“[a] surprisingly endearing book” The Saturday Paper

At 87, beloved former PM Bob Hawke reflects on a colourful life.

On Wednesdays, Robert J. Hawke – Australia’s 23rd prime minister – welcomed Derek Rielly into his home to share fine cigars and irreverent conversation. On a sun-soaked balcony, the maverick young writer and the charismatic old master talked life, death, love, sex, religion, politics, sport … and everything in between.

On other days, to paint his subject’s enigma from the outside, Rielly interviewed Hawke’s Liberal MP rival John Howard, Labor allies Gareth Evans and Kim Beazley, wife and lover Blanche d’Alpuget, live-in stepson Louis Pratt, and friends – diplomat Richard Woolcott, economist Ross Garnaut, advertising guru John Singleton, and longtime mate Col Cunningham.

The result is an extraordinary portrait of a beloved Australian – a strange, funny, uniquely personal study of Bob Hawke ruminating on his (and our) past, present and future.

PRAISE FOR WEDNESDAYS WITH BOB

“fresh, irreverent and at times very profound… It’s like nothing else I’ve read on Australian politics” Booktopia

“Reading Wednesdays with Bob… is a total joy” Guardian

“a panoramic view of one of Australia’s most significant post-war prime ministers.” Sydney Morning Herald