"The Bulletin" this week covers a number of war books in the lead-up to ANZAC Day on April 25th. The books featured cover topics from World War I and Gallipoli, through World War II and Vietnam.
Hellfire: The Story of Australia, Japan and Prisoners of War by Cameron Forbes is given a separate review by Ross Fitzgerald. This is a true account of the Thai-Burma Railway that was built by Allied Prisoners-of-War, and later depicted, erroneously, in David Lean's film The Bridge on the River Kwai. "Hellfire is a first-rate account of the history of these prisoners of war, most of whom are now dead. For many still alive, the war and its horrors never ended; others came to forgive if not forget. Whichever the case, as Forbes so poignantly puts it: 'What they suffered, how they carried themselves, how they served their country, should never fade from Australia's memory.'"
Last week in "The Bulletin" Deborah Bogle was impressed by The Diary of Emily Caroline Creaghe, Explorer edited by Peter Monteath. This book is described as the diary of the first white woman to explore northern Australia.
