HASLUCK LIBRARY

"In this intriguing novel, Nicholas Hasluck explores the amazing story of one of the oddest political episodes of our history.

'Rampaging reporter' Egon Erwin Kisch was always first to the scene of a contemporary crisis. A newshound with powerful underground sources of information, he gradually acquired an aura of a secret agent - perhaps a double agent. But who was Kisch really?

Robert Kaub, an Australian poet, is determined to unravel the mystery of Kish's identity. He travels with our man K back to Australia aboard the Strathaird - but he has more than one motive for returning home.

In Australia, suspicion is growing about the reasons for K's trip. Why do the authorities find his presence such a threat? On arrival, our man K is arrested without charges being specified, and falls victim to the White Australia policy. Public controversy erupts. Kaub follows Kisch from one courtroom to the next, where facts are twisted to suit the verdict, to find out what crime, if any, K has committed ..."