Reviews

Reviewed by Ian Lipke This is a story about a group of distinctive individuals, men and women, who place themselves in danger in a nerve-racking convergence on a strip of land of no real importance in Yemen. We meet the leading character in this story before this adventure begins. He has become legendary as a

Reviewed by Donald Lawie Commemorations of the centenary of the First World War have so far, in Australia, concentrated on Gallipoli and Fromelles/Pozieres. The war against Turkey that continued after Gallipoli has been largely ignored. Phillip Bradley’s Australian Light Horse  will go a long way to correct that omission and turn the spotlight on the

Reviewed by Ian Lipke “Not another thriller!” you groan as you pick up the latest James Phelan novel. There is substance in such a reaction to ‘thrillers’ these days. Contemporary audiences are so wedded to the short and snappy episodes we watch on television that the thought of reading a full length book is the

Reviewed by Donald Lawie November 2016 marks one hundred years since the last shot was fired in the Battle of the Somme which commenced on 1 July 1916. Fought in the vicinity of the Somme River in northern France, the battle was an attempt by the British and French armies to defeat the forces of

Reviewed by Terrie Ferman Richard Glover will be familiar to readers of the weekend edition of The Sydney Morning Herald where he writes about any number of fairly ordinary issues. The tone of that column is light hearted and often insightful. He writes with similar insight in his memoir Flesh Wounds.  In an otherwise engaging

Reviewed by Jill   Bryan Fry’s fascination with the reptile world began early in life.  A supportive family did not try to dissuade him.  Fortunately he learnt caution early on, because this was to be his career and lifelong passion.  He achieved many firsts, both species capture and the unravelling of the puzzle that is

Reviewed by Jill Blood, dreams and gold : the changing face of Burma  is a study of contemporary Burma.  Author Richard Cockett has studied and monitored Burma over many years.  He combines historical research, interviews and his own observations to present a lucid, intriguing and sometimes awful account of the events and policies that its

Reviewed by Ian Lipke Jessica Whitman’s vivid imagination is never better shown than in her novel Wild One, where her leading characters are larger than life and her others are undeveloped, probably with the intention of allowing a sharper focus on the leads. The story is implausible but it would be an insensitive reader who