A BOOK celebrating the unique characters that make the central west such an interesting place to live is due to be launched in early November.
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Developed by two characters themselves, photographer Alf Manciagli and journalist Denis Gregory, This is where we live is not meant to be a tourism book.
“There’s no book like this,” Mr Gregory said,
“It’s taken two years to research, interview, travel and write.”
The 275-page tome is decorated with 520 photographs, taken by Orange photographer Alf Manciagli.
“Setting up interviews and then travelling takes up a lot of the organising time,” he said.
The pair travelled to Lithgow, Mudgee, Dubbo, Parkes, Forbes, Cowra, Bathurst and everywhere in between in their search for people to appear in the book.
Some were easier to find than others and Mr Gregory had to use some old journalism contacts to track down a few people.
“When we were in Parkes, I called up Michael Greenwood, who used to be the editor at the paper there,” he said.
“I ended up writing about him because he’s such an interesting man.”
The book also covers people like ex-mayors, pilots, geologists, shearers, artists and there are also a few sections where local features like the zig-zag railway and the Parkes telescope are highlighted.
For the pair, it was important that it wasn’t only the famous that made the pages of the book.
“There are many more people that are only known in their communities as there are famous faces,” Mr Manciagli said.