As it is with all legends, the more distant the memory, the greater the reverence and the sketchier the details. This pithy observation comes towards the close of Herald van der Linde’s new history Majapahit, the story of East Java’s golden century and its international clout. 

Nabila Ramdani's Fixing France explores the paradox of a nation that claims to be egalitarian yet is profoundly divided along racial and religious lines. Through ten thematic chapters, Ramdani examines these divisions and suggests solutions to address France's entrenched structural problems, making the book valuable for both general readers and students.

Eastern Europe's transformation since the fall of the Berlin Wall still highlights deep East-West divides. Till Hilmar's book explores how Czechs and East Germans have navigated post-1989 changes, emphasising the enduring economic disparities and differing cultural narratives of resilience and blame.

Since Freudenberg published “At What Cost” in 2021, documenting the exponential rise of corporate control of the health economy, and catalogued the corresponding expansion of profits. These developments have been turbo charged by corporate and government responses to the Covid pandemic.

On the fortieth anniversary of the ANZUS alliance, Coral Bell reflected on its significance for Australia in 1991 and the years ahead. 2024 year marks the fortieth anniversary of Bell’s best- known book Dependent Ally: A Study in Australian Foreign Policy.

Niki Alsford’s recent book, “Taiwan Lives,” explores how the Taiwanese people have transformed their home, a product of settler colonialism, into one of the world’s most high-tech economies, with a successful and vibrant democracy, and a distinctive cultural identity.

In their interesting, carefully crafted book on the problems facing liberal international order, Peter Trubowitz and Brian Burgoon argue that, for Western states, their geopolitical predicament is premised on their domestic politics.

Taylor Boas convincingly argues that evangelical religious affiliations or congregations are not monolithic. This is due to different levels of religious practices, theological differences, and threats they may face, which is important for understanding how diverse interest groups can activate religious issues to engage congregants in politics.

In this volume, Miaad A. Hassan takes issue with “defined” political and social systems, and outlines how majorities and minorities in the Middle East shape political identities. These identities have not been secterian but rather responsive to political and external challenges. 

The subtitle of Chodor and Hameiri’s book is “Learning the Lessons from Australia’s COVID-19 Response.” There is one lesson in particular that the authors foreground – which, in fact, is the singular and repeated refrain of the book: that we re-learn how to govern.