Girt by David Hunt | Black Inc.

Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia

Awards for Girt

  • Winner, 2014 Indie Award for Non-Fiction
  • Shortlisted, 2014 ABA Nielsen BookData Bookseller's Choice Award.
  • Shortlisted, Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction in the 2014 NSW Premier's Literary Awards
  • Shortlisted, General Non-Fiction Prize at the 2014 Australian Book Industry Awards.
  • Best Books of 2013 - iBooks
  • Best Books of 2013 - Herald Sun

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About the author

David Hunt

David Hunt is an unusually tall and handsome man who likes writing his own biographical notes. He is the author of the bestselling Girt and True Girt, as well as two books for children. David is also a television presenter and podcaster, …

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Praise for Girt

‘A sneaky, sometimes shocking peek under the dirty rug of Australian history.’ —John Birmingham

‘Australian history never looked like this! Beneath the humour is an interesting analysis backed by extensive research, which has uprooted some little-known historical gems. Girt will appeal to readers who enjoyed John Birmingham’s Leviathan as much as lovers of Chaser-style satire and the humour of John Clarke … and leaves this reader hoping there will be further instalments.’ —Books+Publishing

Girt is a ripping read… a humorous history that is accessible enough to share with the eight-year-old. Hunt’s writing interests span comedy, politics and history, a happy triumvirate when your subject is Australia.’ —Stephen Romei in the Australian

‘Very funny stuff, and I'm assuming it's all true?...It's great! The footnotes are consistently hilarious.’—@Mr_Schofield, Matthew Schofield, a director of The Simpsons on Twitter. 

‘May I introduce David Hunt, the author of the most serious-comic and much needed book of Oz history, Girt.’—@thomaskeneally, Thomas Keneally on Twitter.

Girt will inform and entertain in equal parts.’—Barb Sampson’s Top Books of 2013, ABC Radio WA

‘There is barely a page in Girt that won’t inspire a chortle. It’s our early history told by a writer with a wit sharp enough to slice tomatoes. But it’s not all jokes and jolly japes. David Hunt has done his research…’ —Herald Sun

‘David Hunt takes aim at some of Australia’s historical sacred cows with his unique brand of irreverent and often profane humour… Beneath the [this] is an interesting analysis backed by extensive research…’ —Bookseller & Publisher 

‘… fascinating anomalies and anecdotes that never made the pages of Australia’s official history books… surprising, bizarre and often hilarious.’—Limelight

‘David Hunt knows how to make the most of history’s juicy bits to hook the reader.’ —the Age

Girt … cuts an irreverent swath through the facts, fools, fantasies and frauds that made this country what it is today, hoisting sacred cows on their own petards and otherwise sawing the legs off Lady Macquarie’s chair. I was transported.’ —Shane Maloney, the Age Best Books of 2013 

‘Hilarious and insightful -- with a keen eye for the absurd, coupled with impeccable comic phrasing, Hunt has found the deep wells of humour in Australia's history. Not since Keith Windschuttle has an historian made me laugh so much.’ —Chris Taylor

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