I’m reliably told that Peter
Cosgrove’s memoirs have attracted an advance of more than $500,000.
Leading military history publishers Allen & Unwin dropped out with
a bid of just over $200,000. HarperCollins doesn’t pay big advances; no
Rupert owned company throws money around. So that leaves PanMacmillan
and Penguin. The latter has been hurt in the past, most notably
splashing out on Cathy Freeman’s memoirs which sank without trace.

So
who is the winner? And does it matter? Cosgrove’s memoirs will be bland
and self-serving, with no criticism of the government… More
intriguing is the rumour that someone is writing an unauthorised
biography, which will be more interesting. Cosgrove was notorious at
Duntroon. On one occasion, he swapped rugby jerseys (and numbers) that
ensured a teammate copped a beating intended for the future CDF head.