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You are here: Home / Archives for Article topics / Book reviews

Book reviews

Occasional Paper 46: Lieutenant Kenneth Robert Hudspeth, Distinguished Service Cross and 2 Bars, RANVR, WWII

A.N. Other · May 21, 2025 ·

Lieutenant Kenneth Robert Hudspeth, RANVR was one of manyRoyal Australian Naval personnel whose service in Royal Navy units during the darkest days ofWorld War 2 has gone largely unnoticed in ...

Naval Art: Well Worth the Visit

David Michael · Dec 12, 2024 ·

This story was first published in the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) Volunteers’ quarterly magazine,  ‘All Hands’, Issue 129 in December 2024. The author, Geoff Barnes is a volunteer with ...

Book Review: Salt Horse

Kingsley Perry · Jun 2, 2024 ·

Salt Horse – Memoir of a Maverick Admiral, Claude Lionel Cumberlege. Published by Whittles Publishing Ltd, Dunbeath, Caithness KW6 6EG, Scotland. Admiral Claude Cumberlege RN wrote his memoirs in 1936-38, ...

Book Review: Abide With Me – The HMAS Voyager Tragedy

Kingsley Perry · Mar 23, 2024 ·

Abide With Me – The HMAS Voyager Tragedy by Elizabeth McCarthy This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the collision between HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Voyager off the New South ...

Book Review: Gordon’s Nuggets: The Principles of War and How They Help in Love, Life & Work.

Book reviewer · Mar 6, 2024 ·

Gordon’s Nuggets: The Principles of War and How They Help in Love, Life & Work by Gordon Ramsay.The book is now available through the Society’s website shop and all good booksellers. ...

Captain Jack Bolton Newman RAN – The Grandfather of Information Warfare Officers and RAN Communications

A.N. Other · Mar 6, 2024 ·

By SBLT Cináed Finall RAN We are pleased to publish this essay, which was written in 2023 in support of the inaugural Information Warfare Officer Course dux award. Cináed joined ...

Book Review: Where the Flaming Hell are we?

Book reviewer · Dec 27, 2023 ·

Where the Flaming Hell are we? This new wartime history by Craig Collie paints a vivid picture of Australian and New Zealanders desperately fighting in Greece and Crete and as ...

Book Review: The Yachties. Australian Volunteers in The Royal Navy 1940-45

Book reviewer · Dec 27, 2023 ·

The Yachties. Australian Volunteers in The Royal Navy 1940-45. By Janet Roberts Billett. Australian Scholarly Publishing Pty Ltd., North Melbourne Vic. 3051 In 1940 the Royal Navy anticipated a shortage ...

Book Review: Shanghai Demimondaine – From Sex Worker to Society Matron.

Book reviewer · Dec 27, 2023 ·

Shanghai Demimondaine: From Sex Worker to Society Matron. This biography by Nick Hordern was published earlier this year by Earnshaw Books of Hong Kong. Paperback 262 pages available from Amazon ...

Book Review: “Safe to Dive – Submarine Support in Sydney 1914 to 1999”

A.N. Other · Sep 27, 2023 ·

“Safe to Dive – Submarine Support in Sydney 1914 to 1999” by John Jeremy was published by The Naval Historical Society of Australia in 2023, under licence agreement with the ...

Book Review: Royal Yachts Under Sail

Book reviewer · Sep 5, 2023 ·

Royal Yachts Under Sail by Brian Lavery, Seaforth Publishing, Bransley, 2022. A well-presented hardcover using quality paper enhancing colourful pictures and illustrations. While only 160 pages it packs a huge ...

Book Review: Lost Women of Rabaul

Book reviewer · Sep 5, 2023 ·

Lost Women of Rabaul by Rod Miller, 2022, Big Sky Publishing, Newport, NSW, PB 350pp, RRP $32.99 This review first appeared in Reconnaissance, the magazine of the Military History Society ...

Occasional Paper 169: HMAS Vendetta and Commander Eric Eugene Johnston RAN; Vietnam Deployment 1969 – 1970

A.N. Other · Sep 1, 2023 ·

By  Bjarne (Barney) Kristensen The 18 August 2023 marked fifty years since the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam (The Vietnam War) with commemorations conducted throughout Australia. In this paper I ...

Book Review: Love, Oil and the Fortunes of War

Book reviewer · Jun 20, 2023 ·

Love, Oil and the Fortunes of War is a fictionalised history by Sydney-based author Paul Ashford Harris. Published by Ventura Press in 2023, a paperback edition of 288 pages and ...

Book Review: Nelson’s Lost Son.

Book reviewer · Jun 20, 2023 ·

Nelson’s Lost Son. The recently published Nelson’s Lost Son is the second part of a trilogy by author Oliver Greeves. Part One, Nelson’s Folly, was reviewed in the December 2021 ...

Book Review: The Scrap Iron Flotilla

Book reviewer · Mar 8, 2023 ·

The Scrap Iron Flotilla by Mike Carlton. William Heinemann Australia. Paperback of 448 pages. rrp $34.99 On Sunday September 3rd 1939, history was tumbling over itself. In the mess decks ...

Book Review: The Hunt for the Storozhevoy; the 1975 Soviet Navy Mutiny in the Baltic

Book reviewer · Mar 8, 2023 ·

The Hunt for the Storozhevoy; the 1975 Soviet Navy Mutiny in the Baltic. By Michael Fredholm von Essen. From Helion Books, Europe At War Series No 19. Published 2022. This ...

Book Review: The Far Land: 200 Years of Murder, Mania and Mutiny in the South Pacific.

Book reviewer · Mar 8, 2023 ·

The Far Land: 200 Years of Murder, Mania and Mutiny in the South Pacific. This 327-page paperback edition written by Brandon Presser was published by Icon Books of London in ...

Book Review: Portrait of a Working Dockyard

Book reviewer · Dec 7, 2022 ·

Portrait of a Working Dockyard. This photobook by Berylouise Mitchell comes in a limited edition, handmade in A4 landscape format by Australia’s premier photobook printer MomentoPro in Sydney and sells ...

Book Review: Flying Stations II

Book reviewer · Dec 7, 2022 ·

Flying Stations II. The Royal Australian Navy’s Fleet Air Arm 1998-2022. This fine book edited by Lieutenant Commander Desmond Woods OAM RAN is published by the RAN Fleet Air Arm ...

Book Review: Australia’s Secret Army.

Book reviewer · Dec 7, 2022 ·

Australia’s Secret Army. A story of the Coastwatchers, the unsung heroes of Australia’s Armed Forces during World War II is told by Michael Veitch, published by Hachette, Sydney, 2022. Soft ...

Occasional Paper 148: Nautical School Ship Sobraon and Bernard Kieran – one of the great early Australian swimmers

Lorraine Fildes · Oct 1, 2022 ·

By Lorraine Fildes HMAS Tingira was commissioned on 25 April 1912 to provide early naval training for young recruits to the Navy. The Tingira was originally called the Sobraon and ...

Book Review: The Scrap Iron Flotilla – Five valiant destroyers and the Australian war in the Mediterranean.

Book reviewer · Sep 16, 2022 ·

By Mike Carlton, published by Random House Australia. A 448-page illustrated paperback with photographs. Available at all good booksellers from about $30.00. Some chroniclers are ideal authors for their subject ...

Book Review: On Contested Shores

Book reviewer · Jun 26, 2022 ·

On Contested Shores. The Evolving Role of Amphibious Operations in the History of Warfare. This large paperback of 452 pages edited by Timothy Heck and B. A. Friedman was published ...

Book Review: Once a Sailor

Book reviewer · Jun 26, 2022 ·

Once a Sailor. Soft cover of 324 pages by Ray Rees. RRP $32.95 also available from author Ramon.Rees@yahoo.com.au. Published by Vivid Publishing, Fremantle WA 2021. The author joined the RAN ...

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