In a parliamentary career spanning 18 years, culminating in his position as the minister for finance and deregulation in the Rudd–Gillard governments, Lindsay Tanner always talked straight, and was always worth reading or listening to. Now we can see why. In this edited selection of his press articles, speeches, and occasional essays from 1990 to 2012, Tanner discusses a range of major subjects: Labor’s problems and prospects; globalisation and its discontents; the family ties that bind; facing up to important values; the need for compassion; and lessons from his own life.