The Opera House: The extraordinary story of the building that symbolises Australia the people, the secrets, the scandals and t

Description

On a sacred site on the land of the Gadigal people, Tubowgule, a place of gathering and storytelling for over 60,000 years, now sits the Sydney Opera House. It is a breathtaking building recognised around the world as a symbol of modern Australia. Along with the Taj Mahal and other World Heritage sites, it is celebrated for its architectural grandeur and the daring and innovation of its design. But this stunning house on what is now called Bennelong Point also holds many sorrows, secrets and scandals. In this fascinating and impeccably researched biography, Peter FitzSimons exposes these secrets, marvels at how this magnificent building came to be, details its enthralling history and reveals the dramatic stories about the people whose lives were affected, both negatively and positively, by its presence. Ambition, dispossession, betrayal, professional rivalry, sexual intrigue, murder, bullying and breakdowns are woven into the creation of this masterpiece of human ingenuity. The Opera House shares the extraordinary stories connected to this building that are as mesmerising as the light catching on its white sails.

Peter FitzSimons AM is Australia's bestselling non-fiction writer, and for the past 35 years has also been a journalist and columnist with the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD and the SUN-HERALD. He is the author of a number of highly successful books, including BREAKER MORANT, BURKE AND WILLS, MONASH'S MASTERPIECE, KOKODA, NED KELLY and GALLIPOLI, as well as biographies of such notable Australians as Sir Douglas Mawson, Nancy Wake and Nick Farr-Jones. His passion is to tell Australian stories, our own stories: of great men and women, of stirring events in our history. Peter grew up on a farm north of Sydney, went to boarding school in Sydney and attended Sydney University. An ex-Wallaby, he also lived for several years in rural France and Italy, playing rugby for regional clubs. He and his wife Lisa Wilkinson AM - journalist, magazine editor and television presenter - have three children; they live in Sydney.

The Opera House is utterly engrossing ... a smashing read.--Loretta Barnard, NATIONAL [ONLINE] Loud Mouth Fitzsimons takes us behind the scenes -he vividly imparts the stories about the many people whose lives were affected, both favourably and adversely, by its construction and existence ... We get to feel as if we know Utzon, Fitzsimons strikingly bringing him to life.--LYNNE LANCASTER, NSW [ONLINE] Sydney Arts Guide Peter Fitzsimons in his thoroughly researched, comprehensive book 'The Opera House', gives the reader a different and unique insight into the social and political history surrounding this iconic landmark.--NAN VAN DISSEL, NATIONAL [ONLINE] Blue Wolf Reviews While the historian tells you what happened, the novelist tells you what it felt like, but only you can judge whether the journalist, columnist and one of Australia's best-selling non-fiction writers managed to pull it off.--Raima Gaind, NATIONAL [ONLINE] PS News