Fatal Shore:Epic of Australia's Founding

The Fatal Shore:The Epic of Australia's Founding by Robert Hughes.1986 1stEdition/1stPrinting Adolf A.Knopf hardcover w/dj in very good condition (previous owners name&name stamp in book).Bk dimensions:9.1×6.5×1.8inches,2.8lbs,752pgs.The author's extensive historical research of the tragic and inhumane birth of Australia and its painful development into a flourishing nation.From 1788-1868 England utilized a convict transport system to rid itself of its vast criminal population, sending them to a continent that served as an enormous prison.The horrendous conditions of poor food,disease,floggings,slave labor,and the horrors of such prisons as Norfolk Island(labeled"Hell in Paradise")are examined.Yet new aristocratic changes resulted in the formation of socially structured settlements and eventually a nation.The author shows"how cruelty and evil were matched by herorism and humanity which resulted in a nation born out of pain and courage, not dishonor".This is a critically acclaimed book.