The Latham Diaries

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The Latham Diaries is a political memoir by the former Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party leader, Mark Latham. The book, published in 2005 by Melbourne University Press, attracted a great amount of criticism. Much of the controversy revolved around Latham's candid and scathing criticisms of the ALP, as well as highly personal and occasionally ribald comments regarding some individuals. However, readers of the book comment that there seem to be two facets to way Latham appears in it: an intellectual writing in longer entries, and an embittered Latham, who has been much-criticised and the main focus of media discussion.
The book is an abridgement of Latham's personal diary, from his election to the Australian House of Representatives in 1994 until his retirement in 2005. He has claimed that the book is not intended to discredit the ALP, but rather to correct the record for the benefit of his sons, alleging the media has not accurately portrayed him during his time in Parliament.