The catches of Whitewash.(History)

KEITH WINDSCHUTTLE sat on the fight, facing the inquisitorial gaze of a packed auditorium, under the interrogatory glare of stage lighting. Robert Manne sat on the left, cocooned in cool shadow. The date was August 27, 2003; the event was a debate sponsored by the Melbourne Writers' Festival between the author of Fabrication and the editor of Whitewash.

If it crossed Windschuttle's mind that the discrepancy of the fighting might have been deliberate, he would have, no doubt, told himself not to be paranoid. But he could have been forgiven if he had found it difficult to distinguish paranoia from reality, because there were an awful lot of academics out to get him.

A few days earlier Robert Marine, with the help of ex-Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, had launched the missile-bristling battle-book called Whitewash: On Keith Windschuttle 'S Fabrication of Aboriginal History. In it a score of highly qualified, conspicuously respected authors (most of them in the employ of publicly funded universities) had applied their extensive array of scholastic talents to the worthy task of critiquing Windschuttle's book--employing an array of the most unworthy of tactics.

This is a review of the first third of Whitewash--its introduction and first two chapters. It makes no pretence at historical scholarship. However, since the task of Whitewash is to answer a book written for all interested Australian readers, it may be analysed by any such reader in relation to its execution of that task, and in relation to its own internal logic and integrity or lack thereof.

INTRODUCTION, BY ROBERT MANNE

Yossarian tried another approach. "Is Orr crazy?" "'He sure is, "Doc Danneka said. "Can you ground him?" "I sure can. But first he has to ask me to. That's part of the rule. "... "And then you can ground him? '" Yossarian asked. "No. Then I can "I ground him." "'You mean there's a catch?"

--Joseph Heller, Catch-22