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Due to the very old age and scarcity of this book, many of the pages may be hard to read due to the blurring of the original text. ... Read more

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Australians have been involved in more conflicts as peacekeepers than as belligerents. This is a part of our history which every Australian citizen, and every school child, should know.

Other People's Wars is the first book to tell the whole story of Australia's peacekeeping activities, from the four military observers Australia sent to Java in 1947 to our current deployment in the Solomons. Drawing on years of research in archives, visits to operations in the field, and interviews with peacekeepers, Peter Londey has written an account of our peacekeeping history which is at once both encyclopaedic and readable.

Every Australian peacekeeping operation is here, with incisive accounts of the causes of the conflict, the aims of the multinational intervention, the Australian contribution, and the story of what happened. The book treats United Nations and non-UN operations alike and as well as describing the role of the military, it gives full coverage to missions where Australia sent civilian police.

Other People's Wars highlights the diversity of Australia's peacekeepers: military observers tramping up mountains in Kashmir, or being shot at in Jerusalem; helicopters in the Sinai, RAN ships in the Persian Gulf; Army engineers in Namibia, doctors in Rwanda, signallers in Cambodia, infantry in Somalia and East Timor; civilian police in Cyprus and civilian peace monitors on Bougainville. ... Read more

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Fascinating Account of Australia's Peacekeeping Operations
For over sixty years, Australia has been a contributor to peacekeeping operations around the world. Dr.Peter Londey is a senior historian at the Australian War Memorial and his knowledge of peacekeeping operations is extensively portrayed as he presents a vivid account of Australia's contributions to peacekeeping.

The book commences with an overview of Australia's peacekeeping involvement and its initial embryo; our involvement in the British Commonwealth Occupational Force (BCOF) in Japan at the end of the Second World War. Since then, Australia has committed to a great number of peacekeeping operations around the world. Some have been small contributions, such as the two-member contingents to UNMEE; to larger multi-dimensional peacekeeping operations such as East Timor. In succeeding chapters, the author examines various major and minor operations to present day.

These various operational contributions have been the result of the commitment and sometimes reticience of various Australian governments and their policies; which have seen a resurgence in contributions in recent times, such as Iraq and Afghanistan. The author examines these issues and what inspired the rationale behind the various reductions and increases to various operations.

A well researched and written book, the book is a very useful reference for students of peacekeeping operations, international relations and security studies. Well done, Dr. Londey! ... Read more

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This book traces the environment movement in Australia from the first visionaries who pressed for preservation of native fauna and for sanitation in cities to a mass social movement that challenges the most powerful interests in society. It covers the major environmental issues that have been at the forefront of Australian politics since the 1960s. ... Read more

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Thought Provoking Reading
While in essence a history of a movement, covering over 200 years, this books brings the past to life, inciting the reader to search for deeper meaning, and seek out reasoning which may have previously been overlooked.

Another excellent feature is the colleciton of photos - I only wishthere were more.

A fantastic read, for anyone interested in theenvironment movement, and in particular the politics and the people behindit.A book no university student in related fields should overlook. ... Read more

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This book presents a kaleidoscope of personal experience from Australian servicemen and women from the Army, Navy and Air Force who saw active service in the second Indo-China War. "Vietnam Fragments" is a collection of the impressions, reactions, feelings and fears of those who went to this tragic theatre of war, revealing how these soldiers, sailors and airmen felt about and remembered their tours of duty. The author has conducted extensive interviews with over 100 veterans and their families to portray the many and varied experiences Australian veterans endured in Vietnam. Because of the breadth of views expressed, "Vietnam Fragments" should offer a balanced picture of the war; the book's contributors do not set out to judge or condemn but simply to present their stories. This book should appeal to those who want to know what went on in the daily lives of those who served in helicopters, hospitals, artillery batteries and armoured units in Vietnam. ... Read more

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This is an account of Australia's elite regular special forces soldiers. It describes the formation of the SAS, its first (hitherto secret) task in Borneo during confrontation with Indonesia, and its successful operations in Vietnam between 1965 and 1971. The book reveals how, post-Vietnam, the SAS formed a crack counter-terrorist force while continuing to maintain its traditional skills of silent insertion deep behind enemy lines, surveillance, reconnaisance and raiding. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

SAS Regiment
This is an excellent book dealing with one of the world's most exceptional Special Forces. It would be great to see this book updated and revised to include recent operations in Somalia, Rwanda, and especially in East Timor in 1999 and Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002, especially with the possibility of involvement in a future Iraq war.

Apologies for quoting, but as Troy A. Lettieri's said about this book in his SAS Listmania topic:"This title is a complete history of this outstanding unit. It is truly a unit not to be reckoned with. I found the section covering their Vietnam involvement quite interesting."

Agripping and fascinating view of the SASR!
A thoroughly fascinating insight into the SASR. Expertly researched and documented, the book tells us how it really was in these conflicts and what the diggers went through for their country. A telling book for theseordinary aussies with extraordinary skills...

Brilliant Aussie SAS book
This is a very good read for anyone interested in special operations in Borneo or Vietnam especially SAS interested people and again especially Australians. It covers all actions in the Vietnam War and it also covers the conflict in Borneo. There is also some history about the SAS and its future ... Read more

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In this fascinating account, leading Australian military historians tackle 10 of the most enduring historical zombies, or national myths, that have staggered their way through the halls of military history for more than 200 years. From Aboriginal resistance and invasion to Australia’s recent involvement in East Timor, this record disproves the incorrectly memorialized and so-called gallant deeds of past Australian servicemen. Provocative and opinionated, this record attempts to correct the historical record.  

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The mounted soldier is one of the most evocative symbols in Australian military history. Now a celebrated part of Australia's army heritage, the role and very existence of mounted troops in modern warfare was being called into question at the time of its most crowning military moments. Light horse regiments, particularly those that served in South Africa, Palestine and the trenches of Gallipoli, played a vital role in Australia's early military campaigns. Based on extensive research from both Australia and Britain, this book is a comprehensive history of the Australian Light Horse in war and peace. Historian Jean Bou examines the place of the light horse in Australia's military history throughout its existence, from its antecedents in the middle of the nineteenth century, until the last regiment was disbanded in 1944. ... Read more

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'War has been one of the defining forces in Australian history ...Participation in war, whether actively in the armed forces or on the home front, or in opposition to a particular war, has shaped the lives of successive generations of Australians in the twentieth century. Today ...questions relating to defence do not usually seize the attention of the media, but the Department of Defence remains one of the largest single consumers of the annual federal budget, and Anzac Day continues to hold a special place in the Australian calendar.' These words introduced the first edition of The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History in 1995. More than a decade later much has changed. Australian forces are currently employed in widely dispersed operations around the world, in particular in Iraq, Afghanistan, Timor Leste and the Solomon Islands, and questions of defence, broadly understood, have once again become a matter of public debate and controversy. This substantial new edition of the Companion builds on the strength of the first edition.Many of the original entries have been retained, some with minor emendations or additions, while others have been rewritten in the light of recent scholarship.There are also many new entries on topics that were omitted from the first edition, either because they did not seem to warrant inclusion or simply because they were overlooked, while others have assumed a new significance in the light of developments since 1995. In all cases the editors have sought to retain the original aim of combining information, some of it technical, with analysis, and to do so in a manner that will make the Companion accessible and useful both to the general reader and to the specialist. ... Read more

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

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Australian Dreaming is the first Aboriginal history of the Australian continent and its people, as told by Aboriginal storytellers. It recounts epic travels of the Great Spirit Ancestors and tells how they created the animals and plants and gave birth to the earliest people of this land. ... Read more

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australian dreaming
This book is a beautiful comprehensive story of the way of the Aboriginies. The illustrations are simply magic.

Customer Review
Book delivery was delayed, however Amazon apologised and kept me informed along the way on how the delivery was progressing.The book is wonderful and full of information.Colourful and informative.

australian dreaming
an excellent book that integrates the art, culture and ethos of the indigenous cultures of australia with the relevant dreamtime stories, illustrations and photographs.

Great book!
The title is incorrectly credited to Wandjuk Marika who wrote the foreword. The book is actually a Jennifer Isaacs title. Jennifer Isaacs is perhaps my favorite author on Australian tribal culture. This book is a must-readfor anyone with an interest in this ancient culture. The text reads easily and the photographs are beautiful and large, as is typical with Jennifer Isaacs' books. I'm amazed that her books are not more readily available. ... Read more

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Australia is one of the world's great sources of mineral treasure. The finding and development of minerals, oil and natural gas have influenced Australian racial attitudes, unionism, religious life, law and politics. Out of the ground and the sea has come wealth to create a host of industries. Geoffrey Blainey's masterly history has rightly been acclaimed as the authoritative account and the fourth edition contains new chapters bringing the story up to the early 1990s. ... Read more

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Interesting analysis of human history
This book details the history of Australian Mining, but don't be put off by the seemingly dry subject-it is anything but dry. Stories are told of the romantic gold rushes, the lucky, the unlucky, the schemes, plots, the deceptions, the clouded histories, the despair of the many, and the fortune of the few. For students of both human nature and history it has interesting insights, such as how plain luck plays a significant part in human events, and how apparently small innocuous irrelevancies can lead to profound outcomes.

An interesting example is that of the Mount Morgan Mine in Queensland. Black boulders, which cattle shied from, formed a low hill in the ranges. There was a gold rush a few miles away, but nobody thought to test the black hill, as the rocks were all wrong. Farmers sold the useless land the cattle didn't like. A lazy miner was sacked from his job, his wife pleaded for his re-employment, in return for the locale of a "silver mine" in the hills. A few savvy mine managers wandered into a black innocuous hill. They chipped away, took out leases over the whole hill (a wise move), kept it very quiet (another wise move). When samples were broken, there was more gold than black earth-it was assumed it wasn't gold but something else. They began to mine quietly away until a local newspaper noticed there was a phenomenal amount of gold leaving a nearby town. The word was out. Mount Morgan -the "freak lode" as described by geologists at the time-became one of the richest and mightiest gold mines on earth. It defied virtually everything known about gold mines at the time. Geologists were perplexed, but as long as shares repaid 413,000% of their value, the owners didn't care. The copper that got "in the way" of gold processing eventually amounted to about 250,000t of copper. It was mined for around 100 years, and money that came from the mine was used to find oil in the Middle East, which eventually formed the company BP. Mine owners declared in World War 1, that Mount Morgan money was used to fight the Germans. In the 1950s over half of Great Britain's revenue came from oil discoveries that were originally financed by one small black hill in the outback of Australia.

The world's largest resource of lead and zinc-the Broken Hill Lode-is another case in point. For some years in the 1800s a large, jagged hill of black boulders more than a mile long and 500 feet wide was ignored by local prospectors at the nearby silver rushes at Silverton. A surveyor's fence was put across it. A trig station crowned the summit. Samples were chipped which came back high in uninteresting lead, but little else. It wasn't near any main thoroughfares. The owner of the land wasn't interested in prospectors. It was too big to be a lode. A good lode was said to be five feet wide, Broken Hill was over 500 feet wide. The rocks were wrong. So numerous hopefuls mined the molehills, whilst the mountain was ignored.

When people finally got around to examining it, a few speculators bought and sold shares, making a few bucks, as the hill guarded its riches. Finally, when a shaft was sunk on the wrong rock type-white kaolin-bonanza silver assays came back and the hill was born. The first 48 tons produced about 36,000oz of silver, which in the 1880s, was a lot of dough. The ensuing stock market mania and mining development transformed Australian history. Over $AUS 70 billion has been taken from the hill to the 1990s.

There are many other similar tales, twists and turns- the vagaries and tides of history. Curiously and well written, it is recommended for those interested in history, particularly Australian, or those simply interested in curious human anecdotes of life. ... Read more

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One of the best books on history of indigenous Australians
This book covers the strife the indigenous Australians went through since 1788 in different states and territories: in NSW, Tasmania, Victoria, Northern Territories, Western Australia and Queensland. While the book shows many disheartening stories of extreme racism, it also revealed many good people who raised their opposing voices against such atrocities.

Yes, it is tragic how there were so many atrocities committed against our first Australians. It was simply a genocide, analogous to the Holocaust. However, time has changed in the last 20 years. There is hope that the future will be bright for our indigenous Australians. ... Read more

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The Australian bush holds many secrets, and one of its biggest is 
about to be revealed...It's one of Australia's greatest mysteries. For decades there has been talk of big cats roaming the Australian bush. These large cats - predominantly black - have only afforded their witnesses fleeting glimpses, and left behind tantalising clues: scraps of fur, a paw print or three, unusually large scats, and livestock carcasses surgically dismembered and picked clean of flesh.In their wake, they leave carnage and bewilderment: What are they? How did they get here? We don't just ask the questions, we seek the answers, and what we have found will intrigue the sceptic and the believer alike.Big cat sightings have been occurring with greater frequency across the country in the past 20 years, leading to speculation there may be a breeding colony of large cats in Australia.Australia isn't the only antipodean country touched by the black cat mystery. Our book also dedicates a chapter to the profusion of sightings and speculation in neighbouring New Zealand, documenting reports right up until 2009 and sharing for the first time highlights from the unpublished manuscript of New Zealand's first big cat hunter.Flesh-and-blood or flight of fancy? Exotic pest, mutant feral or 'extinct' marsupial lion? Join us as we explore one of Australia's greatest mysteries. ... Read more

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Australian big cats
For what i have read so far i find the book very interesting mainly because i have had a simular experiance 2 years ago in Queensland at 5.30 am in the morning....Australian Big Cats: An Unnatural History of Panthers

Australian Big Cats
I would highly recommend this book to anyone that believes or doesn't believe in the Australian Big Cat, the authors have obviously done an amazing amount of research and investigating, the book is a great read and will get those non believers changing their minds!

Great read and the most detailed and encompassing work on the subject to date
Since the late 19th century Australia tehre have been myths and sightings of large predatopry cat like creatures in the Australian bush.A wealth of interpretations has emerged in folklore as to their origins and identity ranging from Circus escapees, to US military mascots to deliberate imports from hunting societies and wealthy people with a passion for exotic pets.This book is so far the most detailed study of the evidence, the stories and the theories about the phenomenon of big cat sightings and predations.It is also a very entertaining and illuminationg read.Its a great effort.

Australian Big Cats is a great title
I have found this title to be a wonderful read, the authors have researched their topic very well and it shows! Would recommend to anyone interested in the Big Cat phenomena who wants an informative read. ... Read more

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The Australian bustard is Australia’s heaviest flying bird. It is an icon of the Australian outback where it is more commonly known as the bush or plains turkey. It is also culturally and spiritually significant to Aboriginal people, who prize it as a favorite bush tucker.

This book provides the first complete overview of the biology of the Australian bustard. Based on the first major study of the species, the author explores the bustard’s ecology and behavior, its drastic decline since European settlement, and the conservation issues affecting it and its environment. Color photographs of juvenile and adult birds complement the text as well as showcase particular behaviors, such as the spectacular display routines of males when mating, which are unique among Australian birds. Australian Bustard is the perfect book for natural history enthusiasts.

Key features
• A complete overview of the ecology and behavior of the bustard and its historical and contemporary significance to Aboriginal and outback communities
• Great color photographs and sketches of the species behavior including the spectacular display of males at leks
• Details of the first satellite tracking study of the species, and one of the most detailed satellite tracking studies of any Australian terrestrial bird to date ... Read more

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This comprehensive survey uniquely covers both Aboriginal art and that of European Australians, providing a revealing examination of the interaction between the two. Painting, bark art, photography, rock art, sculpture, and the decorative arts are all fully explored to present the rich texture of Australian art traditions.

Well-known artists such as Margaret Preston, Rover Thomas, and Sidney Nolan are all discussed, as are the natural history illustrators, Aboriginal draughtsmen, and pastellists, whose work is only now being brought to light by new research. Taking the European colonization of the continent in 1788 as his starting point, Sayers highlights important issues concerning colonial art and women artists in this fascinating new story of Australian art. ... Read more

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The definitive history of Australian feminism. ... Read more