Better than any other account, Their Fiery Cross of Union shatters the myths Australians have cherished about Federation. It both sets out those myths and-in gripping prose-exposes their limitations and contradictions. Using, without ever being heavy-handed, all the tools of modern social science, it mercilessly tests the claims of Federation's staunchest advocates and compares them to explanations which make sense of events. At the same time, it brilliantly presents the protagonists in the Federation story, removing the protective sheen which has so often been used to protect them. A riveting story, it has all the hallmarks of a classic. - Henry Ergas