ICONIC: Mount Kosciusko, Australia’s tallest peak at 2,228m/7,328ft, colour photochrom, 1890
[Library of Congress/CC]
HENRY BELL is fascinated by the underlying curiosities and contradictions of one of the great poets of the Mediterranean
DAVID RENTON recommends a books that explores the ways in which disabled people are made to feel both of and not part of this world
JONATHAN TAYLOR is fascinated by the philosophical problems that permeate the art of life-writing
GORDON PARSONS steps warily in between the lines of Britain’s most famous diarist
SIMON DUFF recommends a recording of Arvo Part that takes the listener on a pilgrimage through seemingly distant times and events of the Bible
The Incredible Life of the Man Behind the Mountain
by Anthony Sharwood, Hachette, £15.99
ANTHONY SHARWOOD’s Kosciuszko: The Incredible Life of the Man Behind the Mountain is far more than a biography of an extraordinary historical figure. It invites readers to join him on a journey to uncover who Kosciuszko was, why his name sits atop Australia’s highest mountain, and whether it should remain there.
The biography begins with a simple yet intriguing question: “Who was the Kosciuszko fella?”
Heart Lamp by the Indian writer Banu Mushtaq and winner of the 2025 International Booker prize is a powerful collection of stories inspired by the real suffering of women, writes HELEN VASSALLO
