Book Reviews
These reviews represent the personal opinion of the reviewer and do not reflect the official position of the Royal United Services Institute of Victoria Inc. They are presented to allow readers to evaluate readings on defence, both past and current.
Click on the book cover to get to the Book Review.
An Interesting Point
A History of Military Aviation at Point Cook
Steve Campbell-Wright
Newport NSW, Big Sky Publishing 2019
Hardcover 252pp RRP $29.99
Reviewer: Mike O’Brien, February 2020
Chastise
The Dambusters Story 1943
Max Hastings
Harper Collins 2019
Hardcover 464pp RRP $59.99
Reviewer: Brian Surtees, February 2020
How to Defend Australia
Hugh White
Black Inc Books October 2019
Paperback 336pp RRP $34.99
Reviewer: Michael Hili, February 2020
Implacable Foes
The War in the Pacific 1944 - 1945
Waldo Heinrichs and Marc Galliccho
Oxford University Press UK, 2019
Paperback 728pp RRP $43.95
Reviewer: Roger Buxton, February 2020
Meeting Saddam’s Men
Looking for Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction
Ashton Robertson
Sydney, Big Sky Publishing, 2019
Paperback 288pp RRP $34.99
Reviewer: Ian George, January 2020
Project Rainfall
The Secret History of Pine Gap
Tom Gilling
Allen & Unwin 2019
Paperback 320pp RRP $32.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, January 2020
Scorched Earth
Peacekeeping in Timor during
a campaign of death and destruction
Tammy Pemper
Big Sky Publishing 2019
Paperback 320pp RRP $29.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, December 2019
South Pacific Air War
Volumes 1 to 3
Michael Claringbould & Peter Ingman
Kent Town, South Australia, Avonmore Books
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, March 2020
The Big Book of Australia’s War Stories
A collection of stories of Australia’s iconic battles,
heroes and campaigns from the Boer War to Vietnam
Jim Haynes
Allen & Unwin 2019
Softback 600pp RRP $32.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, December 2019
The Four Flash Points
How Asia Goes to War
Brendan Taylor
Black Inc Books 2018
Paperback 256pp RRP $29.99
Reviewer: Bruce Brown, February 2020
The Great War
Aftermath and Commemoration
Carolyn Holbrook & Kier Reeves
Sydney, UNSW Press 2019
Paperback 304pp RRP $39.99
Reviewer: Mike O’Brien, January 2020
The Long Search for Peace
Observer Missions and Beyond, 1947–2006
[The Official History of Australian Peacekeeping,
Humanitarian and Post-Cold War Operations Vol 1]
Peter Londey, Rhys Crawley and David Horner
Cambridge University Press 2019
Hardcover 926pp RRP $179.00
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, February 2020
The Sisters of Auschwitz
The true story of two Jewish sisters’ resistance
in the heart of Nazi territory
Roxane van Iperen
Hachette, 2019
Paperback 310pp RRP $32.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, January 2020
Vietnam: Our Stories
Kevin Childs and Ken Foster
Melbourne, Wilkinson Publishing, 2019
Paperback 240pp RRP $39.99
Reviewer: Mike O’Brien, February 2020
World War Noir
Sydney's unpatriotic war
Michael Duffy, Nick Hordern
NewSouth Publishing 2019
Paperback 336pp RRP $34.99
Reviewer: Mike O’Brien, January 2020
After the War
Returned soldiers and the mental
and physical scars of World War I
Leigh Straw
University of Western Australia Publishing 2017
Paperback 229pp RRP: $39.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, October 2019
A Game of Birds and Wolves
The Secret Game that Won the War
Simon Parkin
Hachette, 2019
Paperback 320pp RRP $32.99
Reviewer: Bob Hart, November 2019
Anzac & Aviator
The remarkable story of Sir Ross Smith
and the 1919 England to Australia Air Race
Michael Molkentin
Allen and Unwin October 2019
Paperback 424pp RRP $32.99
Reviewer: Robert Dixon, October 2019
Answering the Call
Life of a Helicopter pilot in Vietnam and beyond
Bob Grandin
Big Sky Publishing 2019
Paperback 263pp RRP $29.99
Reviewer: Mike O’Brien, September 2019
Battle on 42nd Street
War in Crete and the Anzac’s bloody last stand
Peter Monteath
NewSouth Publishing 2019
Paperback 272pp RRP $34.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, October 2019
Aussie Soldier:
Up Close and Personal
Denny Neave, Craig Smith
Big Sky Publishing 2008
Paperback 314pp RRP $34.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, November 2019
Convict Colony
The remarkable story of the fledgling settlement
that survived against the odds
David Hill
Allen and Unwin October 2019
Paperback 368pp RRP $32.99
Reviewer: Robert Dixon, November 2019
Buckley’s Chance
The incredible true story of William Buckley
and how he conquered a new world
Garry Linnell
Penguin Books October 2019
Paperback 368pp RRP $34.99
Reviewer: Robert Dixon, November 2019
The Catastrophe of 8 August 1918
Thilo von Bose
Big Sky Publishing 2019
Hardback 456pp RRP $34.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, November 2019
Fatal Mission
The Life and Death of the crew of
Naughty Nan 467 Sqn RAAF
Mal Elliott
Big Sky Publishing, 2019
Paperback 224pp RRP $29.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, October 2019
The Last Cruise of a German Raider
The Destruction of SMS Emden
Ben Olsen
Seaforth Publishing, Barnesly UK 2018
Hardback 289pp RRP $45.75
Reviewer: Kevan Sanderson, November 2019
The Diggers of Colditz
The classic Australian POW story
about escape from the impossible
Jack Champ and Colin Burgess
Simon & Shuster, Sydney 2019
Paperback 307pp RRP $35.00
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, October 2019
A History of the Australian Military
From the First Fleet to the Modern Day
Jonathan J Moore
New Holland Publishers 2018
Paperback 256pp RRP: $32.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, August 2019
The Nameless Names
Recovering the Missing ANZACs
Scott Bennett
Scribe Publications 2018
Hardback 384pp RRP $49.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, September 2019
Military Virtues
Practical guidance for service personnel at every career stage
Michael Skerker, David Whetham and Don Carrick (Eds)
Howgate Publishing, UK 2019
Paperback 382pp RRP $53.10
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, September 2019
ANZAC Sniper
Roland Perry
Harper Collins 2018
Paperback 400pp RRP $32.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, August 2019
Mission Improbable
The Transformation of the British Army Reserve
Patrick Bury
Howgate Publishing Limited, UK 2019
Paperback 226 pp RRP $81.25
Reviewer: Jim Barry, September 2019
Our Great Hearted Men:
The Australian Corps and the 100 Days
Peter Brune
Harper Collins, Sydney 2019
Hardback 464pp RRP $49.99
Reviewer: Mike O’Brien, September 2019
RAAF Black Cats
The Secret History of the covert Catalina mine-laying
operations to cripple Japan's war machine
Robert Cleworth and John Suter Linton
Allen & Unwin 2019
Paperback 288pp RRP $32.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, August 2019
Painting War
A History of Australia’s First World War Art Scheme
Australian Army History Series
Margaret Hutchinson
Cambridge University Press 2018
Hardback 284pp RRP $59.95
Reviewer: Robert Dixon, July 2019
The Australian War Memorial
A Century on from the Vision
Steven Gower
Wakefield Press 2019
Hardback 440pp RRP $59.95
Reviewer: Michael O’Brien, August 2019
The Empire has an Answer
The Empire Air Training Scheme
as reported in the Australian Press 1939-1945
Tony James Brady
Big Sky Publishing 2019
Paperback 340pp RRP $34.99
Reviewer: Mike O’Brien, September 2019
The Hindenberg Line 1918
Australian Army History Series
Adam Rankin
Big Sky Publishing 2019
Paperback 180pp RRP: $19.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, August 2019
The Last Battle
Endgame on the Western Front, 1918
Peter Hart
Profile Books, UK 2018
Hardback 420pp RRP: $49.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, September 2019
The Music Maker
One POW provided hope for thousands
Jaci Byrne
Big Sky Publishing 2019
Hardback 239pp RRP $34.99
Reviewer: Mike O’Brien, August 2019
The Mighty Krait
The little boat that pulled off
Australia’s most daring commando raid of WWII
Ian McPhedran
Harper Collins 2018
Paperback 244pp RRP $35.00
Reviewer: Roger Buxton, September 2019
The US Lobby and Australian Defence Policy
Vince Scappatura
Monash University Publishing 2019
Paperback 156pp RRP $39.95
Reviewer: Bruce Brown, September 2019
The Soldiers’ Peace
Demobilizing the British Army 1919
Michael Senior
Pen & Sword Military, UK 2018
Hardback 192pp RRP $44.85
Reviewer: Mike O’Brien, September 2019
Vietnam
An Epic Tragedy 1945-1975
Max Hastings
Harper Collins 2018
Paperback 752pp RRP $34.99
Reviewer: Michael Hili, August 2019
Turning Point
The Battle for Milne Bay 1942 –
Japan's first land defeat in World War II
Michael Veitch
Hachette 2019
Paperback 336pp RRP $32.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, August 2019
The First World War
The Universities and the Professions in Australia 1914-1939
Kate Darian-Smith & James Waghorne (Eds)
Melbourne University Press Academic 2019
Paperback 277pp RRP $49.99
Reviewer: Robert Dixon, July 2019
The Man Inside
The Bloodiest Outbreak
Graham Apthorpe
Big Sky Publishing 2019
Paperback 296pp RRP $29.99
Reviewer: Mike O’Brien, September 2019
Beyond Combat
Australian Military Activity away from the Battlefields
Tristan Moss and Tom Richardson (Eds)
NewSouth Publishing 2018
Paperback 256pp RRP: $39.99
Reviewer: Kevan Sanderson, April 2019
Duty Nobly Done
An extraordinary account of 11 family members in the Great War
Adam Holloway
Big Sky Publishing 2019
Paperback 528pp RRP $34.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, May 2018
The Civilisation of Port Phillip
Settler ideology, violence, and rhetorical possession
Thomas James Rogers
Melbourne University Press Academic 2018
Paperback 254pp RRP: $44.99
Reviewer: Roger Buxton, April 2019
The Limits of Peacekeeping
Australian Missions in Africa and the Americas, 1992–2005
[The Official History of Australian Peacekeeping - Vol 4]
Jean Bou, Bob Breen et al (Eds)
Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne Vic 2018
Hardback 743pp RRP: $179.00
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, May 2019
Unconquered: Our Wounded Warriors
Denny Neave et al (Eds)
Big Sky Publishing 2019
Hardback 264pp $69.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, May 2019
Ypres
Great Battles Series
Mark Connelly and Stefan Goebel
Oxford University Press, Oxford UK 2018
Hardback 288pp RRP: $56.99
Reviewer: Robert Dixon, April 2019
Australia’s Vietnam
Myth vs History
Mark Dapin
NewSouth Books 2019
Paperback 272pp RRP $32.99
Reviewer: Mike O’Brien, June 2019
Beat PTSD
How a Combat Soldier Conquered Chronic PTSD to Live a Life that Truly Matters,
and How You Can Too
Kevin Lloyd-Thomas
Global Publishing Group, 2018
Paperback 240pp RRP: $29.95
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, June 2019
Hell of a Time
An Australian Soldier’s Diary of the Great War
Philip Owen Ayton (Elvala Ayton, Ed)
Text Publishing Company 2018
Paperback 287pp RRP $49.99
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, July 2019
Intelligence and the Function of Government
Daniel Baldino and Rhys Crowley (Eds)
Melbourne University Press Academic 2018
Paperback 295pp RRP $49.99
Reviewer: Tim Cook, June 2019
No Less Worthy
Acknowledging Western Australian Aboriginal Men in World War
Second Edition
Aboriginal History WA
Western Australia Museum 2019
Paperback 156pp RRP $35.00
Reviewer: Neville Taylor, July 2019
Playing Soldier:
The books and toys that prepared children for war, 1871-1918
Richard Cheek
The Groller Club, New York 2018
Hardcover 471pp RRP $86.88
Reviewer: Mike O’Brien, June 2019