A gritty, no-holds-barred behind-the-scenes memoir of life as one of the world's top snipersIn Sniper Elite, Rob Maylor takes readers inside the closed world of the elite Special Forces sniper, detailing Maylor's dedication to the dark art of sniping and touching on the history of the great snipers who came before him. As one of Australia's most highly trained and successful combat marksmen, he tells the story of his years on the front lines, from ...

Nowhere else in the world is there anything quite like it; and nothing is more beloved by Australians. Its appeal leaps across the generations, the sexes and all the social, political and religious persuasions. It is the one thing we all have in common: it is the great Australian meat pie.We all carry in our minds a picture of the perfect pie: its glowing golden crust, its mouth-watering aroma of baking pastry and rich beef filling drifts across the inner landscape of Australian psy...

In 1858, 14-year-old Narcisse Pelletier sailed from Marseilles in the French trader Saint-Paul. With a cargo of Bordeaux wine, they stopped in Bombay, then Hong Kong, and from there they set sail with more than 300 Chinese prospectors bound for the goldfields of Ballarat and Bendigo. Around the eastern tip of New Guinea, however, the ship became engulfed in fog, struck reefs and ran aground.Scrambling aboard a longboat, the survivors undertook a perilous voyage, crossing a...

The true story of Australia's SAS and the soldier who was there from the start.Clint Palmer has spent much of his adult life in the SAS and has fought in this elite military unit as it developed from its fledgling beginnings into the highly trained, specialised fighting force it is today. He is an insider with the long view and this is his unique story of life in the SAS.As a bush kid in the Northern Territory of Australia, growing up in a one dog mining to...

In 1911, English-born Charles Weston climbs Mount Ainslie to the crest of a landscape that has become the site for the Australian capital. Down on the flats, in the harsh sunlight of an April noon, occasional clumps of sheep feed into the prevailing westerly on the scant leavings of an insatiable swarm of rabbits.On the denuded, rabbit-infested Limestone plains, Charles Weston embarked on an ambitious re-greening project that would transform the region and the fledgling na...

Explosive SAS action in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan.The command came: 'Stop those vehicles!'It was like a red rag to a bull. Instantly streams of 7.62 mm tracer and 50 mm calibre machine gun rounds arced across the night sky and smashed into the bus and truck.Elite SAS Patrol Commander Stuart 'Nev' Bonner takes us inside the extraordinary and dangerous world of secret combat operations in this explosive, behind-the-scenes look at life inside the...

The never-before-told story of BHP Billiton's global conquests, told by the key players.BHP is part of Australia's DNA; but it remains an enigma. The Big Fella: The rise and rise of BHP Billiton is the compelling story of how BHP and its partner Billiton rose from the humblest beginnings in the Australian Outback and on the Indonesian island of Belitung to starry heights on the great bourses of the world. Based on more than 60 exclusive interviews...

Originally published in 1937 (and long out of print), this is a gripping, first hand account of a young soldier's experiences in France and Belgium during the First World War.'*In that hour was born in me a fear that lasted throughout the whole winter. It was the dread of dying in the mud, going down in that stinking morass and though dead being conscious throughout the ages. Waves of fear at times threatened to overwhelm me. a little weakness, a little slackening ...

He was the champion of the have-nots. He was a gentleman to the core. And he was Australia's most notorious bushranger.One hundred and fifty years ago, Frank Gardiner rose from nowhere to become the most famous outlaw in the country. His gang included Ben Hall, Johnny Gilbert and a team of desperadoes who brought large tracts of inland New South Wales to the brink of anarchy. Yet he boasted that he never hurt a woman or ever committed a mean or petty act. When finally captured, Gar...

It is a story of sheer courage and skill - incredible bravery combined with the precision of a surgeon - as these men defused deadly mines, often dropped in residential areas. The detonators were frequently booby trapped by the Nazis, and these Australians and their British colleagues came to recognise the twisted minds and methods of the individual bomb makers as they worked. Both sides played a deadly game of chess as they tried to bluff and outwit the other…In the ultimate demon...

The fascinating story of the Chinese presence in and influence on this country - our intertwined history from colonial times to today.Chinese 'presence' in Australia extends from well before the time of Captain Cook - trading with northern Australia long before Europeans came here - right through to the present day, with Chinese activities ranging from being the main customer for our iron ore, to their very extensive intelligence operations here.Robert Mack...

'You almost feel you are taking that trek with the party as Robert Macklin cites the obstacles - torrential river crossings, dense bush, the Snowy Mountains and more. Macklin covers Hume's public and private life, emphasising his affinity with the country and rapport with the Indigenous people, as well as providing a portrait of the evolving colony.' SYDNEY MORNING HERALDThe stirring untold story of a true Australian hero who opened up the nation.While Engl...