Kosciuszko: The incredible life of the man behind the mountain

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 INDIE BOOK AWARD FOR NON-FICTION

Kosciuszko is a name familiar to all Australians. But how many people know who our iconic highest peak is named after? Bestselling author Anthony Sharwood finds out why Tadeusz Kosciuszko is the hero the world needs right now.

A military engineer, freedom fighter and champion of human rights, this extraordinary revolutionary was crucial to the success of the American War of Independence, where he won the admiration and friendship of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. He then bravely led an uprising against Russia and other invaders in his native Poland, promising freedom and equality to all who joined his cause.

In his day, Kosciuszko was loved and respected across Europe and America. Jefferson called him 'as pure a son of liberty as I have ever known', while Kosciuszko would later challenge Jefferson to live up to his famous words 'All men are created equal' by bequeathing his American funds to free the enslaved on Jefferson's plantation.

Anthony Sharwood has spent a lifetime walking, skiing and writing about Kosciuszko National Park. His two previous works (From Snow to Ash; The Brumby Wars) established him as the leading modern literary voice of the Australian High Country.

Now he sets off on the trail of Kosciuszko himself, travelling across the US, Poland and Switzerland, before returning to Australia and walking Mt Kosciuszko with the area's Traditional Owners to reveal the ancient history of Australia's highest peak.

Kosciuszko's life and legacy is enthralling, inspiring and indispensable. But is that reason enough to keep his name on the mountain?

'Informed, entertaining . . . Sharwood emphasises the deep, genuinely held humanity of his subject' THE AGE