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Underdogs: The Making of the Modern Marine Corps   Written by: Aaron B. O’Connell, Harvard University Press, 2012, ISBN 9780674058279, 400pp   Reviewed by: Tristan Moss The United States (US) Marine Corps occupies an exalted place in American society, as the vast array of popular films, books and television series attests. As the fighting arm of the ‘light on the hill’, the Marine Corps promotes US values as much as the Marine himself embodies them. Such is the power of the Corps that it is easy to assume …

The Passion of Bradley Manning: The Story Behind the Wikileaks Whistleblower   Written by: Chase Madar Verso, London & New York, 2012, ISBN 9781781680698, 188pp   Reviewed by: Steven L. Jones The Passion of Bradley Manning was always going to be a polemic book. While Manning’s release of confidential information to Wikileaks is taken as fact, opinion is divided as to the moral nature of his actions. For his detractors, he is a dangerous traitor of the highest order and deserving summary execution for …

The Changi Camera: A Unique Record of Changi and the Thai-Burma Railway   Written by: Tim Bowden, Hachette Australia, Sydney, 2012, ISBN 9780733629624, 242pp   Reviewed by: Dr Janda Gooding, Head of Photographs, Film, Sound and Multimedia, Australian War Memorial The Changi Camera is the second book by Tim Bowden that utilises the recollections of George Aspinall who became an Australian prisoner of war (POW) when Singapore was taken by the Japanese in February 1942. The first book was originally published …

Climate Change and Displacement Reader   Written by: Scott Leckie, Ezekiel Simperingham and Jordan Bakker (eds), Earthscan (Routledge), 2012, ISBN 9780415691345, 512pp   Reviewed by: Chris Baker Climate change continues to simmer as an issue for security analysts the world over. Of deep concern to many is the idea that hundreds of millions — according to some assessments — of climate change refugees may be on the move in coming decades due to climate disasters. This understandably creates a sense of angst …

Timor Timur is a memoir by Lieutenant General Kiki Syahnakri (retd) who was plucked from relative obscurity to restore a degree of order in East Timor and hand responsibility to the International Force East Timor (INTERFET) which arrived in September 1999. 1 In total Kiki spent 11 years (one third of his military career) in Timor, commencing as a platoon commander in a territorial battalion and then as commander of a small regional military command (KORAMIL Atapupu) on the West Timor border with East Timor …

The Valley’s Edge: A Year with the Pashtuns in the Heartland of the Taliban   Written by: Daniel R. Green, Potomac Books, 2012, ISBN 9781597976947, 288pp   Reviewed by: Timothy Moore Modern Western militaries arguably need political capability — not to ensure internal ideological purity, but to identify, analyse and engage the politics of an operational area and secure peace. A successful war degrades foreign government, and the burden of stabilisation and restoration often falls on occupying forces. …

Every Nation For Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World   Written by: Ian Bremmer, Portfolio Penguin, 2012, ISBN 9780670921058, 217pp   Reviewed by: Ben Moles In Every Nation For Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World Ian Bremmer, President and founder of the political risk research and consultancy firm Eurasia Group, offers an insightful overview and useful guide for the general reader and armchair enthusiast of international affairs as to what he perceives as the fundamental challenge to the …

The Australian Army from Whitlam to Howard   Written by: John Blaxland, Cambridge University Press, 2013, ISBN 9781107043657, 434pp   Reviewed by: Bob Lowry As the title neatly encapsulates, the Army is an instrument of politics and this book concerns the use of the Australian Army during the period embraced by these two political leaders. As Blaxland clearly articulates, armies do not exist in isolation; they are a microcosm of their own societies and operate within their own and other societies in …

Indian Foreign and Security Policy in South Asia: Regional Power Strategies   Written by: Sandra Destradi, Routledge, 2012, ISBN 9780415721240, 200pp   Reviewed by: Ash Khan India is mentioned in foreign policy circles almost exclusively in three contexts: as an emerging great power, as Pakistan’s perennial enemy, and as China’s long-term challenger. This makes Sandra Destradi’s book, Indian Foreign and Security Policy in South Asia: Regional Power Strategies , a rare book that seeks to illuminate India’s …

Uncommon Soldier: The Story of the Making of Today’s Diggers   Written by: Chris Masters, Allen & Unwin, 2012, ISBN 9781741759716, 400pp   Reviewed by: Iain Henry, Australian National University Australia’s military involvement in Afghanistan now represents the longest conflict in our nation’s history, yet the tactical and operational details of that involvement are often denied to the public. In May 2013, Defence allowed operational commanders to brief the media on a series of engagements that took place …