Bo o ks
AIRCRAFT OF THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE Big Sky Publishing Pages: 609, in hardcover RRP: $49.99 ISBN: 9781922488039
As the RAAF commemorates one hundred years since its formation, it is fitting to look back at the multitude of aircraft which have been in service during this time. From the first wooden and canvas de Havilland DH9As gifted from the British Government in 1920, to the recent arrival
THE MUSIC MAKER OF AUSCHWITZ IV Author: Jaci Byrne Big Sky Publishers Pages: 264 in paperback RRP: $29.99 ISBN: 9781922387820
The inspirational true story of an Allied POW appointed Kapellmeister to the Nazis in Auschwitz. When called up to fight in yet another World War, Drum Major Jackson promised his beloved wife Mabel that he would return to lead his band and play for her once more.
of the 5th generation F-35 Lightning II, Aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force provides comprehensive insight to each of the 150 unique aircraft types which have helped posture the RAAF as a responsive, agile and potent force in shaping Australia’s strategic environment. Each aircraft type is categorised into its ‘A’ series number, including technical data plates and a broad range of photos. This book will largely appeal to aviation and military history enthusiasts. An extensively researched, detailed and expertly compiled history of Australian military aviation through the ages. A definitive reference source and valuable addition to any collection, which will be highly sought after especially during this centenary year of the Air Force. In May 1940, he was captured at Dunkirk and interned in several German forced labour camps throughout Poland. Two years later he was transferred to Auschwitz IV, part of the notorious concentration camp complex where it is not widely known held Allied POWs. When his captors appointed Jackson their ‘Kapellmeister’ (man in charge of music), he seized the opportunity to provide entertainment for his fellow prisoners at rehearsals, and cover for escapees during concerts. Finally liberated in May 1945, malnourished and gravely ill, Jackson carried his secret war diary—an incredible exposé on five years of life and death in Nazi concentration camps. Based on Jackson’s diary and written by his granddaughter. A stirring account of resilience.
MASTERS OF THE AIR How The Bomber Boys Broke Down The Nazi War Machine Author: Donald L Miller Penguin Books Pages: 688 in paperback RRP: $19.99 ISBN: 9781529107883
Meet the Flying Fortresses of the American Eighth Air Force, Britain's Lancaster comrades, who helped bring down the Nazis. Historian and World War II expert Donald Miller brings us the story of the bomber boys who brought the war
AUSTRALIA’S GREATEST ESCAPES Gripping Tales Of Wartime Bravery Author: Colin Burgess Simon & Schuster Publishers Pages: 320, in paperback RRP: $24.00 ISBN: 9781760854294
Australia’s Greatest Escapes is a collection of stories about the most hazardous aspect of the prisoner of war experience – escape. Here is all the adventure, suspense and courage of ordinary Australians who defied their captors; men who tunnelled
to Hitler's doorstep. Unlike ground soldiers they slept on clean beds, drank beer in local pubs, and danced to the swing music of the travelling Air Force bands. But they were also an elite group of fighters who put their lives on the line in the most dangerous role of all. Miller takes readers from adrenaline filled battles in the sky, to airbases across England, German prison camps, and onto the ground to understand the devastation faced by civilians. Drawn from interviews, oral histories, and American, British and German archives, an authoritative, deeply moving and important account of the world's first and only bomber war. Soon to be a major television event from Apple TV and Steven Spielberg, companion to Band of Brothers and The Pacific. to freedom, crawled through stinking drains, or clawed a passage beneath barbed wire in a desperate attempt to flee captivity. Featuring stories of Australian POWs from all theatres of war, including one who fled a German work camp during World War I, another involved in a mass tunnel escape from a notorious Italian camp, and an airman who brazenly attempted to steal a German fighter and fly back to England. We also re-live the tragic saga of the Sandakan death marches in which six Australian escapers became the only survivors from 2000 POWs, and follow the perilous journeys to freedom undertaken by Australian infantrymen following the appalling massacre of their fellow soldiers on the Japanese-held island of Ambon. A great read about the fight to be free. 93
