Australian political books to read while waiting for the election

With the election campaign still with seven months to run and the weather being particularly inclement, perhaps it's timely for considered voters to read some of the many books authored by our politicians.

And while this may not be considered light reading, bedtime reading or relaxing Sunday afternoon reading, it may give you a better idea of who you are voting for on September 14.

In no particular order and with a willingness to add relevant titles if we have missed any, check out this selection which may be purchased by clicking the cover image.

There's probably no better place than to start, particularly if you are new to the Australian political arena, than Australian Politics for Dummies which will explain everything from how the parties originated to why was Gough Whitlam so upset in 1975. $33.95 from Booktopia.

The Making of Julia Gillard by Jacqueline Kent is one of two biographies written abut the Prime Minister before her rise to that office. The other is Julia Gillard by Christine Wallace. Both are curiously hard to buy online in Australia, this ebook edition has been updated after Gillard became PM - $21.17 from Amazon,

Battlelines by Tony Abbott was published in late 2009 after the 2007 demise of the Howard government. In this book he presents his vision of the way forward for the Liberal Party and reflects on people such as Kevin Rudd, Malcolm Turnbull, and Julia Gillard. This ebook edition $17.99 from Amazon.

We better take a moment to consider Australia's two most recent former Prime Ministers, given they both cast long shadows on today's politics, one way or another.

John Howard, firmly in retirement, has written a best-selling autobiography, Lazarus Rising, that is sought after because of the detailed political information it provides from Howard's long career. $28.95 from Booktopia.

Kevin Rudd: The Biography was written before the 2007 election in which he became Prime Minister and was a perhaps somewhat hurried book to help introduce a relatively unknown Rudd to the Australia electorate. It still provides useful personal insight into Rudd the man. Ebook edition $21.17 from Amazon.

From one maverick to another, Bob Katter is now the leader of his own party and is taking his big cowboy hat to the nation. Like Abbott, he has presented his vision of the way things should be in the encouragingly named An Incredible Race of People. $33.95 from Booktopia.

Changing tack a bit, Speechless is from journalist and one-time Kevin Rudd speechwriter, James Button. The son of much-loved Labor man, Senator John Button, James describes in a very personal way his one year foray into 'his father's business' - Australian politics. He gives us an inside view of the events surrounding Rudd's demise and what he sees as Labor's drift away from the party his father championed. $26.40 from Booktopia.

We've run out of steam for now, there's a limit to how many political books can be embraced at one time. But please howl us down about omissions and we'll update this page from time to time. In fact, we may start our own political book store on this site...