Bastard of a place: Australians in Papua, Kokoda, Milne Bay, Gona, Bunda, Sanananda. Peter Brune. 2004.

In 1942 and early 1943 Papua New Guinea was ‘a bastard of a place’ to fight a war. Peter Brune gives us the final, all-encompassing story of the five battles that changed Australia forever.

Peter Brunei’s compelling narrative resonates with the voices of both the well-trained AIF volunteer and the young Militia conscript who triumphed together. He interviewed hundreds of these soldiers and himself travelled the treacherous terrain and bloody battlegrounds where so many of their mates perished. Peter reveals the inside story of how Generals MacArthur and Blamey sacrificed many of the senior Australian field commanders as scapegoats to protect their own positions.