Download or read book The Path of Infinite Sorrow written by Craig Collie and published by Allen & Unwin. This book was released on 2012-03-01 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'We were all skin and bone, as if our stomachs were stuck to the inside wall of our back.' Two armies, Japanese and Australian, each in turn pushing the other back along a muddy, precipitous track over the mountainous spine of New Guinea. Few prisoners were taken, most were shot. War conventions were routinely flouted, by both sides. Troops were reduced to a primal level, such were the inhuman conditions in which battles were waged. This was the Kokoda campaign of 1942. The Australian experience of Kokoda has been told often and told well. The Japanese, however, remain the shadowy enemy lurking in the dense undergrowth, better known for atrocities than their participation in battle. The Path of Infinite Sorrow tells for the first time the story of the campaign from the Japanese point of view. Based on personal accounts and the recollections of six Japanese soldiers, captured diaries and the unit diaries of the Australian forces, this powerful re-examination of Kokoda brings a new perspective to one of the most brutal conflicts in Australian war history. Craig Collie has been a television producer for over 35 years. Hajime Marutani is a translator-interpreter and was a researcher for the Australian War Memorial's Australia-Japan Research Project. They met when working on the production team of Beyond Kokoda, the award-winning documentary series screened on The History Channel in Australia. Craig and Hajime live with their families in Sydney and Tokyo respectively.
Download or read book The Path of Infinite Sorrow written by Craig Collie and published by Allen & Unwin. This book was released on 2012 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'We were all skin and bone, as if our stomachs were stuck to the inside wall of our back.' Two armies, Japanese and Australian, each in turn pushing the other back along a muddy, precipitous track over the mountainous spine of New Guinea. Few prisoners were taken, most were shot. War conventions were routinely flouted, by both sides.
Download or read book Gona s Gone written by David W. Cameron and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2023-08-02 with total page 515 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the Australian troops crossing of the Kumusi River in mid-November 1942, after pushing the Japanese back along the Kokoda Track to the north coast of Papua New Guinea, the time had come to face the entrenched Japanese at their beachheads at Gona, Sanananda and Buna. The Japanese were determined to fight to the last man in the defence of these critical positions. The first beach to be captured by the Australians was Gona, which fell on 9 December after bitter fighting. This, however, was not the end of the fighting around this beachhead as just west of Gona, on the opposite side of Gona Creek a larger Japanese Force had been landed which was intent on not only reinforcing Gona, but also Sanananda and Buna, both located east of Gona. The fighting west of Gona Creek would be just a brutal and deadly as the fighting to take the Gona Beachhead. Even so, after this fighting Australian and American troops, operating together for the first time in the Pacific War, were still bogged down in the battles to take Sanananda and Buna, the fighting at these beachheads would continue into January 1943.
Download or read book Kokoda written by Karl James and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-03-27 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Courage. Endurance. Mateship. Sacrifice. These values, engraved in stone at the Isurava war memorial, have become synonymous with the Australian experience during the Kokoda campaign of 1942. The story of Kokoda and of the fighting in Papua has been told and retold in books, films and documentaries, but these popular narratives rarely explore beyond this one campaign. Kokoda: Beyond the Legend critically assesses not only the campaigns in Papua and their context in the wider lengthy Pacific war, but also the actions of senior Australian, American and Japanese military leaders. Moving beyond the legend, this book addresses the central question of why Kokoda holds such a significant place in Australian military history. In this book, Karl James brings together eminent military scholars to reassess the principal battles from both Allied and Japanese perspectives, providing readers with a more complete understanding of one of the major turning points in the Second World War.
Download or read book Essays Second series Third edition written by Theophilus PARSONS (the Younger.) and published by . This book was released on 1866 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Kokoda Campaign 1942 written by Peter Williams and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-04-23 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fighting on the Kokoda Track in World War II is second only to Gallipoli in the Australian national consciousness. The Kokoda campaign of 1942 has taken on mythical status in Australian military history. According to the legend, Australian soldiers were vastly outnumbered by the Japanese, who suffered great losses in battle and as a result of the harsh conditions of the Kokoda Track. In this important book, Peter Williams seeks to dispel the Kokoda myth. Using extensive research and Japanese sources, he explains what really happened on the Kokoda Track in 1942. Unlike most other books written from an Australian perspective, The Kokoda Campaign 1942: Myth and reality focuses on the strategies, tactics and battle plans of the Japanese and shows that the Australians were in fact rarely outnumbered. For the first time, this book combines narrative with careful analysis to present an undistorted picture of the events of the campaign. It is a must-read for anyone who is interested in the truth of the Kokoda campaign of 1942.
Download or read book The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows written by John Koenig and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-11-16 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “It’s undeniably thrilling to find words for our strangest feelings…Koenig casts light into lonely corners of human experience…An enchanting book. “ —The Washington Post A truly original book in every sense of the word, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows poetically defines emotions that we all feel but don’t have the words to express—until now. Have you ever wondered about the lives of each person you pass on the street, realizing that everyone is the main character in their own story, each living a life as vivid and complex as your own? That feeling has a name: “sonder.” Or maybe you’ve watched a thunderstorm roll in and felt a primal hunger for disaster, hoping it would shake up your life. That’s called “lachesism.” Or you were looking through old photos and felt a pang of nostalgia for a time you’ve never actually experienced. That’s “anemoia.” If you’ve never heard of these terms before, that’s because they didn’t exist until John Koenig set out to fill the gaps in our language of emotion. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows “creates beautiful new words that we need but do not yet have,” says John Green, bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars. By turns poignant, relatable, and mind-bending, the definitions include whimsical etymologies drawn from languages around the world, interspersed with otherworldly collages and lyrical essays that explore forgotten corners of the human condition—from “astrophe,” the longing to explore beyond the planet Earth, to “zenosyne,” the sense that time keeps getting faster. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is for anyone who enjoys a shift in perspective, pondering the ineffable feelings that make up our lives. With a gorgeous package and beautiful illustrations throughout, this is the perfect gift for creatives, word nerds, and human beings everywhere.
Download or read book Journey to Infinite Mindfulness written by Satya Narayana Sarma Rupenaguntla and published by Panchawati Spiritual Foundation. This book was released on 2020-03-01 with total page 135 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world has witnessed many seers and saints till now. Among them all, Lord Buddha stands tall with his unique meditation method. He found it out with his search. He stated it to be the right method to overcome sorrow and taught it to his disciples in very clear terms. Since then, thousands of seekers walked in this path and reached enlightenment. Buddha’s method is intended to overcome sorrow here and now. Tripitakas abound in Buddha’s teachings on this meditation technique and method. ‘Maha Smruti Prasthana Sutra’ is best among them all because, in this Sutra, Lord Buddha explained the practical method of his meditation step by step. We can find these teachings in the ‘Mahavarga’ section of ‘Dirgha Nikaya’ book of the Tripitakas.
Download or read book Essays Second series written by Theophilus PARSONS (the Younger.) and published by . This book was released on 1856 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Essays written by Theophilus Parsons and published by . This book was released on 1856 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Australia 1942 written by Peter Dean and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the way in which Australia confronted the challenge of the shadow of war in 1942.
Download or read book Islands of Destiny written by John Prados and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-10-02 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Battle of Midway is traditionally held as the point when Allied forces gained advantage over the Japanese. In Islands of Destiny, acclaimed historian and military intelligence expert John Prados points out that the Japanese forces quickly regained strength after Midway and continued their assault undaunted. Taking this surprising fact as the start of his inquiry, he began to investigate how and when the Pacific tide turned in the Allies’ favor. Using archives of WWII intelligence reports from both sides, Prados offers up a compelling reassessment of the true turning in the Pacific: not Midway, but the fight for the Solomon Islands. Combat in the Solomons saw a series of surface naval battles, including one of the key battleship-versus-battleship actions of the war; two major carrier actions; daily air duels, including the aerial ambush in which perished the famous Japanese naval commander Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku; and many other hair-raising exploits. Commencing with the Allied invasion of Guadalcanal, Prados shows how and why the Allies beat Japan on the sea, in the air, and in the jungles.
Download or read book Where the Flaming Hell Are We written by Craig Collie and published by Allen & Unwin. This book was released on 2023-08-01 with total page 454 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The gripping story of Australia and New Zealand in the fight for Greece and Crete - through the eyes of the soldiers. 'We used our knees and our rifle butts and our blades. For a while we stopped being ordinary blokes and became blood-lusted creatures.' March, 1941: 40,000 Australian and New Zealand troops are rushed to Greece in a desperate attempt to stop the Wehrmacht overrunning the country. Most of them overseas for the first time in their lives, they seek excitement and adventure. What they get are experiences they could never have imagined. The operation is doomed to fail, but not before the Aussies and Kiwis succeed in holding up the German advance and evacuating thousands, mainly to Crete, where Hitler next sets his sights. As the Nazis assault the island, they deploy a devastating new weapon of invasion—paratroopers—for the very first time, meeting desperate resistance as the Allies fight for their lives. Craig Collie, bestselling author of The Path of Infinite Sorrow and Nagasaki, delves into the experiences of the soldiers who fought in the mountains and villages of Greece, and faced entrapment and death on Crete. We all know of Gallipoli and the Fall of Singapore, but Greece and Crete are also major events in our countries' shared history, and as with those two great military disasters, British leadership has much to answer for. Through first-hand accounts, Where the Flaming Hell Are We? brings to life the gripping story of the fight for Greece and Crete in World War II. The soldiers' experiences, many told here for the very first time, are a testament to the human spirit and the unbreakable bonds formed in war. 'Wonderfully woven, this is the fight for the Aegean in World War II come to life. A great read.' Peter FitzSimons, author of Kokoda 'Master storyteller Craig Collie recounts an untold history of a little remembered series of desperate actions in the Mediterranean spring of 1941. The well-researched narrative lives; populated with typical Anzac men and women, a story I'm sorry I didn't think to write myself.' Will Davies, author of Beneath Hill 60 'vividly created . . . Using first-hand testimonies, this is dramatic popular history.' Sydney Morning Herald '. . . brings to life two major events during Australia's involvement in World War II.' Canberra Times 'Using a range of firsthand accounts, Collie tells an engaging story of the battles and the aftermath of evacuation, and capture for some.' Canberra Weekly
Download or read book Kokoda Legend written by David Howell and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2024-06-05 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the finest soldiers and most courageous leaders I have ever known. – Lt Doug McClean, D Coy, 39th Battalion If you have trekked Kokoda, then the campsite of Templeton's Crossing will be familiar. Discover the story of the man behind the name. Captain Sam Templeton was the first Australian Officer to be captured by the Japanese in the Kokoda Campaign. After being interrogated by his captors he was executed on the battlefield. Templeton had predicted his fate, telling a platoon commander, if ‘he went into action, he wouldn’t come back’. Having resigned himself to his destiny, Templeton misled his captors on the numerical strength of the Australian forces waiting in Kokoda and Port Moresby. Did Templeton’s misinformation slow the initial push by the Yokoyama Advance Force into the Owen Stanley Range, allowing the Australian Imperial Force to join the fight earlier? Did Templeton create doubt in the mind of the commander of the South Seas Force, influencing an operational change for the attack on Port Moresby? A quiet and often aloof character, Templeton’s name and actions became synonymous with Kokoda. Originally from Belfast, Templeton is reputed to have helped quash the Irish rebellion, served in submarines with the Royal Navy during the First World War and to have fought with the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. Kokoda Legend goes beyond the myth to discover the real contribution Captain Sam Templeton made to stopping the Japanese advance over the Owen Stanley Range in 1942.
Download or read book Fire and Fortitude written by John C. McManus and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-08-04 with total page 642 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WINNER OF THE GILDER LEHRMAN PRIZE FOR MILITARY HISTORY An engrossing, epic history of the US Army in the Pacific War, from the acclaimed author of The Dead and Those About to Die “This eloquent and powerful narrative is military history written the way it should be.”—James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian "Out here, mention is seldom seen of the achievements of the Army ground troops," wrote one officer in the fall of 1943, "whereas the Marines are blown up to the skies." Even today, the Marines are celebrated as the victors of the Pacific, a reflection of a well-deserved reputation for valor. Yet the majority of fighting and dying in the war against Japan was done not by Marines but by unsung Army soldiers. John C. McManus, one of our most highly acclaimed historians of World War II, takes readers from Pearl Harbor—a rude awakening for a military woefully unprepared for war—to Makin, a sliver of coral reef where the Army was tested against the increasingly desperate Japanese. In between were nearly two years of punishing combat as the Army transformed, at times unsteadily, from an undertrained garrison force into an unstoppable juggernaut, and America evolved from an inward-looking nation into a global superpower. At the pinnacle of this richly told story are the generals: Douglas MacArthur, a military autocrat driven by his dysfunctional lust for fame and power; Robert Eichelberger, perhaps the greatest commander in the theater yet consigned to obscurity by MacArthur's jealousy; "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell, a prickly soldier miscast in a diplomat's role; and Walter Krueger, a German-born officer who came to lead the largest American ground force in the Pacific. Enriching the narrative are the voices of men otherwise lost to history: the uncelebrated Army grunts who endured stifling temperatures, apocalyptic tropical storms, rampant malaria and other diseases, as well as a fanatical enemy bent on total destruction. This is an essential, ambitious book, the first of three volumes, a compellingly written and boldly revisionist account of a war that reshaped the American military and the globe and continues to resonate today. INCLUDES MAPS AND PHOTOS
Download or read book The Devil Boats written by C.J. Skamarakas and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-03-01 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PT boats loom large in the popular imagination of World War II. In March 1942, a PT boat evacuated Gen. Douglas MacArthur, his family, and top staff from the Philippines, which inspired the war movie They Were Expendable, directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. John F. Kennedy became a war hero while commanding PT-109, which collided with a Japanese destroyer and was sunk in August 1943. But the story of PT boats has never been told in the depth and detail that their exemplary service deserves. Naval historian C. J. Skamarakas uses one Pacific PT boat squadron to tell the story of PT boats in action in World War II. Eighty feet long, PT boats were designed to launch torpedoes against enemy ships five and ten times their own size. But defects in the torpedoes and the boats’ speed and maneuverability ultimately shifted the boats’ mission to patrolling and breaking up Japanese shipping and reinforcements. In the waters of the Southwest Pacific as part of MacArthur’s offensives in New Guinea and the Philippines, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 25 completed these missions and also executed other operations for which they weren’t specifically trained, including inserting commandos behind enemy lines, air-sea rescue, raids on enemy positions, reconnaissance of potential sites for amphibious landings, coordination of air strikes in support of ground forces, meetings with guerrilla leaders, recovery of prisoners of war, diversionary activities, and psychological operations. Today we would call many of their missions “special ops.” The Japanese called PT boats “mosquitoes” and “devil boats.” The Devil Boats recounts the unique contributions of one motor torpedo boat squadron and through it tells the story of PT boats in the Pacific War. With drama and excitement, as well as careful attention to detail, the book fills a void in the history of the U.S. Navy in World War II.
Download or read book The Reporter and the Warlords written by Craig Collie and published by Allen & Unwin. This book was released on 2013-10-01 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Set against a background of the birth of modern China, this is the true story of Australian journalist, Bill Donald, and his role in those turbulent events in the first half of the 20th century. With no agenda other than an unshakeable belief in China's potential, Donald was drawn into the republican revolution as it swept aside the last imperial dynasty, becoming advisor to a succession of idiosyncratic political figures: Sun Yat-sen, a Manchurian warlord and the Chiang Kai-sheks. In his relentless pursuit of China's destiny, he tracked down Russia's Baltic Fleet, cured the warlord of his opium addiction and confronted the kidnappers of the nation's leader. A born raconteur, charming, generous and blunt to the point of rudeness, Donald lived in China for most of his adult life. Yet, he remained steadfastly the down-to-earth Australian from a New South Wales mining town, pretending not to speak Chinese, refusing to use chopsticks and shunning Chinese food. Surprising, compelling and richly told, The Reporter and the Warlords introduces an extraordinary Australian character and brings to life the turmoil behind events still unfolding in the new superpower that is China.
