Book News

 

Publication date		The book was published in Britain on June 8th 2009. In the USA and Australia in August 2009; in Portugal and Brazil in December 2009 The paperback edition of the Life And Death of Democracy is out 29 April 2010 (read more here)
Translation		October 2009: Vida e Morte da Democracia, a Portuguese translation of the book is published by Edições 70. Read more here.
Book Club		The Life And Death of Democracy has been chosen as a featured alternate for History and Military Book Club, and BOMC2, for their fall brochure. Read the History Book Club review of the book here
Amazon		During June and July the book occupied the number 1 spot in Amazon's bestseller list for books on democracy in Political Science & Ideology (here) section and in the History section (here)
Times		The Life and Death is among the best history books for 'your holiday reading', according to the Times. The London paper calls the book 'the publishing event of the summer' (Read more)
The Daily Telegraph		self-improvement or trash, The Daily Telegraph ranked the Life and Death of Democracy alongside must-take holiday items, like women's electric shavers. (more here)
Museum of Australian Democracy		The Life and Death of Democracy provided the key source material for the opening timeline (2500 BCE to 1770 CE) featured at the new Museum of Australian Democracy. Located in the Old Parliament House, in the capital city of Canberra, the museum was officially opened on May 9th 2009 by the former Australian Prime Minister, the Hon R.J.L. Hawke AC. Images from the opening ceremony and further details of the collection can be found at http://moadoph.gov.au/
The Spanish reception of the book		In February 2010, John Keane delivered lectures and gave interviews about The Life and Death of Democracy in Spain. There was special interest in the birthplace of modern parliaments, Leon. Click here to read a selection of articles from Spanish media on the book and John Keane.
Prime Minister's Literary Award 2010		Professor John Keane's book, The Life and Death of Democracy, has been shortlisted for the 2010 Prime Minister's Literary Awards for Non-Fiction. The Prime Minister's Literary Awards celebrate the contribution of Australian literature to the nation's cultural and intellectual life. The awards, held annually, recognise literature's importance to our national identity, community and economy. The winners of the Fiction and Non-Fiction categories will receive Australia's richest literary award - a prize of $100,000 each. The winners will be announced later in the year. Judges’ comments Professor John Keane’s The Life and Death of Democracy is a monumental history as well as a prescient analysis as to the future of democracy. Keane moves outside previous Anglo-Saxon perspectives to range from India to Uruguay to the Islamic world, in order to emphasise the global roots of democracy. Keane reminds us, however, that ‘democracy is not the timeless fulfilment of our political destiny’. He outlines the emergence of ‘monitory democracy’, a new form replacing representative democracy, and its impact, both good and bad, of the internet, lobbying groups, Non-Government Organisations and the media. Keane’s historical broad sweep, full of detailed knowledge and cogent insights, is expressed in a lively anecdotal prose style, making The Life and Death of Democracy essential reading for academia and the general public alike. Keane makes a strong case for a world history of democracy that is no longer conceived within the confines of national or linguistic boundaries, in order to achieve ‘a more sustainable, balanced and equitable global society’.   For more information, visit the PM's Literary Awards website.
New South Wales Premier’s History Award 2010		Professor John Keane's book, the Life and Death of Democracy was also shortlisted for the 2010 New South Wales Premier’s History Award. The New South Wales Premier’s History Awards are sponsored by Communities NSW, through Arts NSW, in association with the History Council of NSW. The awards were first presented in 1997 to honour distinguished achievement in history by Australian citizens and permanent residents. They assist in establishing values and standards in historical research and publication and encourage everyone to appreciate and learn from the work of our historians. Past winners have included K.S. Inglis, Patricia Jalland, Inga Clendinnen, Bruce Scates and Raelene Frances, Trevor Graham, Christopher Clark, Nadia Wheatley, and Grace Karskens. Judges’ Comments This book is an extraordinary tour de force - the first attempt to write the history of democracy since Nahum Capen's unfinished account in 1874. Though the title might suggest an historical account of the 'rise and fall' variety, it actually alludes to the cyclical fortunes of democratic sentiment from primitive democracy through participatory, representative and monitory democracy. It is a sentiment that is never predetermined, assured or inevitable. The story runs from ancient Greece (where we might expect such a narrative to begin) to the present-day conundrum of the people's representatives monitored by the people with unprecedented intensity. And in fact this last phase, according to the author, holds within it in threats to the stability of democracy itself because of the decentralisation of power. Along the way the reader learns about many under-explored examples of democratic sentiment - assemblies in Phoenicia that predated the Athenian Agora, Lowlanders resistant to absolute Spanish rule, the remarkable diversity of modern India. The Life and Death of Democracy is written to engage a broad readership - both with its ebullient style and its readiness to grapple with the issues confronting present-day democracies and constituents around the world. Keane has assimilated and synthesised an enormous amount of research to achieve this. His work is 'world history' that provides a rich context for understanding the complex development and expression of the people's right to affect their own destiny - 'the equalisation of power' - across time and space. For more information, visit the NSW Premier’s History Awards’ website.