Books and bombs: Stellar career celebrated

The distinguished scholarship and outstanding contribution to national, regional and international security by one of the world's foremost strategy and defence experts has been celebrated at The Australian National University. The celebration marked the 25^th anniversary of Des Ball's Special Professorship at ANU. It culminated in the launch last night of a new book Insurgent Intellectual: Essays in Honour of Desmond Ball , a surprise tribute to the scholar compiled by his colleagues in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. In a career spanning more than four decades Ball's research has been extensive and wide-ranging, encompassing nuclear, electronic and cyber warfare, signals intelligence, Asia-Pacific security as well as Australian strategic and defence policy. In one of the strongest testaments to the global impact of Ball's work, former US President Jimmy Carter writes that "Desmond Ball's counsel and cautionary advice based on deep research made a great difference to our collective goal of avoiding nuclear war." Australian Ambassador to the US Kim Beazley also contributed to the book, describing Ball as a "national asset" and saying his "immensely productive academic life is arguably, in publication terms, the most productive in our history." One of Ball's first books, A Suitable Piece of Real Estate: American Installations in Australia, published in 1980, created headlines by revealing for the first time the extensive United States intelligence facilities located in Australia, and the Australian authorities' apparent ignorance of the detail of their operations.