A collection of yarns, politically incorrect opinions and experiences by a larrikin anti-establishment professor of geology. He has lived life and seen too much of totalitarianism and fundamentalism, be it in politics, religion or science, and seeks evidence and not propaganda. As a scientist, his training has made him sceptical and critical of everything and he is intolerant of intolerance. His university life has been intertwined with a corporate and bush life. Any child who becomes apoplectic about the internet dropping out for an hour needs a reality check and should read about their contemporaries in other countries.

PROFESSOR IAN PLIMER is Australia's best-known geologist and Emeritus Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne, where he was Professor and Head of Earth Sciences (1991-2005). He is currently a director of various Hancock Prospecting companies. He previously served as Professor and Head of Geology at the University of Newcastle (1985-1991), Professor of Mining Geology at the University of Adelaide (2006-2012), and Research Professor of Ore Deposits at Ludwig Maximilians Universität, Munich (1991). He also held positions at the University of New England, the University of New South Wales, and Macquarie University. Plimer has published over 140 scientific papers and co-edited the five-volume Encyclopedia of Geology.