Speechless: A Year in My Father's Business

James Button grew up immersed in the Australian Labor Party as the son of the street-fighting Senator John Button, an environment that encouraged him to become a political journalist and then a speechwriter for former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. His firsthand experiences are collected in this highly personal account of the rough and tumble world of modern politics and the growing disenchantment with Australia’s Labor Party. Button describes how politics took a detrimental toll on his own family, revealing that the death of his brother haunted their father—who in turn blamed the tragedy on his all-consuming absorption of politics. This moving memoir paints a colorful picture of the machinations of government and shows how far the party has strayed from the idealism and pragmatism of previous generations, ending on a hopeful note for the party’s revival.