In a Parliamentary speech, the Member for Davidson, Jonathan O'Dea has paid tribute to two local authors, who have produced outstanding but vastly different publications.
"Many refer to the NSW Legislative Assembly as 'the bear pit', so perhaps it's appropriate that I facilitated a book presentation to the Parliamentary Library, called It's a Jungle Out There, Mr O'Dea quipped.
"The book, written by Stuart Peffer of St Ives, is a valuable tool for business owners endeavouring to negotiate the jungle of challenges in establishing and maintaining a successful enterprise," Mr O'Dea said.
It's A Jungle Out There: Unlocking the Secrets of Starting and Growing a Successful Business was borne out of frustration with existing literature to help business owners genuinely make a difference in how they operate. Reflecting its title, the book uses animals as a vehicle to help the reader understand the concepts of business formation and growth, and helps make the book simple, easy to read and above all engaging.
The second publication is by Michael Hambrook of Roseville who has brought together an extraordinary collection of personal stories of spying, escaping and surviving war, aptly titled, On the Front Line.
One of the amazing stories is told by another Davidson constituent, Paul Couvret of Belrose, who worked in the dockyards of Nagasaki as a Japanese prisoner during World War Two.
Paul was working beneath the hull of a ship in dry dock when the second atomic bomb fell. He describes a blinding flash of light that lit up the area. Seconds later the force of the explosion arrived, accompanied by a penetrating heat wave and an avalanche of rubble as he, along with fellow prisoners, sheltered beneath the ships.
"I commend both Stuart Peffer and Michael Hambrook on two outstanding literary works," Mr O'Dea said.
"One looks at our past and the stories of individuals, which contribute to our collective history, while the other looks to the future and ways of overcoming challenges that face many in the business world. Both make a valuable contribution, either to where we have come from or where we may be heading," Mr O'Dea concluded.
