Mission traces a life of politics, ideas and inspiring words.

Whether he is recalling his boyhood in Hope Vale, Queensland, making the case for Indigenous recognition, or evoking a reconciled, multicultural Australia, Noel Pearson confirms he is one of Australia’s most powerful and influential thinkers – and an extraordinary writer.

Mission selects the best of Pearson’s work to date. There are indelible portraits of political leaders seen close up – Keating, Rudd, Whitlam, Turnbull and more. There is Pearson’s brilliant exploration of a Voice to Parliament, which led eventually to the Uluru Statement from the Heart. And there are acute analyses – of passive welfare; of the fate of the Labor Party; of identity politics, good and bad; and of education and the role of a great teacher.

The volume also contains a remarkable new extended title essay, in which Pearson reflects on his life and work so far.

Mission is honest, provocative and utterly original.

Noel Pearson is a lawyer, activist and founder of the Cape York Institute. He is author of Up From the Mission, Our Right to Take Responsibility, Mission, two Quarterly Essays and many essays, articles and speeches.