Jennie George

This is the candid account of a journey from the poverty of a refugee camp in war-torn Europe to a place near the centre of power in a country half a world away. It is the story of a remarkable person who has spent much of her life in public, a woman who chose to live in the tough world of union politics - and to set out to change that world.The child who picked up English in the playground, the bright student who learnt her politics in demonstrations against Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War, the teacher who became the first woman to lead a major trade union: when Jennie George became the Australian Council of Trade Unions' first female President she brought decades of hard-won experience to one of the toughest jobs in the land.But this is also the story of a woman dealing with grief and joy, loneliness and self-doubt, and the pressure to live up to the expectations of others. At each stage in the journey from migrant hostel and Housing Commission flat Jennie George has never forgotten her departure point and always remembered those she chose to represent. When Jennie George links arms with the picketers on the waterfront or campaigns for the rights of working women and men, the President of the ACTU is fulfilling an unspoken promise made in early adulthood and reaffirmed in the hard world of politics.Jennie Georgeis the first detailed account of the life and work of an extraordinary individual, a revealing portrait of a complex, driven woman whose passage through life tells us much about the politics we practice and the country we live in.Norington, Brad is the author of 'Jennie George', published 1998 under ISBN 9781864485554 and ISBN 1864485558.