From the fall of Java to the hell of the Burma–Thai Railway, one battalion’s courage becomes a nation’s story.February 1942. The troopship HMT Orcades lies in port at Java, heavy with Australian soldiers whose fate hangs in the balance. Among them are brothers Cal and Alan, unaware that their journey will take them into the darkest reaches of human endurance. At home in Melbourne, their families wait in silence – letters stop coming, time itself seems to stand still.From the...

A strong emotional attachment to the memory of empire runs deep in British culture. In recent years, that memory has become a battleground in a long-drawn ideological war, inflecting debates on race, class, gender, culture, the UK’s future and its place in the world. This provocative and passionate book surveys the scene of the imperial memory wars in contemporary Britain, exploring how the myths that structure our views of empire came to be, and how they inform the present. Taking in such...

From the exodus of early modern humans to the growth of African diasporas, Africa has had a long and complex relationship with the outside world. More than a passive vessel manipulated by external empires, the African experience has been a complex mix of internal geographic, environmental, sociopolitical and economic factors, and regular interaction with outsiders. Peter Mitchell attempts to outline these factors over the long period of modern human history, to find their commonalities and...

A strong emotional attachment to the memory of empire runs deep in British culture. In recent years, that memory has become a battleground in a long-drawn ideological war, inflecting debates on race, class, gender, culture, the UK’s future and its place in the world. This provocative and passionate book surveys the scene of the imperial memory wars in contemporary Britain, exploring how the myths that structure our views of empire came to be, and how they inform the present. Taking in such...

Ruling the World tells the story of how the largest and most diverse empire in history was governed, everywhere and all at once. Focusing on some of the most tumultuous years of Queen Victoria's reign, Alan Lester, Kate Boehme and Peter Mitchell adopt an entirely new perspective to explain how the men in charge of the British Empire sought to manage simultaneous events across the globe. Using case studies including Canada, South Africa, the Caribbean, Australia, India and Afghanistan, they...

Politicians outdo each other with tough measures to deal with asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. But someone has to look people in the eye and do the questioning, the arresting, the detaining and the deporting. For a time, that someone was Peter Mitchell.Hoping for a quiet public-service job, Mitchell walked into the Department of Immigration in 1990 and quickly found himself on the frontline of one of the nation's most divisive issues.With the wry humo...

When ordinary bloke Peter Mitchell took what he hoped would be a quiet public service job in the Department of Immigration in 1990, he couldn't imagine he would end up as manager of the infamous Villawood Detention Centre.The detention of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants remains one of the nation's most divisive issues. Mitchell takes us behind the razor wire in the 'human misery industry', as he reveals what it's like being the one who has to look people in the eye and do the...

“A moving and intimate portrait of two brothers at war.” Michael McKernanUnder the same Moon intricately weaves together the lives of a family, their sons, and the men of the battalion they join, all set against the backdrop of a bygone Australia during World War II. This compelling historical narrative breathes life into the people and places of the era, immersing readers in a vivid sense of immediacy and intimacy.Drawing extensively from unpublished and p...

As businesses grow, so do the challenges—and often, the very essence of what made the business special can get lost in the process. "The Growth Factor - How to Scale Your Business Without Losing Your Soul" is a guide for entrepreneurs and business leaders who want to expand their ventures sustainably while staying true to their core values and vision. Scaling a business is an exciting journey, but without careful consideration, it can lead to compromised ethics, strained company culture, a...

The safety of her rural, teenage life evaporated the moment Abby stepped through the mist.Her reality is rent asunder when she discovers that Dreamers from Earth created the mythical beasts, Gods, and legendary heroes in the magical realm of Terras, thus forging the basis of the only civilization she had known.Accompanied by her grandmother and two small dogs, they venture toward the fabled Tree of Tales, guided by an irresistible force, and encountering powerful friends an...

Donkeys carried Christ into Jerusalem while in Greek myth they transported Hephaistos up to Mount Olympos and Dionysos into battle against the Giants. They were probably the first animals that people ever rode, as well as the first used on a large-scale as beasts of burden. Associated with kingship and the gods in the ancient Near East, they have been (and in many places still are) a core technology for moving people and goods over both short and long distances, as well as a supplier of mu...

A major feature of human intelligence is that it allows us to contemplate mental life. Such an understanding is vital in enabling us to function effectively in social groups. This book examines the origins of this aspect of human intelligence. The five sections attempt firstly, to place human development within an evolutionary context, focusing on the possibility of innate components of understanding. The second aim of the book is to examine the roles of early perception, pretence and comm...