It is often said within the Labor Party that the phone-calls bringing the worst news are the ones which start Maaaate.... Given Labor's recent history it can be assumed that this type of call is quite frequent.

In 1993 Paul Keating won the "unwinnable" federal election. Since then, however, the change in the Australian Labor Party's fortunes has been diabolical. From Beazley to Crean to Latham and back again, the ALP changes its leaders faster than Howard changes his policies.

Annabel Crabb is a journalist who has spent years in the Canberra press gallery watching the attempts of the Labor Party to scrabble its way back into power. While the light on the hill may still burn for those once described as true believers, Annabel Crabb reveals a party that has lost its way, abandoned many of its ideals and values, and foregone the trust of much of Australia in its embrace of power and privilege for its leaders.

This is an intimate and at times hilarious account of the vertiginous highs and bone-crushing lows of a party which, three federal leaders after Keating, is still Losing It.