AUSTRALIANA BIOGRAPHY Politics –

“For those who know McAuley only as one of the poets behind the Ern Malley hoax and the editor of Quadrant, this book provides a rare insight into the making of a cold war warrior in Australia. Pybus uncovers McAuley’s connections with the CIA and with ASIO and exposes his engagement in clandestine political activities aimed at undermining the Labor Party.” “In exploring the obsessions of James McAuley, this astounding biography also considers the machinations of the remarkable group of political outsiders with whom he was closely associated: Alfred Conlon, the wartime powerbroker who was head of the Directorate of Research and Civil Affairs; John Kerr, who was Conlon’s deputy then a prominent “Grouper” before his most controversial role as governor-general; Richard Krygier, founder of the Australian Associated for Cultural Freedom; and B. A. Santamaria, eminence grise of the anticommunist movement in Australia and founder of the National Civic Council.”

First Edition.

• xiii, 321 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. ; 24 cm. #171225
• McAuley, James, 1917-1976
• Cold War in literature
• Communism in literature
• Politics and literature — Australia — History — 20th century
• Poets, Australian — Biography
• Political activists — Australia — Biography