Bob Ellis is the quintessential Labor groupie, and "Goodbye Babylon" the latest instalment in the saga of his love affair with the ALP, which began with "The Things We Did Last Summer", a slim and evocative volume, published twenty years ago. By contrast, "Goodbye Babylon" is a fat book; rather like Ellis himself, it is sprawling, dishevelled, undisciplined but likeable, witty and gregarious. His prose, though prone to excess, can be rich and compelling.Australia Council, La Trobe University, National Library of Australia, Holding Redlich, Arts Victori