Reading 'Not Happy, John!' has been a liberating experience. Here was a book which articulated the growing concerns that I've had about the state of politics and decision making in Australia. Other people do think the same way I do! I'm not just a lonely, 'deranged' voice in the wilderness. I could identify with Margo's feelings of being 'burnt out. Depressed' - at least in terms of Australia's political life.

Margo's passion is well balanced by her forensic use of evidence. While it's a partisan book, how could it be otherwise? At least she is open and up front about her values and beliefs, unlike the neo-Con commentators who like to proclaim their 'objectivity'. The credibility of her arguments is further assisted by including pieces from a range of contributors, from various political persuasions.

I think Margo's correct that the politicians rely on people simply giving in and just accepting the way things are! The final chapter, 'Democrazy: Ten ideas for change', was

You're no Michael Moore.

I am one of the silent majority who like and respect John Howard. He and his governments have done more to improve this country than any of the Stand-at-the-sidelines-and-carp-brigade. Empty barges make the most noise.

Take note Margo!!!

As a small business man , I have had to work harder and longer , thanks to John Howard. Due to his bizarre economic management, I have had to contend with problematic low interest rates and a increase in the amount of work required to be done, so I can keep up to the massive increase of work being required by my customers. The 5 apprentices that I have been forced to put on , to help with demand, are also being forced to work constant overtime . Just because little Johnnie has some grand plan to work us to death. NOT HAPPY JOHN......

I have rarely read a book that has made me so angry - angry at the lack of common sense here in Australia. We take far too much for granted, though we often lose sight of those small things that in this day and age should still matter, such as basic standards.

Margo's book highlights the fact that there is still much, much more to be done. Take a bow, John Howard.

Margot Kingston's book describes the way the political hucksters and con merchants of the Howard government have screwed the public, dragged us into an unnecessary war and recycled spin at every opportunity. All for the great goal of re-election and holding onto power. I am sure political partisans of the left (defined as broadly as the word gets) will find plenty of grapeshot here for their prejudices, preconceptions and even the occasional principle. To my (admittedly biased) mind this is the greatest weakness of the book and of Margo's analysis. To really tell the story it needs a sequel, or prequel. 'Not Happy, Paul!'. Margo, to her credit, mentions how she voted against Keating, but the analysis more or less stops there.

Howard and his administration, like George W Bush and his, have more in common with their immediate predecessors than most political partisans pro or con would like to admit. All four administrations, as well as Hawke and Tony Blair, represent the victory

Hi all. Thanks for dropping in to the NHJ! daily blogsite, and - first up - our thanks especially to the brilliant Penguin IT team for their patience, skill and creativity in arcing up this site for us to play with. Love your work, guys!

Now in the best traditions of cyber-organics, we're not exactly sure how this blog-beast is going to develop in the coming weeks, since this whole site is still in a way a new-ish concept in interactive, post-publishing 'value-adding' (to chatter in the vogueish Bean Monkey-speak for a tic. Groan.) But in general the aim of this section of the NHJ! website will be to blog more or less daily in order to keep interested types informed about how the project is progressing overall. Among other things, we'll try to:

a) let you know what Margo is up to as far as promotions and appearances for/related to the book are concerned;
b) point you towards related cyber-stuff, such as external reviews, comments and discussions arising from the book;<

It's about time somebody started standing up to these so-called leaders. If they can't LEAD this great land of ours, in the interests for ALL Australians then they have to go, it's as simple as that! How about the way John Howard treated the George Bush visit, to me that looked like just plain contempt towards Australians and our media. He wanted to show the Australian public that he could do any thing he wanted, when he wanted to.

As for the book as a whole, it is a GODsend for those who have been on the receiving end of any form of injustice, as I have! What is happening in the political arena, with the continual erosion of our democratic rights and the non-existent accountability checks and balances for politicians is a sign that Australians would do best to heed. They've sold off most of the country's assets, run our industries into the ground, the tax system is designed in a way to benefit the wealthy, our indigenous peoples live in third world conditions, there's more and

Thanks for writing this book, Margo...and a big thank you to your fellow contributors and everyone who made this book possible. It's about time we had a book like this. The shelves of the Current Affairs section in bookshops are full of books alerting us to the horrors of the Bush administration, and we finally have a worthy volume about the Howard government to sit proudly with them.

What impressed me most about this book is the passion that went into its creation. Rather than page after page of dryly recorded facts, this book sure gives us the appalling facts but also engages the reader on an emotional level. The sense of anger and frustration was evident on every page, and I agreed with every word of it. Reading this book was something of a cathartic experience for me as I find that many people I talk to on a day to day basis are either apathetic about what's going in in Canberra and elsewhere or they're not taking the time to find out as much as they can, not wishing to tune

In yesterday's Web Diary, Margo wrote 'lots of political commentators write that Mark Latham is concentrating on the

Also claiming they've been slandered by recent campaign mammal-analogies - and now reportedly seeking a pro-bono Rights lawyer to pursue a Class Action - are these poor chappies.

Also claiming they've been slandered by recent campaign 'dirty tricks' mammal-analogies - and now reportedly seeking a pro-bono Rights lawyer to pursue a Class Action - are these cuddly chappies.