Robin Bromby

Robin Bromby is a Sydney-based writer. He specialises in non-fiction, particularly popular histories. These subjects range from naval history of the World War I ("German Raiders of the South Seas") through agriculture ("The Farming of Australia") and the decline of the newspaper industry to railway history ("New Zealand Railways - Their Life & Times").

Other books - "The Mining Investor's Handbook" and "Gold Always Wins" - reflect his interest in the resources industry, developed through writing about mining for "The Australian" newspaper over almost 30 years.

And his background as a business journalist came to the fore with the exploration of a long-ignored aspect of World War II - the fatal neglect on the part of Germany, Italy and Japan to construct sound war economies. His title, "Fighting on Empty: How Hitler and Hirohito Lost the Economic War", examines the extraordinary failure by the Axis powers to prepare their economies for war.

He began writing books in the 1980s, first with a small self-publishing operation and then with titles commissioned by commercial publishing houses in both Australia and New Zealand - with one becoming a "Reader's Digest" (Australia) selection.

Now he is again self-publishing, this time through Amazon to reach a worldwide audience, with books available in both e-format and print-on-demand paperbacks.

His latest title, "Newspapers: A Century of Decline", reflects his fascination with newspapers; the book explains how the newspaper industry had suffered many reverses even before the arrival of the internet.