‘This is officially the first history of the Uluru Statement era: the very messy story of power, subjugation and co-existence told by a brilliant historian. Clare Wright pioneers a way forward for the nation, starting with voice. The genesis of the right to be heard started with a bark petition.’

‘A masterpiece.’

‘A story that cannot be forgotten [by] one of Australia’s most revered historians.’

‘A masterful and definitive account of one of the most important political documents in Australian history. Wright brings to life this moving story of unwavering Yolngu resistance and the enduring legacy of their political actions.’

‘Stunningly beautiful…I am in awe of this book. It’s like nothing I’ve ever read.’

‘A major contribution…This is Australian political history in its most urgent form.’

‘A stunning work of history. Deep and rich, complex and expansive.’

‘Meticulous, fair, important and powerful.’

‘Charged with wit, compassion and integrity…a shimmering force.’

‘Clare Wright is the most remarkable and striking voice working on recovering the lost and forgotten pages of Australian history. Her work, as accessible as it is scholarly, is of the greatest importance.’

‘Of monumental importance.’

‘An impossibly important book.’

‘The non-fiction book to know about…An essential account of the land rights movement and beyond.’

‘What distinguishes Wright’s account of the disorder among settler authorities is the length, detail and intimacy of her narration.’

‘Get the third in this trilogy. Get all of them…They’re fantastic, they’re gripping, and beautifully presented and written.’

‘The Näku Dhäruk (Yirrkala Bark Petitions) created by the Yolŋu of northeast Arnhem Land are founding documents in the land rights movement and crucial to our democracy. Here, Wright chronicles their history with the vivid detail and masterful storytelling we have come to expect of her! The final book in her incredible historical trilogy.’

‘A minutely rendered account of an undertaking that would, ultimately, upend the political and social assumptions on which Australian society had been based, and a primer on the elegant, pragmatic, complex otherness of Indigenous thought, culture and law…Generous, rigorously argued and artfully curated.’

‘Wright is creating an entirely new narrative, a reading of Australian history grounded in her own experience, a story only she is qualified to tell. It is a powerful account, and a weighty one.’

‘The story of Australia’s enviable democracy did not end with federation; and how could it when our first Australians’ history was overlooked? More than half a century later the people of Yirrkala wrote and presented the Naku Dharuk (the bark petitions) to the federal parliament, the first step towards land rights. These ancient peoples in their own unique way finally penetrated the walls of our colonial society, placing Indigenous Australians firmly in the narrative and re-booting the democracy story. Clare Wright’s masterful work has ensured this remarkable event will forever be understood and properly appreciated.’

‘One of the outstanding works of Australian historical writing—one intended for a wide audience—so far this century. The third of Wright’s ‘Democracy’ trilogy, it is by far the most experimental of these books in its structure, language, and sources, a formidably original contribution to the country’s historical literature, and a timely political intervention in its own right.’

‘A dazzling conclusion to [the] Democracy Trilogy…Both a triumph of storytelling and a near-unparalleled feat of two-worlds thinking, this book—and the Trilogy—will stand as a milestone in Australian history.’

‘[I’m recommending] a book that’s close to my heart…It’s a brilliant book that moved my understandings of what Australian history could be.’

‘A rare example of a finely honed, lived-in history.’

[Long version] ‘My most important book of 2024 is Clare Wright’s Naku Dharuk. Unlike most Australians, I grew up knowing much of the story about what was called the Yirrkala Bark Petitions, and yet…What she has done, weaving forensic historical research with Yolngu knowledge is nothing short of brilliant…Naku Dharuk, with its cultural respect and drive for truth-telling, left me awestruck and sobbing.’

‘Clare Wright’s masterful work has ensured this remarkable event will forever be understood and properly appreciated.’