The Fragile Forts: The Fixed Defences of Sydney Harbour 1788–1963   Written by Peter Oppenheim, Australian Military History Publications, Loftus, New South Wales, 2005, 326pp.   Reviewed by: Colonel Terry McCullagh, CSC, President, Royal Australian Artillery Association (ACT) The Fragile Forts is a joint publishing venture between the Australian Army History Unit and Australian Military History Publications and makes a valuable contribution to the rich history of the Sydney Harbour’s fixed defences. The …

Two Perspectives on a Trouble Future Empire Lite: Nation-Building in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan   Written by: Michael Ignatieff, Vintage Random House, London, 2003, ISBN: 9780099455431, 134pp.   Another Century of War?   Written by: Gabriel Kolko, The New Press, New York, 2002,  ISBN: 9781565847583, 165pp.   Reviewed by: Russell Parkin, Senior Research Fellow at the Land Warfare Studies Centre and co-editor of the AAJ In his essay An Agenda for the 21st Century (1987), the leading Mexican writer Carlos …

Inventing Anzac: The Digger and National Mythology   Written by: Graham Seal, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane, 2004, ISBN: 9780702234477, 232pp. Reviewed by: Captain Lachlan Mead, Headquarters 1 Brigade, Robertson Barracks In 1975 Paul Fussell opened what might be described as a new front in military studies with the publication of The Great War and Modern Memory . The book turned away from approaching World War I as a collection of grand campaigns directed by great generals, or as a clash of …

Kokoda Commander   Written by: Stuart Braga, Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN: 9780195516388, 374 pp. Reviewed by: John Donovan Since at least the 1930s, the friction between regular and citizen soldiers has remained an enduring element in the historiography of the Australian Army. This book sheds much light on that friction, while rehabilitating the reputation of Major General Arthur ‘Tubby’ Allen, one of Australia’s more notable citizen soldiers. It is a valuable addition to the work sponsored by the …

To Villers-Bretonneux with Brigadier-General William Glasgow, DSO and the 13th Australian Infantry Brigade   Written by: Peter Edgar, Australian Military History Publications, NSW, 20061 ISBN: 9781876439460, 284pp. Reviewed by: Lieutenant Colonel Miles Farmer, OAM (Retd) Readers interested in the study of the battles on the Western Front in World War I will be familiar with the battle of Villers-Bretonneux on 25 April 1918—said by many to have been the turning point of the war. Be that as it may, it …

Thunder from the Silent Zone: Rethinking China   Written by: Paul Monk, Scribe Publications, Melbourne, 2005, ISBN: 9781920769376, 309 pp, notes, index. Reviewed by: Anthony Robinson Too often strategic analysts and the business community focus on the ‘inevitable’ rise of China as an economic superpower, casting away any sensible analysis of a very complex nation with a rich and varied history. Simply by extrapolating linear trends it is possible to come up with a number of outcomes, most of which bear …

Strategic Command: General Sir John Wilton and Australia’s Asian Wars   Written by: David Horner, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 2005 ISBN: 9780195552829, 400 pp. Reviewed by: Colonel John Blaxland Professor David Horner is a prolific writer and pre-eminent historian on Australian defence matters, having written a plethora of works that have significantly contributed to the store of corporate knowledge on the Army and the wider Defence organisation. Much of what he has written concerns higher-level …

On Shaggy Ridge   Written by: Phillip Bradley, Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN: 9780195551006, 240 pp. Reviewed by: John Donovan It is possible to argue that this book need not have been written, for the events covered have been fully described in the official history. However, one must admit that World War II official histories do not adorn many bookcases these days, and it seems probable that the copies in libraries spend very little time in the hands of borrowers. This book, then, joins others in …

The Cambridge History of Warfare       Edited by: Geoffrey Parker, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2005, ISBN: 9780521618953, 432pp.   Reviewed by: Anthony Robinson, FDI Associate, Canberra With every major conflict, there is a temporary period when titles that focus on war and conflict move from the back of the bookstore to the front. Many of these works, while valuable by themselves, often look at one conflict and sometimes one battle without considering the evolution of warfare. Placing individual …

Strategy and History: Essays on Theory and Practice   Written by: Colin S. Gray, Routledge, London, 2006, ISBN: 9780415386357, 234pp.   Reviewed By: Lieutenant Colonel Gav Reynolds, Senior Military Fellow, Land Warfare Studies Centre With twenty books and three hundred articles to his credit, Colin Gray’s name has become synonymous with the analysis of strategy. It must surely have been a daunting task to select eleven essays from his existing collection and use an unpublished twelfth to summarise his …