Just Saying by Hugh Mackay

Warm, witty, wise – and occasionally challenging – Just Saying is bestselling social psychologist Hugh Mackay’s highly personal reflections on twenty-five quotations from some of the world’s greatest thinkers and writers, from Confucius and Plato to Susan Sontag and Miles Franklin; from Samuel Johnson and Mary Wollstonecraft to Bertrand Russell and Gloria Steinem.

Interpreting our world and inspiring us to do better, Mackay explores themes ranging from kindness and humility to power and prejudice; from gender equality to ethnic diversity; from coping with change to the damage inflicted on ourselves by revenge, and the great gulf between propriety and virtue.

As Mackay says: ‘Writing these reflections has felt a bit like the beginning of a conversation . . . now it’s over to you.’

‘Hugh Mackay is one of this country’s most perceptive social commentators.’ – Sydney Morning Herald

‘Mackay is something of a national treasure.’ – Canberra Times

Reflections on profound sayings, ancient and modern, by iconic social researcher Hugh Mackay

About the Author: Described as ‘the man who explains us to ourselves’, Hugh Mackay is a social psychologist and the bestselling author of twenty-five books, including The Way We Are and The Kindness Revolution. He had a sixty-year career in social research and was for thirty years a weekly newspaper columnist.

In recognition of his pioneering work in social research, he has been awarded honorary doctorates by five Australian universities and in 2016 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.

04 Nov 2025
 

Just Saying: Exploring twenty-five remarkable quotations to enlighten, challenge and inspire by Hugh Mackay ISBN 9781761473036