What happened when Bob Hawke locked horns with Frank Sinatra, when Lionel Rose sparred with Elvis, when Nicole Kidman first clapped eyes on Tom Cruise, and Norman Gunston leapt on stage with Frank Zappa? With abundant humour, Australian Encounters records these and other unexpected meetings. In the great tradition of Australian yarning, Shane Maloney tells the tale and Chris Grosz paints the picture of the memorable moment when paths cross and personalities collide. 'Bizarre, unexpected - & memorable!' - Barry Jones 'Shane Maloney has been getting couples to wriggle about lewdly under the doona for years. It's a triumph that he has squeezed all that grunt and poke into this startling book.' - H.G. Nelson Includes Donald Bradman and Boris Karloff, Michael Hutchence and Kylie Minogue, Peter Finch and Vivien Leigh, Margaret Fulton and Elizabeth David, Frank Hardy and Nana Mouskouri, Martina Navratilova, Winston Churchill, Gandhi, Henry Kissinger, and Helena Rubinstein & many more.