Items related to Vietnam: The Australian War
Synopsis
Seen as the last 'hot' frontline of the Cold War, the ten-year struggle in the rice paddies and jungles of South Vietnam unleashed the most devastating firepower on the Vietnamese nation and visited terrible harm on civilians and soldiers. Yet the Australian forces applied tactics that were very different from those of the Americans. Guided by their commanders' experience of jungle combat, Australian troops operated with stealth, deception and restraint in pursuing a 'better war'. Drawing on hundreds of accounts by soldiers, politicians, aid workers, entertainers and the Vietnamese people, Paul Ham reconstructs for the first time the full history of our longest military campaign. From the commitment to engage, through the fight over conscription and the rise of the anti-war movement, to the tactics and horror of the battlefield, Ham exhumes the truth about this politicians' war - which sealed the fate of 50,000 Australian servicemen and women. More than 500 soldiers were killed and thousands wounded. Those who made it home returned to a hostile and ignorant country and a reception that scarred them forever. This is their story.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
PAUL HAM is a historian specialising in 20th century conflict, war and politics. Born and raised in Sydney, Paul has spent his working life in London, Sydney and Paris. His books have been published to critical acclaim in Australia, Britain and the United States, and include: 'Passchendaele: Requiem for Doomed Youth', a new history of one of the worst conflicts on the Western Front (Penguin Random House 2016); 'Hiroshima Nagasaki', a controversial history of the atomic bombings (HarperCollins Australia 2010, Penguin Random House UK 2011, & Pan Macmillan USA 2014-15); '1914: The Year The World Ended' (Penguin Random House 2013); 'Sandakan' (Penguin Random House 2011); 'Vietnam: The Australian War' and 'Kokoda' (both published by HarperCollins, 2007 and 2004). Paul has co-written two ABC documentaries based on his work: 'Kokoda' (2010), a 2-part series on the defeat of the Japanese army in Papua in 1942 (shortlisted for the New York Documentary prize); and 'All the Way' (2012), about Australia's difficult alliance with America during the Vietnam War, which he also narrated and presented (it won the UN's Media Peace prize). Paul is the founding director of Hampress, an independent ebook publisher, and a regular contributor to Kindle Single, Amazon's new 'short book' publishing platform, for which he has written '1913: The Eve of War' and 'Young Hitler', co-written 'Honey, We Forgot the Kids', and published several titles by other authors. Hampress welcomes your ideas! A former Australia correspondent for The Sunday Times (1998-2012), Paul has a Masters degree in Economic History from London School of Economics. He lives in Sydney and Paris, and takes time off now and then to organise the Big Fat Poetry Pig-Out, an annual poetry recital, for charity.
From AudioFile
Get ready for an audiobook about the Vietnam War, seen through Australian eyes. The Communist threat loomed ominously to Australia, and Chinese support for the war impelled the Australians to take action at the beginning. Starting with a detailed history of Vietnam as an independent country, then a Chinese colony, and then a French colony gives an excellent background for those new to the subject. Like the author, narrator Peter Byrne speaks the English accent from "down under." Reading with short pauses for quoted material, he avoids theatrical characterizations as there would be too many to add any usefulness to the presentation. With no loss to his impact, he sticks to the detached view used by the author. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherBolinda Audio
- Publication date2012
- ISBN 10 1743141521
- ISBN 13 9781743141526
- BindingMP3 CD
- LanguageEnglish
- Rating
(No Available Copies)
Search Books: Create a WantCan't find the book you're looking for? We'll keep searching for you. If one of our booksellers adds it to AbeBooks, we'll let you know!
Create a Want
