Research Catalog

Title

Pacific fury : how Australia and her allies defeated the Japanese scourge / Peter Thompson.

Author

Thompson, Peter (Peter A.)

Publication

North Sydney, N.S.W. : William Heinemann Australia, 2008.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xxviii, 548 p., + [28] p. of plates : ill., maps, ports.; 24 cm.

Summary

Pearl Harbor; The fall of Singapore; Curtin's fights with Churchill; The bombing of Darwin; POW camps; The battle of Midway; Kokoda; Buna; Kamikaze pilots; Hiroshima. These words alone are enough to convey the terror, courage and drama of the Pacific War, when the balance of power stood on a knife-edge and when the future of Australia was on the brink - threatened by Japanese aggression on the one hand and British deception on the other. After a conflict that took an unimaginable number of lives and ended with the unleashing of the most powerful weapon the world had ever seen, the Allies emerged victorious. Australia, however, was criticised by Churchill and his generals for showing cowardice in the face of the enemy and for not caring about the fate of other nations. The endorsement of these claims by several military historians today shows that the smear has not gone away. Until now.

Subjects

• 1939-1945
• World War > (1939-1945)
• World War, 1939-1945 > Participation, Australian
• World War, 1939-1945 > Campaigns > Pacific Area

Note

• Includes index.
• Bibliography: p. 525-535.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 525-535) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Part I: Rising Sun, 1853-1941 -- Destiny's war -- Japanese jingo -- Faulty powers -- Imperial illusions -- To the brink -- Last chance -- First shots -- Pearl Harbour -- Part II: Darkest days, 1941-42 -- Manila mayhem -- Phillip's folly -- Hong Kong horror -- Retreat to Bataan -- Failure in Malaya -- Dugout Doug -- Bennett's blunder -- Singapore's shame -- Hurley burly -- Wavell's nightmare -- Part III: Afternoon light, 1942-44 -- 'I shall return' -- Saving Australia -- Soul sisters -- Sitting ducks -- Kokoda knife-edge -- 'Kill Yamamoto' -- Life in captivity -- Leap year -- PART IV: Atomic sunset, 1944-45 -- With the Chindits -- Allies at war -- Leyte Gulf -- China in crisis -- Battle of Manila -- Bloody Borneo -- Seared to death -- Epilogue: Liberation.

ISBN

9781741667080

OCLC

• 243856286
• SCSB-12635729

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library