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ABOUT THESE BOOKS: These 30 books make up
two series. The first series covers the War years, from 1939 to 1945. The second covers
the Baby Boom years from 1946 to 1968. Each year-book
in the series tells about the large number of newsworthy events that happened in that year. To get the material for the
books, the writer, Ron Williams, worked his way through newspapers, magazines, books, and other sources day by day
until he came up with most of the major events and ideas, and trivia, of those years. He presents them in a thoroughly
readable book, with a mixture of humour and gravitas. This book is pitched at all the “oldies” who are not
as young as they were. Probably they were War Babies or Boom Babies. When people
get a bit older, they become more reflective on their lives, and they place more value on their partners, and families, and
friends. And about this time, nostalgia edges into their lives, and they start to look back at their teens, and dwell on their
early years and childhood, and inevitably, their parents. When their birthday comes
round, especially for the BIG-O years, they celebrate it with family, friends and neighbours. It is a time for reminiscence
and nostalgia, and the "good old days" get many a mention. But when it gets back to their year of birth,
the year it all started for them, they can't remember a thing. IN FACT, MOST PEOPLE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THEIR YEAR
OF BIRTH. This
160-page book aims to fix that a little. It is printed on quality paper with
a sturdy gloss cover, and Perfect Bound for durability. It is printed in black-and-white,
and in the style of the newspapers of those earlier days. It
is an ideal gift for "oldies" birthdays.
Nostalgics will love it. People will actually read it, and then pass it on.
BOOMBOOKS HAS SOLD OVER 5,000 COPIES OF THESE BOOKS IN THE LAST YEAR BOOKS ARE BETTER THAN BIRTHDAY CARDS
ABOUT THESE SERIES ....But after
that, I realised that I knew very little about these parents of mine.
They had been born about the start of the Twentieth Century, and they died in
1970 and 1980. For their last 50 years,
I was old enough to speak with a bit of sense.
I could have talked to them a lot about their
lives. I could have found out about the times they lived in. But I did not.
I know almost nothing
about them really. Their courtship? Working in the pits? The Lock-out in the
Depression? Losing their second child? Being dusted as a miner? The shootings
at Rothbury? My uncles killed in the War? Love on the dole? There were
hundreds, thousands of questions that I would now like to ask them. But, alas,
I can’t. It’s too late.
Thus,
prompted by my guilt, I resolved to write these books. They describe happenings
that affected people, real people. The whole series is, to coin a modern
phrase, designed to push your buttons, to make you remember and wonder at
things forgotten. The books might just let nostalgia see the light of day, so
that oldies and youngies will talk about the past and re-discover a heritage
otherwise forgotten. Hopefully, they will spark discussions between
generations, and foster the asking and answering of questions that
should not remain unanswered.
Ron
Williams
is a retired teacher, mathematician, computer-man, political
scientist, farmer and writer. He
has a B.A. from Sydney, and a Masters in Social Work and a PhD in
Political Science from Hawaii.
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