Robert Drewe, internationally acclaimed writer, writes here about the quintessential Australian experience. Drewe looks at the sunny, salty sexiness of the beach that first enticed the crusading Mr William Gocher into the ocean at Manly in 1903, defying authorities in his neck-to-knee bathing costume. We’ve come a long way from sunbathing in stockings and pantaloons to the unabashed display of sun-kissed bodies of all shapes and sizes at any beach in the country today. But the beach also has a dark side as a place of tragedy, violence and danger, a place where sharks attack prone surfers and prime ministers disappear. Drewe’s lyrical examination of Australian beach culture combines imagery from some of Australia’s most celebrated photographers with his personal anecdotes?óÔé¼ÔÇóa favourite boat, a capsicum-strewn beach, a summer holiday with teenagers and an unwelcome great white. This is a book for Australians dreaming of the beach?óÔé¼ÔÇóthat is, those of us not there right now. pp. 244 illusts #0720