| Book Review | Labour History, 96 | The History Cooperative

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BOOK REVIEW

*Melanie Oppenheimer, Volunteering: Why We Can't Survive Without It, UNSW Press, Sydney, 2008. pp. xiii + 239. $39.95 paper.*
The recent bushfire tragedies in Victoria have made Australians acutely aware of the contribution that volunteers make to our communities. Their dedication is testament to what Melanie Oppenheimer calls an 'Australian way of volunteering'. This is the central theme around which her book, Volunteering: Why We Can't Survive Without It, is framed. Melanie Oppenheimer charts the history of volunteering in Australia from 1939 until the present day identifying key changes in the way that Australians volunteer.	1
She is well qualified to write this book, not only because of the many articles she has already published on this topic, but also because she has volunteering in her bones. Melanie Oppenheimer talks about volunteering as a gift, and this book is clearly a gift to her volunteering ancestors. Each section of the book begins with a vignette outlining the volunteering work of her great-grandmother who was the Foundation President of the CWA, her grandmother who was the Commandant of Walcha VAD in World War II, and, her mother who received an Order of Australia medal for her volunteering efforts.	. . .

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