Index, 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

Ill, maps, p.353.non-fictionCovers the period from the Treaty of Versailles to Churchill's appointment as Prime Minister in 1940world war 1939-1945 - history, europe - politics and government - 1918-1945

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, map, p.404.non-fictionBy March 1942, the Japanese had steamrolled through Malaya, laid siege to Singapore, and bombed Darwin with the same ferocity they had dealt Pearl Harbor. Nothing could stop them. Their next step was inevitable, surely: the invasion and occupation of Australia. Meanwhile, as Australian prime minister John Curtin was battling with Winston Churchill to get troops back from overseas to defend their homeland, he was also positioning to ensure the United States would be there with us to fend off the approaching enemy. And at home, people pitched in as best they could and in any way to frustrate the invader. They all played their part, torn between 'she'll be right' and near panic. On Our Doorstep is the story of how Australia and Australians - the government, the military and the people - prepared to face this calamity, and the events that persuaded them of its probability. In the end, Japan found it had stretched itself beyond the reliability of its supply line, but had it ever intended to invade Australia?world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – south west pacific, australia - politics and government - 1939-1945

index, bibliography, notes, p.241.non-fictionThis book has been hailed as the first attempt to link the defence and foreign policy aspects of earlier 20th century French history with the dynamics of the country's domestic policies.france - politics and government - 20th century, world war 1914-1918 - causes

Ill, p.313.non-fictionCollection of speeches by Winston Churchillbritain - politics and government, world war 1939-1945 - britain

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.497.non-fictionOn a wet afternoon in September 1938, Neville Chamberlain stepped off an aeroplane and announced that his visit to Hitler had averted the greatest crisis in recent memory. It was, he later assured the crowd in Downing Street, 'peace for our time'. Less than a year later, Germany invaded Poland and the Second World War began. This is a vital new history of the disastrous years of indecision, failed diplomacy and parliamentary infighting that enabled Nazi domination of Europe. Drawing on previously unseen sources, it sweeps from the advent of Hitler in 1933 to the beaches of Dunkirk, and presents an unforgettable portrait of the ministers, aristocrats and amateur diplomats whose actions and inaction had devastating consequences.great britain - politics and government - 1936-1945, great britain - diplomatic history

Index, notes, bibliography, ill, p.421.non-fictionMarking the fiftieth anniversary of Winston Churchill's death, Boris Johnson explores what makes up the 'Churchill Factor' - the singular brilliance of one of the most important leaders of the twentieth century. Taking on the myths and misconceptions along with the outsized reality, he portrays - with characteristic wit and passion-a man of multiple contradictions, contagious bravery, breath-taking eloquence, matchless strategizing, and deep humanity. Fearless on the battlefield, Churchill had to be ordered by the King to stay out of action on D-Day; he pioneered aerial bombing, yet hated the destruction of war and scorned politicians who had not experienced its horrors. He was a celebrated journalist, a great orator and won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was famous for his ability to combine wining and dining with many late nights of crucial wartime decision-making. His open-mindedness made him a pioneer in health care, education, and social welfare, though he remained incorrigibly politically incorrect. Most of all, as Boris Johnson says, 'Churchill is the resounding human rebuttal to all who think history is the story of vast and impersonal economic forces'. THE CHURCHILL FACTOR is a book to be enjoyed not only by anyone interested in history: it is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what makes a great leader.great britain - politics and government - 1936-1945, winston churchill - biography

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, p.361.non-fictionAfter 1933, as the brutal terror regime took hold, most of the two-thirds of Germans who had never voted for the Nazis - some 20 million people - tried to keep their heads down and protect their families. They moved to the country, or pretended to support the regime to avoid being denounced by neighbours, and tried to work out what was really happening in the Reich, surrounded as they were by Nazi propaganda and fake news. They lived in fear. Might they lose their jobs? Their homes? Their freedom? What would we have done in their place? Many ordinary Germans found the courage to resist, in the full knowledge that they could be sentenced to indefinite incarceration, torture or outright execution. Catrine Clay argues that it was a much greater number than was ever formally recorded: teachers, lawyers, factory and dock workers, housewives, shopkeepers, church members, trade unionists, army officers, aristocrats, Social Democrats, Socialists and Communists. germany - politics and government - 1933-1945, germany - anti nazi movements

Index, notes, ill, p.699.non-fictionMemoirs of the man who was appointed as the head architect and minister of armaments and war production for the Nazi government.germany - politics and government - 1933-1945, albert speer - autobiography

Index, notes, map, p.267.non-fictionThe classic account of Hitler's fall from power, first pubilshed in 1947, reissued with a striking new cover. In September 1945 the fate of Adolf Hitler was a complete mystery. He had simply disappeared, and had been missing for four months. Hugh Trevor-Roper, an intelligence officer, was given the task of solving the mystery. His brilliant piece of detective work not only proved finally that Hitler had killed himself in Berlin, but also produced one of the most fascinating history books ever written. The Last Days of Hitler tells the extraordinary story of those last days of the Thousand Year Reich in the Berlin Bunker. Besieged in the shattered capital, but still dominating the remains of his court, Hitler reiterated the original alternative of Nazism: either total victory or annihilation. This book is the record of that carefully prepared, ceremonious finale to a terrible chapter of history. World War II. Military History. Nazi Germany. germany - politics and government - 1933-1945, adolf hitler - death and burial

p.160.non-fictionA critical account of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982israel - politics and government, israel - invasion of lebanon

Bibliography, ill, maps, p.47.non-fictionA brief review of the background to the invasion of Iraq by the USA in 1991middle east - politics and government, operation desert shield

Ill, map, p.352.non-fictionJim Molan is the Australian General who served in Iraq with the Coalition during 2004-05. Initially, under General Ricardo Sanchez, he worked on infrastructure: trying to restore/maintain the provision of water, power and rail services. Under General George W. Casey, he became Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Operations with the Multi National Forces Iraq and ran the operations for all the US and Coalition forces assigned to the Iraqi area of operations. He had to interact with the new interim Iraqi government, bringing the political, diplomatic, information, economic and reconstruction sectors into line with the military side. In this book he describes his background and military career, but focuses on describing key aspects of his time in Iraq.australian army - iraq war - 2003, iraq war - personal narratives

Index,notes, p274.non-fictionhe presence of Osama bin Laden and his terrorist bases in Afghanistan has brought the Taliban into sharp focus as the most radical and extreme Islamist movement in the world today. Little is known about the Taliban because of the deep secrecy that surrounds the organization, its leaders and aims." "The Taliban has become a major player in the new 'Great Game' - harking back to the late-nineteenth-century British and Russian confrontation in the region - involving competition between Western oil companies, manipulation from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran, and covert operations by the CIA. Taliban sheds new light on a shadowy movement which poses a real threat to world peace.afghanistan - politics and government, afghanistan - islam and politics

Index, notes, ill, p.386.non-fictionThe Vietnam War, together with the selective form of national service which sent thousands of young conscripts to fight in Vietnam, dominated Australian politics for ten years." "A Nation At War tells the story of Australia during this tumultuous decade. It shows how the initial support for the Vietnam commitment was eroded until a majority of the population came to think that it was mistaken, if not immoral. The book traces the growth of the protest movement against the War and conscription, giving the most detailed account yet published of the three Moratorium protests in which tens of thousands of Australians demonstrated. A Nation At War discusses the decisions of the Menzies, Holt, Gorton, McMahon and Whitlam Governments, as they responded to these unprecedented protests while wrestling with diplomatic pressures emanating from powerful allies and strife-torn neighbours. The book also analyses the incidents which shaped the debate and which long remained in public memory - the alleged 'water torture' incident, the episodes involving conscientious objectors like Simon Townsend and William White, and many morevietnam war 1961-1975 – australian involvement, australia - foreign relations - 1961-1975

Ill, maps, p.154.non-fictionThe author analyses the background to the Vietnam conflict and discusses the present day Australian role from a military and political context.vietnam war 1961-1975 – australian involvement, australia - politics and government 1965-

Index, ill, p.644.non-fictionA political and social history of Australia during the war of 1939-45. This volume carries the story to December 1941, when Japan entered the waraustralia - politics and government 1939-1941, australia - social conditions - 1939-1941

Index, ill, p.644.non-fictionA study of the administrative and political management of the Australian war effort.australia - politics and government - 1942-1945, australia - politics and government - social conditions

Ill, notes, p.308.non-fictionThis book assesses what the Vietnam War meant - on the battlefield and in Australia. Includes the names of all those who served and images from both the homefront and the front lines.vietnam war 1961-1975, australia - politics and government - 1961-1975

Ill, maps, p.114.non-fictionA pictorial essay of Vietnam ten years after the conflictvietnam - pictorial works, vietnam - politics and government

Ill, maps. p.120.non-fictionVietnam War - Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War - Conscription - Protests against involvement in Vietnam Warvietnam war - 1961-1975, vietnam war - 1961-1975 - politics and government - australia

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.335.non-fictionn 1900, Germany was one of modernity's great success stories: The most progressive and dynamic nation in Europe, it was the only country whose rapid economic growth and innovation rivaled that of the United States. Its political culture was far less authoritarian than Russia's and less anti-Semitic than France's. Representative institutions thrived, and competing political parties and elections were a central part of life. How, then, could it be that in little more than a generation this stable modern country would fall into the hands of Adolf Hitler and the violent, racist, extremist political movement he led, a movement that would lead Germany and then all of Europe into utter moral, physical, and cultural ruin?" "There is no story in twentieth-century history more important to understand, and Richard Evans has written the definitive account for our time. A masterful synthesis of a vast body of scholarly work integrated with important new research and interpretations, Evans's history restores drama and contingency to the rise to power of Hitler and the Nazis, even as he shows how ready Germany was by the early 1930s for such a takeover to occur. Its citizens were angry and embittered by military defeat and economic ruin, and its young democracy undermined by a civil service, an army, and a law enforcement system deeply alienated from the new order. The electorate was beset by growing extremism and panic about communism; and the small but successful Jewish community was subject to wide-spread suspicion and resentment. In the end, though nothing about what happened was preordained, Germany proved to be fertile ground for Nazism's ideology of hatred.germany - politics and government 1933-1939, germany - nazi party

Index, bibliography, notes, p.263.non-fictionExamines British government policy during World War II, arguing that widely held beliefs about Britain's role in the events of 1940 are largely myth. great britain - politics and government - 1933-1945, great britain - foreign relations

Index, bib, ill, maps, p.264.non-fictionAn account of the power struggle over the defence of Australia between 1942 and 1945australia - politics and government - 1939-1945, australia - history - military

Ill, maps, p.159.non-fictionThe Nazi Party Nuremberg ralliesgermany - politics and government - 1933-1945, germany - nazi party

Ill, maps, p.159.non-fictionHitlers terror organisations - the SS and Gestapogermany - politics and government - 1933-1945, secret police - germany

Index, ill, maps, p.274.non-fictionGermany explains the diverse ways in which national identity has been constructed over more than three centuries. It focuses on the plurality of contested definitions of 'Germanness'. This is a fundamental reappraisal of Germany's history from a perspective available only now that the dust from the demolished Berlin Wall is settling in a reunited Germany.germany - history, germany - politics and government