kerry Packer anecdote is the one about him driving back from a successful day at the races with a bunch of mates and a bulging wallet. They stopped at a cafe for a bite and the owner said he was just closing for the night and couldn't serve them. After a certain amount of 'discussion' with the owner they drove on to the nearest pub and ordered some sandwiches. When the bill for £15 arrived Packer counted out £1000 in cash, including the tip. The publican was delighted and amazed. 'What have I done to deserve this?' 'Nothing yet,' responded Packer, 'But you know the cafe down the road? Tomorrow morning just go and tell him what a lucky thing happened to you.'
And while on Australia it was great to see the inauguration of a new Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History which was won jointly by Les Carlyon's The Great War (which has sold more than 100,000 hardback copies in Australia alone - hard to imagine such numbers for a serious British book about World War I) and Peter Cochrane's Colonial Ambition published by Melbourne University Publishing of which I am proud to be a non-executive director. Australian publishing is in excellent health.
The Labour Government in Britain, through a wholly undemocratic process, has appointed a new Prime Minister to lead us and he started his new job this week. So far so good. He showed excellent taste in an interview (scroll down to open book and click) on the radio where he chose The Snail and the Whale as one of his five favourite books of all time. Quite right, Gordon.
