You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Gunships suddenly descended, fanning out from a central point around the Iroquois and sending streams of machine-gun fire and rockets into the jungle below. The Iroquois peeled away from the main formation and dipped below the tree line under the cover of the assault, dropping swiftly to a small paddy field. They spilled from the chopper and crouched low to the ground. The machine lifted and was gone . . . Six allied soldiers on an impossible, secret mission in Vietnam to find and report on the enemy's supply lines on the motor roads in 'neutral' countries. For Australian Gary Bishop the assignment is one that takes him on a physical and emotional journey into hell. Back in Australia, Gary's new wife Leanne is facing challenges of her own. Alone, pregnant and fighting an attraction to another man, she finds herself drawn in directions that she never anticipated. The wounds of war run deep and Leanne and Gary will need all their strength to survive.
It is the 1860s and colonial Australia is no longer just a dumping ground for the pitiful throw-offs of harsh English justice. The colony is rapidly taking on a new identity as a land where opportunities abound for those who are up to the challenge. Many prosper, while others prefer to tramp the endless bush and enjoy what the land has to offer, and still other turn to a life of crime. Into this wild land of rare beauty and constant change comes a quiet young orphan boy named Brennan. He knows nothing of his origins and his only family is an old lady who nurtures him into his teenage years. When she can no longer care for him, he packs a modest swag and a little money and heads into the bush...
War is often characterised as one percent terror, 99 per cent boredom. Whilst much ink has been spilt on the one per cent, relatively little work has been directed toward the other 99 per cent of a soldier's time. As such, this book will be welcomed by those seeking a fuller understanding of what makes soldiers endure war, and how they cope with prolonged periods of inaction. It explores the issue of military boredom and investigates how soldiers spent their time when not engaged in battle, work or training through a study of their creative, imaginative and intellectual lives. It examines the efforts of military authorities to provide solutions to military boredom (and the problem of discipl...
In the winter of 1948, a poorly educated jack-of-all-trades moved his ever- increasing family to a small vegetable crops' farm on the Darling Downs, in Queensland. They arrived in a horse and wagon to begin an extraordinary life of hardship and challenge in the bush. This book follows the harsh life of poverty that is eclipsed by the threads of dry humour, love and warmth that embraces a large closely-knit family. The living conditions endured are almost primitive, even for the nineteen fifties, as they fight to carve an existence from the land. His father's lingering fight with lung cancer compounds the pain of his own battle, as a National Service Soldier in the Vietnam War. The accounts of the war are graphic and poignant, and could only emerge from one who has experienced the frightening reality of combat. Highlighted through the suffering and dreams is a mother's undying devotion to her family, as she struggles to raise them, more or less on her own.
'This book should be read by anyone interested in the way myths become accepted as history.' — Peter Edwards, author of Australia and the Vietnam War Why everything you think you know about Australia’s Vietnam War is wrong. When journalist and historian Mark Dapin first interviewed Vietnam veterans and wrote about the war, he swallowed (and regurgitated) every popular misconception. He wasn’t alone. In Australia’s Vietnam, Dapin argues that every stage of Australia’s Vietnam War has been misremembered and obscured by myth. He disproves claims that every national serviceman was a volunteer; questions the idea that Australian troops committed atrocities; debunks the fallacy that there were no welcome home parades until 1987; and rebuts the fable that returned soldiers were met by spitting protesters at Australian airports. Australia’s Vietnam is a major contribution to the understanding of Australia’s experience of the war and will change the way we think about memory and military history.
Ian Lane is fifty-seven years old and he thinks his country is about to be invaded by force of arms and have its lifestyle and culture changed forever. So he leaves his executive corporate position and decides to rely on his suddenly budding career as a novelist to support himself, his wife and ten-year-old daughter. They set out on a long dreamed of caravan trip around Australia while the country's northern neighbours become more and more determined that Australia should join the powerful Northern Alliance voluntarily - or risk being compelled to do so by force of arms. Australia's allies adopt a wait-and-see attitude while the country bubbles with internal and external conflict and turmoil. When the invasion begins Ian and his wife and daughter are camped at an isolated lagoon deep in the northern outback - prisoners in their own land watching the invaders swarm down the centre of the continent. A Vietnam Veteran - Ian longs to play a part in defending his land. But what can he do when he is stranded in the middle of nowhere?
A shadowy form moved in a crouch along the creek bank, a stout club upraised and silhouetted against the sparkling surface of the stream. It approached the forms of the man and the woman as they lay quietly on the rug in the moonlight near the water's edge. The woman's head rested on the man's chest as he lay on his back, as if in a deep sleep. The blows from the club came quickly and viciously, crushing the flesh and bone of the man's head and face, and then the blows fell about the woman's head. She did not stir as her head exploded like a ripe melon. She fell sideways away from the man under the force of the attack, her matted hair gleaming wetly in the moonlight. The stillness of the nig...
This colourfully illustrated guide introduces new and established crafters to the traditional skills of hooking and its close relations prodding, punching and tufting. Textile artist Lynne Stein gives advice on materials, tools and equipment, and provides step-by-step directions – accompanied by vibrant instructional photographs – for 20 projects exploring playful design and quirky creativity, including rugs, cushions, bags and personal accessories. There are also lots of helpful hints on sustainably repurposing fabrics, yarns, and other precious and useful items that might otherwise be discarded. A list of international museum collections is also included, as are examples of the work of...