Page 112 - Australian Defence Magazine Feb-Mar 2023

112 BOOKS OF INTEREST
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
COMPILED BY PETER MASTERS | BRISBANE
MILITARYBOOKSAUSTRALIA.COM
THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE FIVE EYES
BY RICHARD KERBAJ Published by Blink; Dist.
by Allen & Unwin
RRP $32.99 in paperback ISBN 9781789465556
Richard Kerbaj has used his journalism experience to undertake extensive interviews for this book, including with former Australian prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Julia
Gillard. He reports a particularly unguarded comment from Turnbull on then UK High Commissioner Alexander Downer, describing
DARWIN SPITFIRES
THE REAL BATTLE FOR AUSTRALIA ANNIVERSARY EDITION
BY ANTHONY COOPER
Published by New South
RRP $34.99 in paperback ISBN 9781742237787
This book, first published in 2011, emerged from the author’s boyhood obsession with the Spitfire and his realisation little had been written about the defence of northern Australia by the RAAF’s No 1 Fighter Wing, which consisted of a small band of inexperienced Australian
and British fighter pilots up
him as ‘blundering into the American Embassy in London blurting out political gossip
of the most intense political sensitivity ...’ in his reporting of
a meeting, months earlier, with Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos. Asked why he had not been sacked, Turnbull gave the predictable answer, citing their friendship and Downer’s seniority in the Liberal Party. It should, said Turnbull, have been dealt with through the discreet intelligence channels in both countries. Five Eyes is, in essence, the Western world’s most powerful intelligence alliance made up of the US, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Although it is not the ‘untold story’ the marketing blurb claims, the insights in this book are interesting including
the Holy Grail sought by current intelligence analysts: understanding Vladimir Putin’s motives would be, according to former UK diplomat, Kim Darroch, ‘gold dust’.
against a formidably skilled opponent. He also wanted to tell the real story rather than succumb to the temptation to perpetuate the ‘optimistic gloss provided by Australia’s wartime propagandists’ which claimed seventy Japanese aircraft
had been downed versus the true figure of twenty-eight. What follows is a thorough, analytical study of the 1943 campaign, which was blighted by equipment failure, the
poor state of the aircraft and poor tactics. Despite these difficulties, the skilled pilots
did their best in the difficult circumstances. Interestingly, only three pilots were decorated as a result of the campaign, suggesting that the higher command was underwhelmed by their achievements. This is an excellent book for readers interested in understanding the complexities of the air war and the pilots who helped defend Australia.
AUSTRALIA’S
SECRET ARMY
BY MICHAEL VEITCH
Published by Hachette Australia RRP $34.99 in paperback
ISBN 9780733648472
Ambitions for the earliest version of Coastwatchers were modest, beginning life as a collection of European planters, missionaries and patrol officers living in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. All volunteers, they were tasked with keeping an eye on Australia’s northern border and providing early warnings via radio. It was meant
WAR IN THE PACIFIC
VOL 2: FORMIDABLE FOE 1942-43 BY PETER HARMSEN
Published by Big Sky Publishing RRP $32.99 in paperback
ISBN 9781922615350
Author Peter Harmsen’s latest book, War in the Pacific: Formidable Foe – 1942-1943, takes up where his first book in this series, War in the Pacific: Storm approaching 1931-1941 (ADM May 2022) left off. He begins with the shock that reverberated through Allied forces at the loss of the two British ships,
to be a passive role. When World War II came to the Pacific, however, the Coastwatchers became more than just observers. They became spies operating behind enemy lines. Besides evading the enemy’s desperate efforts to hunt them down, the Coastwatchers battled exhaustion, tropical disease and malnutrition, as well as the ever-present spectre of capture and death. Yet without the Coastwatchers’ courage and intelligence gathering,
key moments of the Pacific
War may have turned out very differently. This is their story, a largely unknown story of unsung heroes who risked their lives
in the service of their country, having participated in one of history’s most successful spy rings. Michael Veitch strips away the anonymity of these brave volunteers to reveal the personal stories of a handful of Coastwatchers whose legacy should never be forgotten.
HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse in December 1941. What follows is an insight into the astonishing transformation that took place from 1942 to 1943
to set the Allies on a path
to victory against Japan.
The central importance of China is highlighted in a way that no previous general history of the war against Japan has done. Attitudes
to the Chinese Government were a point of difference between Churchill and American president Franklin Roosevelt, who expected
the Chinese to become one of the predominant allies in the effort to defeat Japan. Extensively researched, including Japanese sources, this book will inevitably garner significant praise for the way in which the author has taken a complex story and distilled it into a digestible and highly readable narrative.