POSTED: 13 JULY 2010

The wisdom of Elders can be taken as read*

“Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?” It’s this quote from TS Eliot that inspired Andrew Denton to seek out prominent elders of our tribe, each over 65, to see what they had learnt from life so far.

The result was the landmark ABC TV series Elders. It made compelling television, and now, it makes riveting reading. This collection features all 12 interviews from both series plus never-before-seen additional material.

Join Denton as he explores 12 very different lives in search of that undervalued treasure — wisdom. Some of them are well known to us — Alan Alda, Isabel Allende, Richard Dawkins — and others maybe not so — indigenous elder Rosalie Kunoth-Monks, human rights advocate Helen Bamber, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus — but what they all reveal is truly remarkable.

Denton’s curiosity, wit and capacity for reflection lead to conversations that go beyond the usual interviews. Surprising, enlightening, humorous, thoughtful and candid, this collection is everything you’d expect from the master of conversation.

In an age of salacious, youth-oriented media, acclaimed interviewer Andrew Denton took another direction and sought out the stories and insights of some of our most respected elders.

These interviews don’t seek to be a forensic examination of a life well lived. Rather, they are an exploration of our subjects’ formative experiences, the lessons they have learned over a lifetime, and the values they have to come to cherish most.

The subjects are deep thinkers who has lived full lives and have much wisdom to offer. They share candidly and generously about the values, events, and people that have shaped them. They all talk about their work and career, but the overall focus with each one of them is what life has taught them.

The editor, Fiona Harari, is an award-winning journalist who began her career at The Age newspaper in 1984. Since then she has worked for Time (Australia) magazine, freelanced for local and overseas publications and has also worked in the public relations industry. For 13 years she was a senior writer with The Australian newspaper, in which her weekly Ad Lib column was widely read.

More recently she has worked in television, on programs including Enough Rope and Elders with Andrew Denton.

*Based on media release issued by HarperCollins.

Andrew Denton... his curiosity, wit and capacity for reflection lead to conversations that go beyond the usual interviews.