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Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, Paul Ham, Passchendaele : requiem for doomed youth, 2016
Passchendaele epitomises everything that was most terrible about the Western Front. The photographs never sleep of this four-month battle, fought from July to November 1917, the worst year of the war- blackened tree stumps rising out of a field of mud, corpses of men and horses drowned in shell holes, terrified soldiers huddled in trenches awaiting the whistle. The intervening century, the most violent in human history, has not disarmed these pictures of their power to shock. At the very least they ask us, on the 100th anniversary of the battle, to see and to try to understand what happened here. Yes, we commemorate the event. Yes, we adorn our breasts with poppies. But have we seen? Have we understood? Have we dared to reason why? What happened at Passchendaele was the expression of the 'wearing-down war', the war of pure attrition at its most spectacular and ferocious. Paul Ham's Passchendaele- Requiem for Doomed Youth shows how ordinary men on both sides endured this constant state of siege, with a very real awareness that they were being gradually, deliberately, wiped out. Yet the men never broke- they went over the top, when ordered, again and again and again. And if they fell dead or wounded, they were casualties in the 'normal wastage', as the commanders described them, of attritional war. Only the soldier's friends at the front knew him as a man, with thoughts and feelings. His family back home knew him as a son, husband or brother, before he had enlisted. By the end of 1917 he was a different creature- his experiences on the Western Front were simply beyond their powers of comprehension. The book tells the story of ordinary men in the grip of a political and military power struggle that determined their fate and has foreshadowed the destiny of the world for a century. Passchendaele lays down a powerful challenge to the idea of war as an inevitable expression of the human will, and examines the culpability of governments and military commanders in a catastrophe that destroyed the best part of a generation. Collapse summaryIndex, bibliography, notes, ill (maps), p.565.non-fictionPasschendaele epitomises everything that was most terrible about the Western Front. The photographs never sleep of this four-month battle, fought from July to November 1917, the worst year of the war- blackened tree stumps rising out of a field of mud, corpses of men and horses drowned in shell holes, terrified soldiers huddled in trenches awaiting the whistle. The intervening century, the most violent in human history, has not disarmed these pictures of their power to shock. At the very least they ask us, on the 100th anniversary of the battle, to see and to try to understand what happened here. Yes, we commemorate the event. Yes, we adorn our breasts with poppies. But have we seen? Have we understood? Have we dared to reason why? What happened at Passchendaele was the expression of the 'wearing-down war', the war of pure attrition at its most spectacular and ferocious. Paul Ham's Passchendaele- Requiem for Doomed Youth shows how ordinary men on both sides endured this constant state of siege, with a very real awareness that they were being gradually, deliberately, wiped out. Yet the men never broke- they went over the top, when ordered, again and again and again. And if they fell dead or wounded, they were casualties in the 'normal wastage', as the commanders described them, of attritional war. Only the soldier's friends at the front knew him as a man, with thoughts and feelings. His family back home knew him as a son, husband or brother, before he had enlisted. By the end of 1917 he was a different creature- his experiences on the Western Front were simply beyond their powers of comprehension. The book tells the story of ordinary men in the grip of a political and military power struggle that determined their fate and has foreshadowed the destiny of the world for a century. Passchendaele lays down a powerful challenge to the idea of war as an inevitable expression of the human will, and examines the culpability of governments and military commanders in a catastrophe that destroyed the best part of a generation. Collapse summary world war 1914-1918 - campaigns - western front, france - campaigns - passchaendaele -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, Peter Harclerode, Fighting dirty the inside story of covert operations from Ho Chi Minh to Osama Bin Laden, 2001
In the wake of the September 11th horror, nothing could be timelier than this exploration of world terrorism and the forces that fight it--armies and missions often shrouded in mystery. A foremost expert on guerrilla warfare presents, for the first time, a comprehensive investigation of covert military operations from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Among the revelations: that the CIA handed out shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles "like lollipops" to Osama bin Laden and other mujahadeen leaders, weapons they may now turn against us how British SAS operated inside Afghanistan against the Russians and used "former special forces" personnel for clandestine missions why secret militia and locally recruited fighters successfully defeated guerrillas and terrorists in Oman, Malaya, and Borneo, but could not in Indochina and Algeria and how "fighting dirty" sometimes meant helping drug dealers in exchange for their support. Most relevant is the detailed analysis of why Russia failed to conquer Afghanistan, what we can learn from their experience, and the perils awaiting any invader.Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.625.non-fictionIn the wake of the September 11th horror, nothing could be timelier than this exploration of world terrorism and the forces that fight it--armies and missions often shrouded in mystery. A foremost expert on guerrilla warfare presents, for the first time, a comprehensive investigation of covert military operations from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Among the revelations: that the CIA handed out shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles "like lollipops" to Osama bin Laden and other mujahadeen leaders, weapons they may now turn against us how British SAS operated inside Afghanistan against the Russians and used "former special forces" personnel for clandestine missions why secret militia and locally recruited fighters successfully defeated guerrillas and terrorists in Oman, Malaya, and Borneo, but could not in Indochina and Algeria and how "fighting dirty" sometimes meant helping drug dealers in exchange for their support. Most relevant is the detailed analysis of why Russia failed to conquer Afghanistan, what we can learn from their experience, and the perils awaiting any invader. special forces - operations - 20th century, special forces - operations - 20th century -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, Department of Veterans' Affair, Stolen Years : Australian Prisoners of War, 2002
Created by the Australian War Memorial, this book is an online companion to a travelling exhibition that explores the lives of those who were held captive by the Japanese. It describes what happened during the time these individuals spend months and years behind barbed wire, hungry, bored, cold, and sick. The book tells the story of how many survived and why they deserve our respect and understanding.Ill, p.157.non-fictionCreated by the Australian War Memorial, this book is an online companion to a travelling exhibition that explores the lives of those who were held captive by the Japanese. It describes what happened during the time these individuals spend months and years behind barbed wire, hungry, bored, cold, and sick. The book tells the story of how many survived and why they deserve our respect and understanding. world war 1939 – 1945 - prisons and prisoners – australia, prisoners of war - australia - pictorial works -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, David W Cameron, The battle for Lone Pine: Four days of hell at the heart of Gallipoli, 2012
Surprisingly, as we near the 100th anniversary of the legendary Gallipoli campaign, this is the first book solely dedicated to one of its key battles - that at Lone Pine, where Australian and Turkish soldiers fought an ultimately futile battle that claimed thousands of lives in incredibly close quarters. Seven Victoria Crosses were earned by Australia's Anzacs in the intense four days of fighting, in pursuit of a flawed strategy to distract Turkish forces from larger incursions, which themselves failed. David W. Cameron has pulled together first-hand accounts from the men and women involved (including from the Turkish army) to detail what transpired and to follow some of their personal stories throughout the ordeal. By including the stories of non-combatants, such as engineers, nurses, sappers, commanders and more, he not only gives due credit to those who labored in support of the troops, but provides a wider understanding of the mammoth undertaking of such warfare. Many Australians travel to the Lone Pine Memorial and Cemetery each year to commemorate Anzac Day and remember the fallen - this work of popular history highlights the fate of those who fought on the very ground where they gather. Most Australian have heard of Lone Pine. Too few know why. Over four days in August 1915, Australians and Turks were thrown into some of the fiercest fighting of the war, on a small plateau in Gallipoli known as Lone Pine. Thousands of lives were lost. Seven of Australia's nine Gallipoli VCs were earned during brutal hand-to-hand combat in dark tunnels and in trenches just metres apart, bombarded by terrifying volleys of grenades. The Battle for Lone Pine is the first book devoted to this cornerstone of the Anzac legend, drawing on unforgettable first-hand accounts scratched into diaries and letters home. The stories of the diggers, as well as the engineers, nurses, sappers, commanders and more, provide an invaluable record of the battle and serve as moving testimony to their courage in appalling conditions. Today, pine trees are planted in remembrance around Australia. In Gallipoli, the Lone Pine Cemetery and Memorial attracts large crowds to commemorate Anzac Day. David W. Cameron's absorbing history reveals the fate of those who fought on the ground where they gather. 'David Cameron not only leads the way for the battalions of books on Australia in World War I to come in the next six years, he sets a standard for authors to emulate'Index, bibliography, notes, ill, p.349.non-fictionSurprisingly, as we near the 100th anniversary of the legendary Gallipoli campaign, this is the first book solely dedicated to one of its key battles - that at Lone Pine, where Australian and Turkish soldiers fought an ultimately futile battle that claimed thousands of lives in incredibly close quarters. Seven Victoria Crosses were earned by Australia's Anzacs in the intense four days of fighting, in pursuit of a flawed strategy to distract Turkish forces from larger incursions, which themselves failed. David W. Cameron has pulled together first-hand accounts from the men and women involved (including from the Turkish army) to detail what transpired and to follow some of their personal stories throughout the ordeal. By including the stories of non-combatants, such as engineers, nurses, sappers, commanders and more, he not only gives due credit to those who labored in support of the troops, but provides a wider understanding of the mammoth undertaking of such warfare. Many Australians travel to the Lone Pine Memorial and Cemetery each year to commemorate Anzac Day and remember the fallen - this work of popular history highlights the fate of those who fought on the very ground where they gather. Most Australian have heard of Lone Pine. Too few know why. Over four days in August 1915, Australians and Turks were thrown into some of the fiercest fighting of the war, on a small plateau in Gallipoli known as Lone Pine. Thousands of lives were lost. Seven of Australia's nine Gallipoli VCs were earned during brutal hand-to-hand combat in dark tunnels and in trenches just metres apart, bombarded by terrifying volleys of grenades. The Battle for Lone Pine is the first book devoted to this cornerstone of the Anzac legend, drawing on unforgettable first-hand accounts scratched into diaries and letters home. The stories of the diggers, as well as the engineers, nurses, sappers, commanders and more, provide an invaluable record of the battle and serve as moving testimony to their courage in appalling conditions. Today, pine trees are planted in remembrance around Australia. In Gallipoli, the Lone Pine Cemetery and Memorial attracts large crowds to commemorate Anzac Day. David W. Cameron's absorbing history reveals the fate of those who fought on the ground where they gather. 'David Cameron not only leads the way for the battalions of books on Australia in World War I to come in the next six years, he sets a standard for authors to emulate'world war 1914-1918 - campaigns - gallipoli, gallipoli campaign - battles - lone pine -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, University of Queensland Press, Vietnam : the Australian dilemma, 1993
Vietnam : the Australian dilemma reveals why Australia entered the Vietnam war, coming to the aid of the United StatesIndex, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.329.Vietnam : the Australian dilemma reveals why Australia entered the Vietnam war, coming to the aid of the United Statesvietnam war 1961-1975 – australian involvement, vietnam war 1961-1975 – history -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, NewSouth Publishing, Australia's Vietnam : myth vs history, 2019
Why everything you think you know about Australia's Vietnam War is wrong. When Mark Dapin first interviewed Vietnam veterans and wrote about the war, he swallowed (and regurgitated) every misconception. He wasn't alone. In Australia's Vietnam, Dapin reveals that every stage of Australia's commitment to the Vietnam War has been misunderstood, misinterpreted and shrouded in myth. From army claims that every national serviceman was a volunteer; and the level of atrocities committed by Australian troops; to the belief there were no welcome home parades until the late 1980s and returned soldiers were met by angry protesters. 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.Index, notes, p.231.non-fictionWhy everything you think you know about Australia's Vietnam War is wrong. When Mark Dapin first interviewed Vietnam veterans and wrote about the war, he swallowed (and regurgitated) every misconception. He wasn't alone. In Australia's Vietnam, Dapin reveals that every stage of Australia's commitment to the Vietnam War has been misunderstood, misinterpreted and shrouded in myth. From army claims that every national serviceman was a volunteer; and the level of atrocities committed by Australian troops; to the belief there were no welcome home parades until the late 1980s and returned soldiers were met by angry protesters. 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.vietnam war 1961-1975 – australian involvement, vietnam war 1961-1975 – history -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, Allen & Unwin, Vietnam : the complete story of the Australian War, 2012
Take a journey back to the front line with two Australian veterans as they retrace the footsteps of soldiers and politicians, villagers and the enemy in a meticulously researched new history of the Vietnam War. Thirty years after the end of the Vietnam war comes an objective analysis of Australia's involvement. The book shows the extent of Australia's engagement in the Vietnam war and its contribution compared to its allies. "For Australians, Vietnam remains one of the most difficult-and controversial-wars we have fought. On the fiftieth anniversary of Australia's first involvement comes Vietnam: the complete story of the Australian war, for anyone who wishes to understand why Australia went to war, and who wants to make sense of the intensely unrelenting warfare. For Bruce Davies and Gary McKay, the history of Vietnam-its wars, colonial domination, its search for freedom and its subsequent loss-speaks to an Australian anxiety of a very small population far away from the centre of an empire to which it was firmly committed. The rise of Japan, the war in the Pacific and the postcolonial independence of the peoples of southeast Asia, coupled with the mercurial influence of Ho Chi Minh and the rise of communism, form the background to the commitment of Australian forces. Vietnam takes the reader to the front line, describing the experiences of soldier, politician, villager, enemy; and into the war room to unpick the military and political strategies. We see the challenges the Australians faced against not only a dogged enemy, but also those by the allies in the quest to defeat a powerful counterinsurgency. ... Meticulously researched and marked with acute critical analysis and a deep understanding of the place and the war, Vietnam shows the experience of Australian soldiers as never before.Index, notes, ill, p.601.non-fictionTake a journey back to the front line with two Australian veterans as they retrace the footsteps of soldiers and politicians, villagers and the enemy in a meticulously researched new history of the Vietnam War. Thirty years after the end of the Vietnam war comes an objective analysis of Australia's involvement. The book shows the extent of Australia's engagement in the Vietnam war and its contribution compared to its allies. "For Australians, Vietnam remains one of the most difficult-and controversial-wars we have fought. On the fiftieth anniversary of Australia's first involvement comes Vietnam: the complete story of the Australian war, for anyone who wishes to understand why Australia went to war, and who wants to make sense of the intensely unrelenting warfare. For Bruce Davies and Gary McKay, the history of Vietnam-its wars, colonial domination, its search for freedom and its subsequent loss-speaks to an Australian anxiety of a very small population far away from the centre of an empire to which it was firmly committed. The rise of Japan, the war in the Pacific and the postcolonial independence of the peoples of southeast Asia, coupled with the mercurial influence of Ho Chi Minh and the rise of communism, form the background to the commitment of Australian forces. Vietnam takes the reader to the front line, describing the experiences of soldier, politician, villager, enemy; and into the war room to unpick the military and political strategies. We see the challenges the Australians faced against not only a dogged enemy, but also those by the allies in the quest to defeat a powerful counterinsurgency. ... Meticulously researched and marked with acute critical analysis and a deep understanding of the place and the war, Vietnam shows the experience of Australian soldiers as never before.vietnam war 1961-1975 – history, vietnam war 1961-1975 – australian involvement -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, Longman Cheshire, War without end : conflict in Indo-China, 1995
Indo-China war - Australian involvement in Vietnam - Laos and Cambodia ; Jim Cairns - Harold Holt - Ho Chi Minh - John F. Kennedy - Robert Menzies - My Lai - Richard Nixon - Lyndon B. Johnson (L.B.J.) - Tet Offensive - Fall of Saigon - Why America lost - Cambodia & the Sihanouk years - Khmer Rouge & Pol Pot - Agent Orange & Post-traumatic stress disorder - Vietnamese boat people & resettlement destinations.Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.183.non-fictionIndo-China war - Australian involvement in Vietnam - Laos and Cambodia ; Jim Cairns - Harold Holt - Ho Chi Minh - John F. Kennedy - Robert Menzies - My Lai - Richard Nixon - Lyndon B. Johnson (L.B.J.) - Tet Offensive - Fall of Saigon - Why America lost - Cambodia & the Sihanouk years - Khmer Rouge & Pol Pot - Agent Orange & Post-traumatic stress disorder - Vietnamese boat people & resettlement destinations.vietnam war 1961-1975 – history, indochina - history -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, Melbourne University Press, Sacred places : war memorials in the Australian landscape, 2008
After the slaughter of the First World War, Australians embarked on a remarkable programme of war memorial construction. These memorials, large and small, stand everywhere in the Australian landscape. They embody what Australians have wanted to say about the service and death of their compatriots in overseas wars. They express pride, grief, and perceptions of God, empire and nation, becoming the holy sites of a new civil and nationalist religion -- the cult of Anzac." "In this moving and beautifully written book, award-winning historian Ken Inglis traces the development of the Anzac cult, as well as looking at those who rejected it. Sacred Places also examines a paradox: why, as Australia's wars recede in memory, have these memorials and what they stand for become more cherished than ever? In this updated third edition, that question is pursued into the first decade of a new century.Index, notes, ill, p.640.non-fictionAfter the slaughter of the First World War, Australians embarked on a remarkable programme of war memorial construction. These memorials, large and small, stand everywhere in the Australian landscape. They embody what Australians have wanted to say about the service and death of their compatriots in overseas wars. They express pride, grief, and perceptions of God, empire and nation, becoming the holy sites of a new civil and nationalist religion -- the cult of Anzac." "In this moving and beautifully written book, award-winning historian Ken Inglis traces the development of the Anzac cult, as well as looking at those who rejected it. Sacred Places also examines a paradox: why, as Australia's wars recede in memory, have these memorials and what they stand for become more cherished than ever? In this updated third edition, that question is pursued into the first decade of a new century.war memorials - australia, soldiers memorials - australia -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, Cassel, Wars of national liberation, 2001
An account of why wars have been fought in the post world war two period.Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.224.non-fictionAn account of why wars have been fought in the post world war two period.world politics - 1945-, national liberation movements -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, Melbourne University Publishing, The broken years, 2010
Before the First World War most Australians shared the emotions and traditions of the British Empire. Proud of their British heritage, anxious to raise the Imperial status of Australia, they were eager to fight and, if need be, to die in defence of their race and country. But the horror and tragedy of the conflict brought fundamental changes in outlook. Many of the pre-war enthusiasms persisted, but the days of unquestioning allegiance to Empire were beginning to come to an end, to be replaced by the bittersweet tradition of Anzac. Dr Gammage shows how and why these changes took place. Using the diaries and letters of one thousand front-line soldiers of the First Australian Imperial Force, most of them now part of a unique collection housed in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, he reconstructs the motives and expectations with which these men volunteered and the experiences they encountered. He highlights and examines the new attitudes to war and to the homeland that developed and foreshadows the important effects in Australia of the changed outlook brought home by the survivors. Those who have returned from war will recognise immediately the raw realities faced by the 'diggers', the growing disillusionment, and the hopes for the future. Those with fathers, husbands, or brothers who served, and all those concerned with what happens to men at war, cannot fail to be moved by the simple dignity of the men{u2019}s accounts, or by the understated courage with which they wrote to their families of the miseries they endured. This book, written with sensitivity and scholarly care, must be read if we are to understand war and its impact on the ethos of a nation.Index, bib, ill, notes, p.288.non-fictionBefore the First World War most Australians shared the emotions and traditions of the British Empire. Proud of their British heritage, anxious to raise the Imperial status of Australia, they were eager to fight and, if need be, to die in defence of their race and country. But the horror and tragedy of the conflict brought fundamental changes in outlook. Many of the pre-war enthusiasms persisted, but the days of unquestioning allegiance to Empire were beginning to come to an end, to be replaced by the bittersweet tradition of Anzac. Dr Gammage shows how and why these changes took place. Using the diaries and letters of one thousand front-line soldiers of the First Australian Imperial Force, most of them now part of a unique collection housed in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, he reconstructs the motives and expectations with which these men volunteered and the experiences they encountered. He highlights and examines the new attitudes to war and to the homeland that developed and foreshadows the important effects in Australia of the changed outlook brought home by the survivors. Those who have returned from war will recognise immediately the raw realities faced by the 'diggers', the growing disillusionment, and the hopes for the future. Those with fathers, husbands, or brothers who served, and all those concerned with what happens to men at war, cannot fail to be moved by the simple dignity of the men{u2019}s accounts, or by the understated courage with which they wrote to their families of the miseries they endured. This book, written with sensitivity and scholarly care, must be read if we are to understand war and its impact on the ethos of a nation. world war 1914-1918 - personal correspondence, world war 1914-1918 - social conditions -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, Bison Group, The complete military history of the Vietnam War, 1990
That the Vietnam War represents a watershed in American military and political history no one doubts. But what sor of a watershed was it? Certainly it caused many americans to lose sme cherished illusions about why the United States goes to war, how it fights a war and on what terms it is willing to end a war. But in place of those lost illusions was anything substantial really learned?Index, ill, maps, p.176.That the Vietnam War represents a watershed in American military and political history no one doubts. But what sor of a watershed was it? Certainly it caused many americans to lose sme cherished illusions about why the United States goes to war, how it fights a war and on what terms it is willing to end a war. But in place of those lost illusions was anything substantial really learned?vietnam conflict - 1961-1975 - pictorial works, vietnam conflict 1961-1975 - history -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book - Great naval blunders, Andre Deutsch, 2012
Who was responsible for the design of the Admiral Popov, the circular Russian battleship that wouldn't steer straight? Why did Lord Ansonset out to circumnavigate the world with a crew of Chelsea pensioners? And how did the British cruiser HMS Trinidad manage to torpedo itself in the Arctic?Ill, p.271non-fictionWho was responsible for the design of the Admiral Popov, the circular Russian battleship that wouldn't steer straight? Why did Lord Ansonset out to circumnavigate the world with a crew of Chelsea pensioners? And how did the British cruiser HMS Trinidad manage to torpedo itself in the Arctic?marine accidents - history, naval art and science - history -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, P.O.W. : prisoners of war, 1985
Within three months of the Japanese entering World War II on December 8, 1941 over 22 000 Australians had become prisoners-of-war. They went into camps in Timor, Ambon, New Britain, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Singapore and Malaya, and a few were scattered to other points in what was briefly part of the Japanese empire. Later most of the prisoners were to be shifted further north into South-east Asia, Formosa, Korea, Manchuria and Japan itself. They were captives within lands and cultures and to experiences alien to those known to all other Australians. At the end of the war in August 1945, 14315 servicemen and thirty service women were alive to put on new, loose-fitting uniforms and go home. One in three of the prisoners had died. That is, nearly half of the deaths suffered by Australians in the war in the Pacific were among men and women who had surrendered. Another 8174 Australians had been captured in the fighting in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: but of these men only 265 died as a result of wounds, disease or execution.By any quantitative measure the imprisonment of so many Australians is a major event in Australian history. For many soldiers it was living --and dying --in captivity which made World War II different from that of World War I. But the prisoners have received no permanent place in Australian history. Their story is not immediately recalled on celebratory occasions. In a general history of the nation in which a chapter is given to the war the prisoners might be mentioned in a sentence, or part of a sentence. Where the horror, stoicism and gallantry of Gallipoli have become part of a common tradition shared by all Australians, the ex-prisoners are granted just the horror. The public may be sympathetic; but the horror is for the prisoners alone. To make another comparison: in five months of fighting on the Kokoda Trail in 1942 the Australians lost 625 dead, less than the number who died on Ambon. Yet the events on Ambon are unknown to most Australians. There were no reporters or cameramen on Ambon and, for the 309 who defended Ambon's Laha airfield, no survivors. How many of them died in battle or died as prisoners will never be known. But there are more than just practical reasons why the record of the prisoners of war is so slight and uneven in the general knowledge of Australians. They have not tried to find out. No historian has written a book to cover the range of camps and experiences, and only in specialist medical publications has anyone investigated the impact of prison life on subsequent physical and mental health. The complexity of the experience and its impact on particular lives have not been expressed in a way to give them significance for other Australians.Index, bib, ill, maps, p.224.Within three months of the Japanese entering World War II on December 8, 1941 over 22 000 Australians had become prisoners-of-war. They went into camps in Timor, Ambon, New Britain, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Singapore and Malaya, and a few were scattered to other points in what was briefly part of the Japanese empire. Later most of the prisoners were to be shifted further north into South-east Asia, Formosa, Korea, Manchuria and Japan itself. They were captives within lands and cultures and to experiences alien to those known to all other Australians. At the end of the war in August 1945, 14315 servicemen and thirty service women were alive to put on new, loose-fitting uniforms and go home. One in three of the prisoners had died. That is, nearly half of the deaths suffered by Australians in the war in the Pacific were among men and women who had surrendered. Another 8174 Australians had been captured in the fighting in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: but of these men only 265 died as a result of wounds, disease or execution.By any quantitative measure the imprisonment of so many Australians is a major event in Australian history. For many soldiers it was living --and dying --in captivity which made World War II different from that of World War I. But the prisoners have received no permanent place in Australian history. Their story is not immediately recalled on celebratory occasions. In a general history of the nation in which a chapter is given to the war the prisoners might be mentioned in a sentence, or part of a sentence. Where the horror, stoicism and gallantry of Gallipoli have become part of a common tradition shared by all Australians, the ex-prisoners are granted just the horror. The public may be sympathetic; but the horror is for the prisoners alone. To make another comparison: in five months of fighting on the Kokoda Trail in 1942 the Australians lost 625 dead, less than the number who died on Ambon. Yet the events on Ambon are unknown to most Australians. There were no reporters or cameramen on Ambon and, for the 309 who defended Ambon's Laha airfield, no survivors. How many of them died in battle or died as prisoners will never be known. But there are more than just practical reasons why the record of the prisoners of war is so slight and uneven in the general knowledge of Australians. They have not tried to find out. No historian has written a book to cover the range of camps and experiences, and only in specialist medical publications has anyone investigated the impact of prison life on subsequent physical and mental health. The complexity of the experience and its impact on particular lives have not been expressed in a way to give them significance for other Australians.world war 1939 – 1945 - prisons and prisoners – japanese, world war 1939-1945 - personal narrativies - australia -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, University of Western Australia Press, Bitter victory : the death of H.M.A.S. Sydney, 2000
What did happen just off the Western Australian coast on 19 November, 1941? Certainly a tragedy: 600 men were killed when the HMAS Sydney was torpedoed by a German cruiser; but why? Olsen sets out to answer these questions, and in doing so, pulls apart the accepted theories about the causes of Australia's greatest maritime disaster. Title Bitter victory : the death of H.M.A.S. Sydney / Wesley Olson.Index, maps, ill, p.431.non-fictionWhat did happen just off the Western Australian coast on 19 November, 1941? Certainly a tragedy: 600 men were killed when the HMAS Sydney was torpedoed by a German cruiser; but why? Olsen sets out to answer these questions, and in doing so, pulls apart the accepted theories about the causes of Australia's greatest maritime disaster. Title Bitter victory : the death of H.M.A.S. Sydney / Wesley Olson.world war 1939-1945 - naval operations - australia, hmas sydney -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, Oxford University Press, ANZAC memories: Living with the legend, ????
What is taboo in any family or in any society is never fixed. And neither is that body of family information which everybody knows but no one talks about. Mental illness is one such subject, and it created a kind of fence around one central element of Thomson's work in the 1980s - his grandfather Hector's story. He has had the courage to take that fence down and use a range of sources to enter the no man's land of suffering and isolation which was a part of his grandfather's life, and perforce, that of his grandmother and the young child who became his father. When the first edition was in preparation, Alistair Thomson's father objected strenuously to any mention in the book of his father's (Alistair's grandfather's) mental illness; reluctantly Alistair agreed to leave out the subject. We can understand why the author's father, himself a soldier, felt so strongly. .Index, bib, ill, p.239.non-fictionWhat is taboo in any family or in any society is never fixed. And neither is that body of family information which everybody knows but no one talks about. Mental illness is one such subject, and it created a kind of fence around one central element of Thomson's work in the 1980s - his grandfather Hector's story. He has had the courage to take that fence down and use a range of sources to enter the no man's land of suffering and isolation which was a part of his grandfather's life, and perforce, that of his grandmother and the young child who became his father. When the first edition was in preparation, Alistair Thomson's father objected strenuously to any mention in the book of his father's (Alistair's grandfather's) mental illness; reluctantly Alistair agreed to leave out the subject. We can understand why the author's father, himself a soldier, felt so strongly. .world war 1939 – 1945 – personal narratives – australia, world war 1914-1918 - biography -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, Hinkler Books, Convoy, 2003
World War II novel about submarine hunters in the North Atlantic. The action follows lieutenant Ned Yorke of the British Navy, who is sent to investigate a rash of unexplained convoy sinkings. He must find out how German submarines are arriving undetected in the midst of the convoys and why a mysterious Swedish vessel is always present. Posing as a shipwrecked sailor, he manages to get aboard the Swedish ship.p.390.fictionWorld War II novel about submarine hunters in the North Atlantic. The action follows lieutenant Ned Yorke of the British Navy, who is sent to investigate a rash of unexplained convoy sinkings. He must find out how German submarines are arriving undetected in the midst of the convoys and why a mysterious Swedish vessel is always present. Posing as a shipwrecked sailor, he manages to get aboard the Swedish ship.world war 1939 - 1945 - fiction, naval operations - fictional -
Monbulk RSL Sub Branch
Book, Leon Bramson, War: Studies from psychology, sociology, anthropology, 1968
Part I: Studies from psychology Introduction Instinct theories and comparative psychology The moral equivalent of war / William James The instinct of pugnacity / William McDougall Emotion and society / D.O. Hebb & W.R. Thompson Psychoanalytic perspectives Why war? / Sigmund Freud Personal aggressiveness and war / E.F.M. Durbin & John Bowlby Toward a psychiatry of peoples / Harry Stack Sullivan Wholeness and totality / Erik H. Erikson Authoritarian personality and foreign policy / Daniel J. Levinson Social learning and intergroup relations War, peace, and social learning / Mark A. May Drives toward war / Edward C. Tolman The role of expectancy / Gordon W. Allport Part II: Studies from sociology and anthropology War / William Graham Sumner The social function of war / Robert E. Park An anthropological analysis of war / Bronislaw Malinowski Warfare is only an invention not a biological necessity / Margaret Mead Primitive warfare: a methodological note / Joseph Schneider Part III: War, liberal democracy, and industrial society The military and the industrial society / Herbert Spencer The garrison state / Harold D. Lasswell On war, society, and the military / Alexis de Tocqueville Military elites and the study of war / Morris Janowitz War and industrial society / Raymond Aron.Index, bib, p.438.non-fictionPart I: Studies from psychology Introduction Instinct theories and comparative psychology The moral equivalent of war / William James The instinct of pugnacity / William McDougall Emotion and society / D.O. Hebb & W.R. Thompson Psychoanalytic perspectives Why war? / Sigmund Freud Personal aggressiveness and war / E.F.M. Durbin & John Bowlby Toward a psychiatry of peoples / Harry Stack Sullivan Wholeness and totality / Erik H. Erikson Authoritarian personality and foreign policy / Daniel J. Levinson Social learning and intergroup relations War, peace, and social learning / Mark A. May Drives toward war / Edward C. Tolman The role of expectancy / Gordon W. Allport Part II: Studies from sociology and anthropology War / William Graham Sumner The social function of war / Robert E. Park An anthropological analysis of war / Bronislaw Malinowski Warfare is only an invention not a biological necessity / Margaret Mead Primitive warfare: a methodological note / Joseph Schneider Part III: War, liberal democracy, and industrial society The military and the industrial society / Herbert Spencer The garrison state / Harold D. Lasswell On war, society, and the military / Alexis de Tocqueville Military elites and the study of war / Morris Janowitz War and industrial society / Raymond Aron.armed conflict - history and teaching, conflict - history -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Book, Harrison, James P, The Endless War: Vietnam's Struggle for Independence, 1989
The Endless War is dispassionate, deeply informed, yet touches on a crucial subject in an authoritative manner. It explains, above all, why the Vietnam War was won by the Vietnamese rather than lost by the French or Americans; it gives us a necessary understanding of the roots of revolutionary nationalism.The Endless War is dispassionate, deeply informed, yet touches on a crucial subject in an authoritative manner. It explains, above all, why the Vietnam War was won by the Vietnamese rather than lost by the French or Americans; it gives us a necessary understanding of the roots of revolutionary nationalism.vietnam history - 20th century, north vietnamese -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Book, Browne, Margaret, Australia at War: Vietnam (Copy 1)
Australian involvement in the Vietnam War lasted from 1962 - 1972. Why did Australian troops participate in an Asian War?Australian involvement in the Vietnam War lasted from 1962 - 1972. Why did Australian troops participate in an Asian War?vietnam war, 1961-1975 - australia - juvenile literature -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Book, Browne, Margaret, Australia at War: Vietnam (Copy 2)
Australian involvement in the Vietnam War lasted from 1962 - 1972. Why did Australian troops participate in an Asian War?Australian involvement in the Vietnam War lasted from 1962 - 1972. Why did Australian troops participate in an Asian War?vietnam war, 1961-1975 - australia - juvenile literature -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Book, Burchett, Wilfred, Vietnam North
Gives a new view of why the war of national liberation has been working and American special warfare has not.Gives a new view of why the war of national liberation has been working and American special warfare has not.vietnam war, 1961-1975, vietnam - politics and government -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Book, Davidson, Leon, Red Haze: Australians & New Zealanders in Vietnam, 2006
The Vietnam War was like no other the Australias and New Sealanders had fought. There was no front line, no safe zone, no glory. In the jungles the Vietcong seemed to be everywhere and nowhere - and winning. To fond the Vietcong, a country was torn apart, In questioning why they were there, Australia and New Zealand almost tore themselves apart.The Vietnam War was like no other the Australias and New Sealanders had fought. There was no front line, no safe zone, no glory. In the jungles the Vietcong seemed to be everywhere and nowhere - and winning. To fond the Vietcong, a country was torn apart, In questioning why they were there, Australia and New Zealand almost tore themselves apart.vietnamese conflict, new zealand troops, australian troops, vietcong -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Book, Mailer, Norman, The Armies of the Night, 1968
An account of the anti-Vietnam demonstration held in Washington in October 1967 that is 'also about the nature of politics and power, about why the Americans should and should not be in Vietnam, it's about anxiety, middle age and marriage...about the art of writing...' it's about action, totalilarianism, voilence, fear, boredom and all the facets of contemporary American schizophrenia.An account of the anti-Vietnam demonstration held in Washington in October 1967 that is 'also about the nature of politics and power, about why the Americans should and should not be in Vietnam, it's about anxiety, middle age and marriage...about the art of writing...' it's about action, totalilarianism, voilence, fear, boredom and all the facets of contemporary American schizophrenia. 1961 - 1975 - united states, 1961 - 1975, personal narratives, american, vietnam war, 1961-1975 - demonstrations-united states -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Book, Gruner, Elliott, Prisoners of Culture: representing the Vietnam POW, 1993
A major contribution to our understanding of how and why U.S. POWs from the Vietnam War have become crucial icons of American culture in the 1980s and 1990s....Grunner effectively diagnoses and interpreters' a national psychopathology.A major contribution to our understanding of how and why U.S. POWs from the Vietnam War have become crucial icons of American culture in the 1980s and 1990s....Grunner effectively diagnoses and interpreters' a national psychopathology.vietnamese conflict, 1961-1975, in mass media - united states., prisoners of war in mass media - united states. -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Book, Amter, Joseph A, Vietnam Verdict: A Citizen's History
This book on Vietnam is unique. For the first time we are given the information on how and why we fought as we did, It will undoubtedly rank as one of the very best.This book on Vietnam is unique. For the first time we are given the information on how and why we fought as we did, It will undoubtedly rank as one of the very best.vietnamese conflict, 1961-1975 - united states, united states - history - 1961-1975 -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Book, MaAudio, CDougall, A.K, The Peace Keepers: Australia at War Since 1945
The Australia in History series explains why Australia went to war and the consequences of her involvements,The Australia in History series explains why Australia went to war and the consequences of her involvements, vietnam war, 1961-1975, australia - juvenile literature -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Book, Anderson, Ken AM, Soldiers are persons (Copy 1)
The war in Vietnam was cruel and costly in every sense, as indeed all wars are! However the nature of this was was not so markedly different from any other armed conflict in which Australian troops had been involved - certainly not to a degree that would justify the creation of a special purpose single interest museum, which is the case of the National Vietnam Veterans Museum - so why does this particular museum exist?The war in Vietnam was cruel and costly in every sense, as indeed all wars are! However the nature of this was was not so markedly different from any other armed conflict in which Australian troops had been involved - certainly not to a degree that would justify the creation of a special purpose single interest museum, which is the case of the National Vietnam Veterans Museum - so why does this particular museum exist? national vietnam veterans museum, vietnam war, 1961-1975 - veterans - australia -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Book, Anderson, Ken AM, Soldiers Are Persons (Copy 2)
The war in Vietnam was cruel and costly in every sense, as indeed all wars are! However the nature of this was was not so markedly different from any other armed conflict in which Australian troops had been involved - certainly not to a degree that would justify the creation of a special purpose single interest musuem, which is the case of the National Vietnam Veterans Museum - so why does this particular museum exist?The war in Vietnam was cruel and costly in every sense, as indeed all wars are! However the nature of this was was not so markedly different from any other armed conflict in which Australian troops had been involved - certainly not to a degree that would justify the creation of a special purpose single interest musuem, which is the case of the National Vietnam Veterans Museum - so why does this particular museum exist? national vietnam veterans museum, vietnam war, 1961-1975 - veterans - australia -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Book, Edelman, Bernard ed, Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam
Dear America is more than correspondence from homesick Gls. It is a collective letter to the nationand its governent, a plea that asks: Why did you do this to your children?Dear America is more than correspondence from homesick Gls. It is a collective letter to the nationand its governent, a plea that asks: Why did you do this to your children?vietnam war, 1961-1975 - personal narratives, american