num_pages: 504
description: On Wednesday 23 June 2010 with the government in turmoil Julia Gillard asked then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for a leadership ballot.The next day Julia Gillard became Australias 27th Prime Minister and our first female leader. Australia was alive to the historic possibilities. Here was a new approach for a new time.It was to last three extraordinary years.This is Julia Gillards chronicle of that turbulent time  a strikingly candid self-portrait of a political leader seeking to realise her ideals. It is her story of what it was like  in the face of government in-fighting and often hostile media  to manage a hung parliament build a diverse and robust economy create an equitable and world-class education system ensure a dignified future for Australians with disabilities all while attending to our international obligations and building strategic alliances for our future. This is a politician driven by a sense of purpose  from campus days with the Australian Union of Students to a career in the law to her often gritty occasionally glittering rise up the ranks of the Australian Labor Party.Refreshingly honest peppered with a wry humour and personal insights Julia Gillard does not shy away from her mistakes as well as detailing her political successes. Here is an account of what was hidden behind the resilience and dignified courage Gillard showed as prime minister her view of the vicious hate campaigns directed against her and a reflection on what it means  and what it takes  to be a woman leader in contemporary politics.Here in her own words Julia Gillard reveals what life was really like as Australias first female prime minister.
language: English
title: My Story
publisher: Knopf