Andrew Leigh

My new book, The Luck of Politics, is about the role that chance plays in shaping political outcomes (and in life more generally). The book will be launched in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane, and I'd be delighted if you could attend.

• Monday 31 August, 6pm for 6.30pm - Sydney University (MacLaurin Hall), in conversation with David Marr (RSVP here)
• Tuesday 1 September, 6.30pm - Melbourne University (Copland Theatre), introduced by Glyn Davis (RSVP here)
• Wednesday 2 September, 6pm for 6.30pm - ANU (Manning Clark Theatre 3), introduced by Katy Gallagher (RSVP here)
• Thursday 3 September, 6pm for 6.15pm - University of Queensland (Forgan Smith Building, St Lucia Campus) (RSVP here)

For more information about The Luck of Politics, see the publisher's website.

In 1968, John Howard missed out on winning the state seat of Drummoyne by just 420 votes. Howard reflects: ‘I think back how fortunate I was to have lost.’ It left him free to stand for a safe federal seat in 1974 and become one of Australia’s longest-serving prime ministers.

In The Luck of Politics, Andrew Leigh weaves together numbers and stories to show the many ways luck can change the course of political events.

This is a book full of fascinating facts and intriguing findings. Why is politics more like poker than chess? Does the length of your surname affect your political prospects? What about your gender?

And who was our unluckiest politician? Charles Griffiths served as the Labor member for Shortland for 23 years. It was an unusually long career, but alas, his service perfectly coincided with federal Labor’s longest stint out of power: 1949 to 1972!

From Winston Churchill to George Bush, Margaret Thatcher to Paul Keating, this book will persuade you that luck shapes politics – and that maybe, just maybe, we should avoid the temptation to revere the winners and revile the losers.