If you’re looking for some great, informative reads fo the summer break, take a tip from the judges of the 2006 Walkley Award for Best Non-fiction Book. From 60 entries, the judges chose 10 to be on the long list of finalists, then winnowed it down to a short list of three.

Neil Chenoweth was short-listed for Packer’s Lunch (Allen & Unwin), his exposé of the business deals between a group of Sydney power players in the 1990s, and the rise and fall of the restaurants that marked the changing borders of their turf war.

Tim Flannery also made it to the final judging for The Weather Makers (Text Publishing), his influential commentary on the unprecedented heating of our planet and the need for urgent change.

Anne Manne was the final name on the short list, for her thought-provoking Motherhood: how should we care for our children (Allen & Unwin), a look at the debates over early childcare and how best to bring women’s emancipation and child wellbeing together.

But, of course, all the finalists are well worth a read, so also look out for:
- After Port Arthur by Carol Altmann (Allen & Unwin), on how the survivors of the massacre have rebuilt their shattered lives
- The Weapons Detective by Rod Barton (Black Inc), recording his experiences as a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq
- Asbestos House by Gideon Haigh (Scribe), an uncompromising exploration of James Hardie Industries
- Silent Death by Karen Kissane (Hachette Livre, Australia), about the murder of Julie Ramage and how the law deals with men, women and relationships
- The Longest Decade by George Megalogenis (Scribe), which details the forces that shaped Australia through the stories of the Keating and Howard governments
- Florence Broadhurst: her secret and extraordinary lives by Helen O’Neill (Hardie Grant Books), a biography of eccentric Sydney designer Florence Broadhurst and her still unsolved murder
- Saving Australia by Bob Wurth (Hachette Livre, Australia), a journey into the remarkable relationship between Australia’s World War II prime minister, John Curtin, and the first Japanese ambassador to Australia, Tatsuo Kawai

Also commended were Tony Stephens, Max Prisk and Mike Bowers for The Big Picture: diary of a nation (Random House), 175 years of The Sydney Morning Herald.