This book covers the campaign in the the Ramu Valley and Finisterre Range between the Allies and the Japanese in 1943-44. 'Finisterre' is French for the 'end of the earth' and that pretty much describes the remoteness and seeming inaccessability of the mountains and valleys in which the battles took place. I initially had some trouble falling into step with the rythym of the authors writing, as it was straight into battle without a lot of context, which was only drawn out as the narrative advanced.

Essentially the book is the story of the campaign at section, platoon and company level based upon the first hand recollections of the Australian participants, however the author has also included first hand Japanese accounts where available, which are most interesting. From the Australian perspective, the effectiveness of the Japanese mountain guns and snipers in defence is prominent. Of interest also is the close air support provided by RAAF Boomerangs and US 5th Airforce P39's, P40's and B25's.

As an Australian military history book for the general market, the book is a little jingoistic in places, but otherwise a readable account.

Copy purchased by the Reviewer from the Avenue Bookstore Elsternwick $A35.

Postscript: Given the book relies greatly upon first hand accounts, and at the date of publication the passage of time has laid these veterans to rest, it appears that a lot of the material for the book was gathered during the research for, and included in, the authors volume for the Australian Army History Series 'On Shaggy Ridge' (Oxford, 2005), however this is not readily available, and only so at a steep price on the secondhand market.