Neil: A Life in Canada and Australia by Don Charlwood

This biography by Australian author Don Charlwood traces the extraordinary life of Neil East, who was born in Canada in 1878 and died in Australia in 1975. Across nearly a century, East's life took him from building his own house at just sixteen to working a gold mine in Western Australia, crossing the remote Great Victoria Desert by camel, and taking up land as a pioneer on Alberta's prairies. He later married an Australian, made repeated crossings of the Pacific by both ship and aeroplane, and even prospected for gold in the jungles of Suriname. At seventy-five he built a second house, and throughout his life he held firm pacifist convictions and a deep interest in economics and politics. Charlwood, better known for his own wartime memoirs, draws on this remarkable personal history to paint a portrait of a man remembered as much for his character as his adventures: a devoted father, father-in-law and grandfather. Published by Burgewood Books, it is a title of particular interest to readers drawn to Alberta's pioneer history and the wider connections between Canada and Australia.

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