Wealth and Democracy by Kevin Phillips. It’s a good time to be reading it in parallel with the ongoing debate on wealth and inequality being pushed along, among others, by the blogosphere’s #1 Kevin, Kevin Drum at Calpundit.
Having completed unpacking, we were sufficiently relaxed yesterday to take the CityCat ferry to Southbank (cultural/cafe precinct including State Museum, Library, Art Gallery etc). I always love riding on the ferry. In fact, I’d say that, in terms of enjoyment/dollar a ferry ride is the best bargain available in transportation. And of all ferry rides, fast catamarans are the most fun. The museums were pretty good too.
John Quiggin 
i hope your not equating cafes with culture like those miserable melbournites.
merely that the districts happen to coincide.
I found W&D to be a difficult book. Lots of good information, but so scattered and poorly organized that it was hard to keep the main threads of his arguments in place.
Still, there *was* lots of good information….
Hmm, are there any good books (for the general reader) about on the history of democracy in general, not just 19th onwards, but back in the olden days as well?