Books on war

[rob love]

Same here Phil...the bottom left book was one of the first books I bought on the subject of military vehicles, and 30+ years later, it still sits within arms reach of the computer. Dog eared and tattered, the bindings are starting to come apart. The commonwealth section was what got me hooked on the CMPs.

[Keith Webb]

I've been looking for another coy of that for years, have put in a bid.

A lot of the photos in the Commonwealth section come from a collection of images I purchased years ago.

[motto]

'Too Young To Die' by Bryan Cox. ISBN 0 09 172741 3 (Paper) 0 09 172740 5 (Cased)
The story of a New Zealand fighter pilot in the Pacific War.
A very good insight into the not insignificant contribution made by NZ operated Corsairs. A contribution little known outside of their homeland.
I was particularly interested to read it due to a WW2 AIF friend of the family who was involved in fighting Japanese forces with NZ Corsairs carrying out ground attack from overhead. One of his clear memories was being showered with empty .50 Cal cases and how much they hurt. Something you don't tend to think about.

David

[Keith Webb]

I interviewed Bryan several years ago when he came to Temora. He had some excellent stories of his flying in Corsairs.
One of my friends, Dave Salter was also there with his ex-Kiwi Harvard, it was actually one which Bryan had flown at Ardmore during his training. Bryan was still flying and Dave took him up. He let Bryan fly it and once he had his eye in, he was even doing aerobatics.

Originally Posted by motto

'Too Young To Die' by Bryan Cox. ISBN 0 09 172741 3 (Paper) 0 09 172740 5 (Cased)
The story of a New Zealand fighter pilot in the Pacific War.
A very good insight into the not insignificant contribution made by NZ operated Corsairs. A contribution little known outside of their homeland.
I was particularly interested to read it due to a WW2 AIF friend of the family who was involved in fighting Japanese forces with NZ Corsairs carrying out ground attack from overhead. One of his clear memories was being showered with empty .50 Cal cases and how much they hurt. Something you don't tend to think about.

David

[hrpearce]

Greg gave me two books and Mum one.

[Howard]

That should fill in fifteen minutes or so!
Cheers and all the best for Christmas.
H

[motto]

The brutal behaviour of the Japanese forces during WW2 has once again come under scrutiny as a result of the recently released film 'The Railway Man' Starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. The film deals with the emotional damage suffered by the lead character (Firth) as a result of his maltreatment as a POW working on the Thai-Burma railway.
For anyone wishing to know what it was really like to labour under Japanese control as a POW in WW2 with first hand accounts of japanese brutality and total indifference to the suffering of others including their own wounded this book cannot be surpassed.
One Fourteenth of an Elephant by Ian Denys Peek is arguably the definitive work on the day to day treatment of Japanese held prisoners and I had trouble putting it down as the author's descriptive ability is a rare gift to encounter.
If you read one book on the topic make it this one, it is not a dirge, it is a story of triumph over adversity.

One Fourteenth of an Elephant by Ian Denys Peek, ISBN 0 330 36463 4

David