On Contested Shores: The Evolving Role of Amphibious Operations in the History of Warfare   Eds: Timothy Heck and BA Friedman Marine Corps University Press, Quantico 2020,  ISBN 9781732003149, 452pp Reviewed by: Lieutenant Colonel Mark Tutton On Contested Shores provides a timely analysis of a broad range of historical amphibious operations and future amphibious concepts. The book is heavily contextualised through a United States Marine Corps (USMC) lens, but is nevertheless highly relevant to the …

Warfare and Culture in World History   Eds: Wayne E Lee New York: New York University Press, 2020, ISBN 1479800007, 364pp Review by: Mr John Mackenzie In the second edition of this work Wayne Lee has updated and expanded the range of essays that he offers as examples of applying ‘culture’ as a tool to analyse the conduct of warfare. Lee’s analysis of military history through a focus on culture has challenges that I assess he, and the essayists, do not always successfully address. Despite this, I commend …

Anatomy of a Soldier   Written by: Harry Parker Alfred A Knopf, 2016, ISBN 9781101946633, 310pp   Reviewed by: Dr Jordan Beavis Situated within a growing body of creative literature on the coalition wars of the 21st century, Anatomy of a Soldier is a novel that follows the story of British Army Captain Tom Barnes (also referred to as BA5799). A platoon commander operating out of a forward operating base in Afghanistan during the insurgency, Barnes is grievously injured in an IED strike, leading to the …

Vietnam Vanguard: The 5 th Battalion’s Approach to Counter-Insurgency, 1966   Edited by: Ron Boxall and Robert O’Neill Australian National University Press, 2020, ISBN 9781760463328, 430pp Reviewed by: Major Andrew Maher Vietnam Vanguard is an important work in the documentation of experience, lessons and perspectives from Australia’s experience in the Vietnam War. The book uses a collection of personal narratives, woven together by the editors to provide insight into life in an infantry battalion on …

A Research Agenda for Military Geographies   Edited by: Rachel Woodward Elgar, 2019, ISBN 9781786438867, 215pp Reviewed by: Major Cate Carter Military geography uses tools and techniques of the discipline of geography to solve military problems. In essence, it studies military operations through a geographic lens. As the editor of this volume, herself a leader in military geography, tells us, ‘military geographies invite study at scales from the global and international, through the national and regional, …

No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us   Written by: Rachel Louise Snyder Scribe, Melbourne, 2020, ISBN 9781925849820, viii+307pp Reviewed by: Chaplain Darren Cronshaw In the face of the reality and suffering of family and domestic violence (FDV), over the last decade Defence has increased support and referral services for those affected, and developed focused training for all members. As a chaplain, I am eager to understand the complex dynamics that trigger or allow FDV …

On Obedience: Contrasting Philosophies for the Military, Citizenry and Community   Written by: Pauline Shanks Kaurin Naval Institute Press, 2020, ISBN 9781682474914, 274pp. Reviewed by: Chaplain Nikki Coleman, PhD One of the central values of the military is that soldiers, sailors, airmen and women will obey all legal orders. Without obedience, it is argued, there will be chaos on the battlefield, and the good order and discipline of the military will be eroded to the point where it can no longer function. …

This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War against Reality   Written by: Peter Pomerantsev Faber, 2019, ISBN: 9780571338634, 300pp Reviewed by: Major Lee Hayward This is Not Propaganda is by no means an easy read. This is not because it is not well written but because Pomerantsev takes the reader on a difficult and confronting journey through a subject that has not really established itself in the Western consciousness. The subject is information warfare, and how effectively authoritarian figures are …

  Crumps and Camouflets: Australian Tunnelling Companies on the Western Front ,  Written by: Damien Finlayson,  Big Sky Publishing, Newport, 2010, ISBN 9780980658255, 480 pp   Reviewed by: Michael Molkentin In Australia during the two decades following the Great War, publication of ‘unit’ or ‘regimental’ histories was prolific. Typically written by battalion associations or ex-unit members possessing a literary flair, the genre was encouraged by funding from the Australian National Defence League and the …

  Anzac Fury: The Bloody Battle of Crete 1941 , Written by: Peter Thompson,  William Heinemann, Sydney, 2010, ISBN 9781741669206, 506 pp   Reviewed by: Eleanor Hancock, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales@ADFA The battle of Crete remains contested in historical studies of the Second World War. Was the German decision to wrest the island off the Allies a mistake? Was the German victory a pyrrhic victory as many have claimed? Did mistakes by the Allied defenders lose the …