Kerry Stokes (Andrew Rule, HarperCollins)

The cards have always been stacked against Kerry Stokes. Born John Patrick Alford, his mother gave him up for adoption. His name was scratched out by a judge’s pen on his adoption papers and in its place was written Kerry Matthew Stokes. His adoptive parents, Matthew and Irene Stokes, showed him little love or regard. He grew up in working-class neighbourhoods in Melbourne in the 1940s and 50s that were Dickensian in their squalor, disease and poverty.  As a young man, Stokes moved to Perth. Energetic and sharp, Stokes was a natural at selling and developing property. When the opportunity came to start buying media businesses, he couldn’t resist the power that came with it. In this biography, Andrew Rule has balanced the two key aspects of Stokes’s life—his extraordinary business acumen and his inauspicious beginnings—to create a lively portrait of a likable man. Stokes appears decent and civilised. His approach to business has been to exercise caution and limit risks. Kerry Stokes is an inspiring business story that also chronicles Australia’s cultural and technological development in the second half of the 20th century. Through Stokes, we see how much Australia has changed. Anyone interested in Australian business and high-achievers will enjoy this accessible biography.

Chris Saliba is co-owner of North Melbourne Books and a freelance reviewer

Category: Reviews