The Birth of Sydney

This is a terrific book. Read in conjunction with John Birmingham's 'Leviathan: an unauthorised biography of Sydney', you will get more than a working knowledge of how and why Sydney is like it is.Flannery has written an introductory essay 'The andstone City', which gives a good overview. The bulk of the book is an anthology of voices from the earliest days to late 19th century -from Captain James Cook to Mark Twain, Aboriginal women, and British governors. 2000 saw a plethora of books on Sydney, as it hosted the Olympic Games. This is one of the best.