The Valley: A Story From the Heart of the Land by Michael McKernan

Book Description

Secondhand. Very good condition. Minor wear to book corners and edges.

A history of rural Australia across two centuries, told through the eyes of the people who have lived and worked in a small valley in rural New South Wales.

Before he went to war in 1939, Geoff Sheehan had rarely been out of the valley of his birth. He grew up in the valley believing that he would be a worker all his life, good with horses, and much valued for his hard work and loyalty. Through his war service, Geoff Sheehan became a landowner in the valley, a soldier-settler. His is the authentic voice of Australia.

The Valley tells the story of rural Australia in the years of white settlement from the earliest days to the present. It is a story of great wealth, hard work, struggle, and achievement. It is a story of the love of the land, of the creation of community, of the love of country.

Michael McKernan has listened to the stories of the people of the valley of Jugiong in southern New South Wales, and in telling their stories, he shows that in knowing the details of the individual stories, we know the national story. The voices of The Valley are of workers and owners, soldiers and politicians, men and women, rabbiters and shearers. (back cover)