ANZAC Day reads for 2008
13 March, 2008
Anzac Day is fast approaching. Anzac: An Illustrated History 1914-1918 by Richard Pelvin will be released in paperback this year to coincide with the day (Hardie Grant).

Tales from the front
5 October, 2006
Personal accounts, biographies, histories and even guide books—Australia’s military history is the subject of a whole army of books hitting the shelves this month.

The Wreck of the Batavia and Prosper by Simon Leys
11 December, 2005
The story of the wreck of the Batavia has been the inspiration for many works of fiction, nonfiction and film. Leys’ essay on the wreck begins with a curious introduction. He explains a long-held desire to write the tale of the Batavia; nervously reading all the other publications on the topic; and concluding none of them hit the mark.

Beyond Belief by Roger Cross
20 June, 2005
The authors of this book, Roger Cross, a senior fellow at Melbourne University, and Avon Hudson, a campaigner for victims of British atomic tests in Australia, argue that because Australia was such an eagerly subservient ally, it was kept in the dark about the real extent of the 12 atomic tests carried out at Maralinga in the years 1952–1957, and the minor trials that continued until 1962.

An Australian connection: Robert Ryan's new book, After Midnight
13 May, 2005
Robert Ryan is a pretty big deal sales-wise in the UK, where his books are regular features of the Top 10 lists. Here in Australia, his fans are not quite so legion, but that may all be set to change with the Australian connection in his latest novel, After Midnight, he told Eliza Metcalfe.

Darkness in Paris by Peter Ferguson
11 May, 2005
In May 1940 Germany invaded France and within six weeks had triumphantly seized control of Paris. The Allies' complacency was replaced with a sense of helplessness as they were defeated by a new kind of dynamic warfare.

Hellfire: Australia, Japan and the Prisoners of War by Cameron Forbes
11 April, 2005
Hellfire traces the experiences of the Australian, British and Allied prisoners of war under Japanese occupation during World War II. The book analyses the cultural differences, dating from the 19th century, which underpinned the attitudes of the politicians and the military on both sides of the conflict.

Animal Heroes by Anthony Hill
20 March, 2005
Following on from the success of historical narratives like Soldier Boy and Young Digger that explore untold stories from Australia’s fighting past, Anthony Hill’s Animal Heroes collates and presents the important role animals have played in conflicts from the World War I to the present day. Hill’s text clearly conveys the love and admiration these animals were afforded by their handlers, comrades or adopted owners. Whether they were an intuitive kitten smuggled aboard HMAS Perth, a Doberman who defected for a tin of bully beef, or one of the 11 tracking dogs who served so valiantly in Vietnam, each animal’s story is lovingly retold through surviving memory of family members, or official documents.

Well Done, Those Men by Barry Heard
20 March, 2005
Barry Heard’s quiet life on a remote Victorian farm was interrupted by ‘a very official letter in a brown envelope’ that turned up one day in 1964. He had been called up for National Service, or ‘Nasho’. A lucky brush with German measles kept him out of the army the first time around, but by February 1966 21-year-old Heard was off to the Puckapunyal army base. For a naïve country boy the army training was an adventure full of blokey bonhomie, but one that suddenly became very serious once he was stationed with a regular regiment, the 7RAR, that was about to be deployed in Vietnam.

The Cruel Legacy: The HMAS Voyager Tragedy by Tom Frame
2 March, 2005
Australia’s greatest peacetime naval disaster occurred in February 1964 when the destroyer HMAS Voyager collided with the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne. Voyager was sunk with the loss of 82 officers and men.

A Certain Maritime Incident by Tony Kevin
21 February, 2005

Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib by Seymour M. Hersh
16 February, 2005

Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea by Robert K. Massie
16 February, 2005

Australian Defence Almanac by Raspal Khosa (ed)
16 February, 2005

A Certain Maritime Incident: The Sinking of SIEV X by Tony Kevin
16 February, 2005

Chester Wilmot Reports: Broadcasts that Shaped World War II by Neil McDonald
16 February, 2005

The Geopolitics of East Asia: The Search for Equilibrium by Robyn Lim
16 February, 2005

Goodbye Cobber, God Bless You: The fatal charge of the Light Horse, Gallipoli, August 7th 1915 by John Hamilton
16 February, 2005

Indonesia's Struggle: Jemaah Islamiyah and the Soul of Islam by Greg Barton
16 February, 2005

Krazy Hor: A Soldier's Story by Stan Krasnoff
16 February, 2005

Living by the Sword: The Ethics of Armed Intervention by Tom Frame
16 February, 2005

The Battle of Long Tan by Bob Grandin
16 February, 2005

Nightmare of the Prophet by Paul Gray
16 February, 2005

No Pleasure Cruise: The Story of the Royal Australian Navy by Tom Frame
16 February, 2005

On the War-Path: An Anthology of Australian Military Travel by Robin Gerster and Peter Pierce (eds)
16 February, 2005