If the public knows about 10 per cent of what prime ministers do, and the media reveal another 10 per cent, then the access Patrick Weller brings to Kevin Rudd sheds light on another 10-15 per cent of the process of governing, of the challenges and frustrations, the pressures and pleasures of office. The first two years of any Prime Minister's tenure demand a steep learning curve. There is no training to be a Prime Minister; the learning can only be done on the job. Kevin Rudd: The Making of a Prime Minister takes us behind the office-and the man who holds it-as never before revealed in Australian politics. Embedded political scientist Patrick Weller spent two years observing and talking to the people around Rudd to explain how one person came to the job and sought to meet its demands. Weller takes us back to Rudd's boyhood in Nambour, and the experiences that have made him the man he is. He interrogates how early in Rudd's career we can see the personality that is uniquely the Prime Minister's, and how those same characteristics were present through the challenges along the path to Prime Ministership. People rarely come to office by accident; it is the result of a dedicated journey, coupled with being in the right place at the right time or when the enemies are in disarray. Weller's access to the Prime Minister's office reveals how Rudd dealt with issues such as the Global Financial Crisis, domestic and international political challenges, and climate change. Kevin Rudd: The Making of a Prime Minister is the essential and most up-to-date companion to take to the forthcoming election and beyond.
