Volume LIII Number 6
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Books
Gordon Barton by Sam Everingham
Endlessly Seeking Gordon
by John Izzard
Gordon Barton: Australia’s Maverick Entrepreneur,
by Sam Everingham;
Allen & Unwin, 2009, $35.
Sam Everingham’s book on the life of Gordon Barton is a uniquely bi-polar sort of romp through the life and times of what the author well describes as “Australia’s maverick entrepreneur”. It’s bi-polar in the sense that the reader is never quite sure which side of Barton’s brain (or personality) is being discussed, examined, exposed or on-sold.
Is it the young Gordon Barton, bent on impregnating as many of the female members of the Sydney Push as he can; the dedicated anti-Vietnam War activist; the asset stripper who was happy to use interest rates of 20 to 25 per cent (up to 70 per cent annually) from the suburban loan-sharking company DAC to finance corporate takeovers; or is it the Sydney-based businessman with a wonderful feel for social justice, fun and media adoration?
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