James C Murphy lectures in politics and public policy at the University of Melbourne. His writing on Australian politics and history has appeared in The Canberra Times, The Conversation, and regularly in Inside Story.
In the political showdown over East-West Link, two visions of Melbourne's future collided. In this absorbing study, based on previously untapped archival sources and interviews with the leading players, James Murphy brilliantly relates the rise and dramatic fall of the city's most ambitious highway project. With a forensic eye, he dissects the roles played by political leaders, technocrats and grassroots activists. A story of clashing ideologies, rival ambitions and political brinkmanship, it shows in compelling detail how the politics of infrastructure now shapes the fate of governments and the future of our cities. --GRAEME DAVISON