Fear of Abandonment: Australia in the World Since 1942

The fear of abandonment lies deep in the history of European settlement in Australia.

In this narrative history, Allan Gyngell unpacks how Australia has thought about and acted in the world since 1942 – the people, places and ideas that have been most important since our nation has had a foreign policy of its own. He shows how the Australian attitude to the world has been shaped by the fear of abandonment – originally from Britain, and later from our most powerful ally, the United States.

Written by an expert and insider, this is a gripping and authoritative book about the way Australians and their governments have helped to create the world we now inhabit. Covering events, eras and conflicts as diverse as the Malayan Emergency, the White Australia Policy, the Vietnam War, Whitlam in China, apartheid in South Africa, East Timor and the current South China Sea dispute, Fear of Abandonment ultimately reveals the ways in which we’ve evolved as a nation on the world stage.