Alan Smith's Allenby's Gunners tells the story of artillery in the highly successful World War I Sinai and Palestine campaigns. Following Gallipoli and the reconstitution of the AIF, a shortage of Australian gunners saw British Territorial artillery allotted to the Australian Light Horse and New Zealand Mounted Rifle brigades. It was a relationship that would prove highly successful and Allenby's Gunners provides a detailed and colorful description of the artillery war, cavalry and infantr...

First published in 1983, The Planned Economies of Eastern Europe provides a penetrating analysis of the Eastern European economies, beginning with an examination of the Soviet model on which they are based. An interesting comparison is made between the levels of economic development in these countries before and after adopting the Soviet model. The effect of the model in generating rapid industrial growth by giving priority to heavy industry without regard to the raw material base...

Russia and the World Economy analyses the major economic, historical and political obstacles to the successful integration of the Russian economy into the world economy. Alan Smith examines the role of Western assistance and advice in this process, and the potential implications of failure of reforms in Russia for global stability and international

Selected as a Financial Times Best Book of 2013 Governments today in both Europe and the United States have succeeded in casting government spending as reckless wastefulness that has made the economy worse. In contrast, they have advanced a policy of draconian budget cuts--austerity--to solve the financial crisis. We are told that we have all lived beyond our means and now need to tighten our belts. This view conveniently forgets where all that debt came from. Not from an orgy of ...

El Alamein, Britain's victory in the deserts of North Africa in 1942, was the first major reversal of fortunes for Hitler's Third Reich.Before the Battle of El Alamein in 1942, the British had never won a major battle on land against the Germans; nor indeed had anyone else. Drawing on a remarkable array of first-hand accounts, this book reveals the personal experiences of those on the frontline and provides fascinating details of how the war was actually fought. It...

"Magisterial history...one of the most comprehensive histories of modern capitalism yet written." —Michael Hirsh, New York Times Book ReviewIn 1900 international trade reached unprecedented levels and the world's economies were more open to one another than ever before. Then as now, many people considered globalization to be inevitable and irreversible. Yet the entire edifice collapsed in a few months in 1914.Globalization is a choice, not a fact. ...

For the first time showcasing a unique and extensive range of Australian War Memorial photographs, Gallipoli: a Ridge too far describes the pivotal events of that momentous year as they affected all the countries involved. The book combines fresh perspectives from the worlds leading authorities, including Turkish and German historians, together with soldiers letters and diary accounts. In early August 1915, after months of stalemate in the trenches on Gallipoli, British and Dominion troops...

Over the past few years, many of the former Communist-rule countries of Central and Eastern Europe have taken a steady path toward becoming more or less normal capitalist countries - with Poland and Hungary cases in point.Russia, on the other hand, has experienced extreme difficulties in its attempted transition to capitalism and democracy. The pursuit of Western-endorsed policies of privatization, liberalization and fiscal austerity have brought Russia growing crime and corruption...

Miles Dempsey, Commander of the British Second Army in the invasion of Europe 1944-45, is almost unknown to the general public. Yet his part in Britains contribution to that campaign was second only to Montgomerys in importance. Dempsey survived two and a half years of bitter fighting as an infantry officer on the Western Front before accompanying his beloved Royal Berkshire Regiment in the little-known North West Persia campaign of 1920-21. In six years he rose from Major to command over ...

The war in the Middle East was a struggle between the Ottoman Turks, British, French and Russians for control of the lands and peoples held by the Ottoman Empire since the 1400s. Although known as the 'Sick Man of Europe', the empire still controlled significant parts of the Middle East. Intense diplomatic pressure from Germany culminated in a decision to join the Central Powers in October 1914. Russia had long coveted Ottoman territory, and the two empires clashed in the Caucasus. The Tur...

Transitions from socialism to capitalism are complex, both in theory and practice. Russian Economic Reform enables the reader to come to a much better understanding of these momentous changes, by providing a clear and accessible account of the major features of transition. It argues that attempts to portray the reform process is a disaster are misconceived, because they fail to take account of just how badly the pre-reform economy was doing. Many of the problems that are emerging ...

When Australian troops stormed ashore in the pre-dawn darkness of April 25th 1915, it was the culmination of one of the most complex and daunting operations in the history of warfare - the seaborne assault of a heavily fortified shore, defended by a well-prepared and forewarned enemy.The risks were enormous, and the death toll on the beach at Anzac Cove could have been murderous - as it was with the British landings further south. Yet the Anzacs had been allowed to organise their o...