Craig Stockings (ed.)

This book was purported to be letters from a commander in the Boer war. There was a lot of background information (which was appreciated as I really know very little about this time) but Edward Hutton made no pretense in that he was writing to provide a record of the war from his POV, there was a lot that was very dry. I got more of a sense of his personality from the background information (personally I don't think I'd have liked him if we met).

At an estimate I'd say about 60% of the text is made of of his letters (which were edited by him and then a selection donated to the British Library by his wife.

I just think of when I was younger reading biographies of WWI solders and I recall being a lot more engaged. I suspect that I'm not the right audience for this (if anyone want to know troop movements, number of men injured or killed go here)… (mehr)

I have now read both books in the "series", the other being Zombie Myths of Australian Military History. I found most of the chapters excellent, with very worthwhile arguments. I even thought Craig Stockings Epilogue was good. However I did not like either of the last Chapters, both by very senior Academics. I found both to be provocative for the sake of it, while the other chapters were not. Maybe the topics are to blame, 'Critical reflections on the Australia-US Alliance' and 'Is war the most important thing in Australian history'. I was not convinced by either chapter, unlike the others which I found to be both interesting and informative. I would recommend this book to those interested in the broad outlines of Australian military history or for those interested in reading on one of the specific topics covered within the book.… (mehr)

An interesting if not exciting book, I like the idea of the book but it isn't a light read and maybe it shouldn't be. It is a collaboration in which each of the 10 chapters was written by an Academic in that field of Australian military history. I think the Authors did a fine job in writing their individual chapters but I found the Epilogue muddied the waters it was supposed to clear, which I found a disappointment in an other wise fine book, I'm also not a fan of the title, I believe it cheapens both the book and the contents.… (mehr)