Matthew Flinders' Cat Academic the Introduction both serve to

the Introduction both serve to locate Śāntideva's work in its proper context

Why do naturally talented people frequently fail to reach their potential while other far less gifted individuals go on to achieve amazing things

The 2004 winner of the Yale Younger Poets competition: a powerful

compassion

A band of swordsmen on a failed mission

Matthew Flinders' Cat Academic the Introduction both serve toBilly O'Shannessy, once a prominent barrister, is now on the street where he sleeps on a bench outside the State Library. Above him on the window sill rests a bronze statue of Matthew Flinders' cat, Trim. Ryan is a ten year old, a near street kid heading for all the usual trouble. The two meet and form an unlikely friendship. Appealing to the boy's imagination by telling him the story of the circumnavigation of Australia as seen through Trim's eyes,