These days, John Hyde Page plies his trade as a tax barrister in Sydney. A decade and a half ago, after a brief and spectacular experiment as a member of the Young Liberals, he wrote a most entertaining and insightful book titled The Education of a Young Liberal.

Hyde Page, who long ago severed any link to politics, found himself in the midst of a branch-stacking war in the seat of Wentworth as Malcolm Turnbull wrested preselection away from incumbent MP Peter King in the run-up to the 2004 election.