Leading military historian Mark Johnston tells stories of the courage of individual soldiers across every battle in which Australians fought in World War II.When Australians defended against Rommel's tanks at Tobruk and Alamein, tackled paratroopers landing among them on Crete, attacked French Foreign Legionnaires in Syrian forts, held off Japanese tanks in Malaya, fought hand-to-hand on the Kokoda Track, and took on well-hidden and tenacious Japanese in countless ...

Scotland, 1585. Lord Warden is leading a troop of his clansmen back home. Pursued by Lord Maxwell, a battle of survival is about to commence. Meanwhile, Lady Margaret and her son, James eagerly await, looking out over the battlements of Lochwood Castle.The ensuing battle leads to a sequence of events that would reverberate down the ages through history. Referred to previously as border clans, The Border Reivers would be used throughout the world as mercenary soldiers because of the...

This is the first book on the history of trees in Britain’s towns and cities and the people who have planted and cared for them. It is a highly readable and authoritative account of the trees in our urban landscapes from the Romans to the present day, including public parks, private gardens, streets, cemeteries and many other open spaces. It charts how our appreciation of urban trees and woodland has evolved into our modern understanding of the many environmental, economic and social benef...

The trees which line many of the streets in our towns and cities can often be regarded as part of a heritage landscape. Despite the difficult conditions of an urban environment, these trees may live for 100 years or more and represent ‘living history’ in the midst of our modern streetscapes. This is the first book on the history of Britain’s street trees and it gives a highly readable, authoritative and often amusing account of their story, from the tree-lined promenades of the seventeenth...

'Haven't lost the sand, dust, flies or fleas yet, but have had them for so long now they seem part of us' 12 August 1941, TobrukWhen Tom 'Diver' Derrick enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force on 5 July 1940, he was a 26-year-old labourer with no great prospects. By the end of 1944, he was a national hero who had risen from humble private to become a twice-decorated officer in the 9th Division's 2/48th Battalion. On the jungle-clad heights of Sattelberg in...

This is a unique and powerful visual history of the men who fought in the 9th Division, the most famous Australian division of World War II. Many never before published photographs, some from veterans' private collections, illustrate dramatic and moving stories of Tobruk, El Alamein, New Guinea and Borneo.The 9th Division gained renown as 'Rats of Tobruk' in 1941, were eulogised as 'that magnificent 9th' by General Montgomery after the battle of El Alamein in 1942, and drew praise ...

Why supernatural beliefs are at odds with a true understanding of the afterlifeIn this extraordinary book, Mark Johnston sets out a new understanding of personal identity and the self, thereby providing a purely naturalistic account of surviving death.Death threatens our sense of the importance of goodness. The threat can be met if there is, as Socrates said, "something in death that is better for the good than for the bad." Yet, as Johnston shows, all exis...

In Whispering Death, Mark Johnston, one of Australia's leading experts on World War II, explains vividly how more than 130,000 Australian airmen fought Japan from the Pacific War's first hours in 1941 to its last in 1945. They clashed over a vast area, from India to Noumea, Bass Strait to the Philippines. Merely flying over that region's boundless oceans and wild weather was dangerous enough for Australia's fliers, but their formidable enemies made it much more perilous. In their ...

Anzacs in the Middle East is a compelling exploration of the experiences of soldiers who fought in the Middle East during World War II. Spurred by a sense of adventure and duty, they set sail to countries of which they knew very little. The book examines the relationships between Australians and their allies and also how they related to the local people: Greeks, Egyptians, Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinians. Mark Johnston draws on extensive research to provide a new perspective on the famo...

This riveting book follows a small group of Australian front-line soldiers from their enlistment in the dark days of 1940 to the end of World War II.No ordinary soldiers, they were members of Don Company of the Second 43rd Battalion, part of the famous 9th Australian Division, which - during campaigns in Tobruk, El Alamein, New Guinea, and Borneo- sustained more casualties and won more medals than any other Australian division. It is an evocative and detailed account of the day-to-...

Caspar Hare makes an original and compelling case for "egocentric presentism," a view about the nature of first-person experience, about what happens when we see things from our own particular point of view. A natural thought about our first-person experience is that "all and only the things of which I am aware are present to me." Hare, however, goes one step further and claims, counterintuitively, that the thought should instead be that "all and only the things of which I am aware are pre...

Trees are now in the public eye as never before. The threat of tree diseases, the felling of street trees, and the challenge of climate change are just some of the issues that have put trees in the media spotlight. At the same time, the trees in our parks, gardens, and streets are a vital resource that can deliver environmental, social, and economic benefits that make our towns and cities attractive, green, and healthy places.Ever since Roman times when amenity trees were first pla...