Latham and Abbott Author:Michael Duffy They come from opposite sides of Sydney: Latham from a housing commission suburb in the south-west, Abbott from the wealthy North Shore. Yet they have a surprising amount in common, including passionately supportive parents and family structure. Each is fiercely aggressive. Both consider politics to be as much about inspiration as economics. Bot... more »h are larger-than-life figures who, with the help of the media, have incorporated their own lives into the stories they tell about Australia and its future. There are important differences. Abbott clings to authority and ancient institutions such as the monarchy and the Catholic Church. Latham is driven to destroy established arrangements in order to rebuild them. Both are crusaders who combine an elevated view of politics with the capacity to demonize their opponents. This is the story of two men who, by age, character and circumstance, are particularly suited to the more personal style of politics emerging in the twenty-first century. Their unfolding stories -- and their similarities and differences -- make Mark Latham and Tony Abbott two of the great characters and rivals of contemporary Australian politics.« less