Why leave the greatest country on earth to live in an apartment the size of a shoebox? Why give up Australia's pristine beaches for the teeming chaos of New York or the smoggy sprawl of Los Angeles?

In recent years, thousands of Australians have opted to try their luck in the world's richest country. For a few, the rewards of success have been immense, including multi-million-dollar salaries, celebrity status and tremendous professional fulfilment. Australians have led iconic American companies such as Coca-Cola, Ford and McDonald's. With a reputation for blunt professionalism and a laid-back, inclusive style, Australians are today among the high-flyers across the business spectrum, from finance to book publishing to journalism to scientific research.

In Away Game, which is based on personal interviews with the author, some of our top professionals working in the United States describe their experiences, offering fascinating insights into why they left their homeland, the pros and cons of living and working in America, and their anguish over whether or when to come home again.