This is Wayne Swan’s very personal account of an extraordinary period in Australian politics.

Despite the divisions within the Labor Party as the Rudd government fell into disunity and as Julia Gillard was undermined by disloyalty from within, Wayne Swan steered the Australian economy through a time of unprecedented international economic challenges.

He tells how he nurtured an economy that was the envy of the world, standing up to an opposition and a business elite who fought fiercely against Labor’s political agenda. In the face of bitter attacks by vested interests - from the miners and banks, to the hotels and clubs industry and, of course, the media - much important nation changing legislation was wrangled through the parliament.

This is a story that can only be told from the inside. It provides unique access to the decision making of a government whose legacy of economic management and social change is still to be fully recognised.