Peter Browne & Seumas Spark, ed.
‘I Wonder’: The Life and Work of Ken Inglis, Monash University Publishing, Melbourne, 2020
Ken Inglis was one of Australia’s most creative, wide-ranging and admired historians. During a scholarly career spanning nearly seven decades, his humane, questioning approach — summed up by the recurring query, ‘I wonder…’ — won him a large and appreciative audience. Whether he was writing about religion, the media, nationalism, the ‘civil religion’ of Anzac, a subject he made his own, or collaborating on monumental histories of Australia or the remarkable men aboard the Dunera, he brought wit, erudition and originality to the study of history. Alongside his history writing, he pioneered press criticism in Australia, contributed journalism to magazines and newspapers, and served as vice-chancellor of the fledgling University of Papua New Guinea. This collection of essays traces the life and work of this much-loved historian and observer of Australia life. (blurb)
The book is reviewed for Honest History by Michael Piggott. Launch remarks by Tom Griffiths. Stuart Macintyre’s chapter featured in Inside Story. Other reviews by Morag Fraser (Sydney Morning Herald), Michael McKernan (Canberra Times). Phillip Adams Late Night Live tribute to Inglis, 2017. Frank Bongiorno’s obituary for the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
The Honest History website contains much material by and inspired by Ken Inglis (use our Search engine). See particularly the bicentennial collection, Australians: A Historical Library (1987), of which he was the guiding hand.