Maralinga: The chilling expose of our secret nuclear shame and betrayal of our troops and country

Description

'Utterly gripping. It reads like a thriller.' JON FAINE This edition contains a new author note with shocking new material that has come to light as a result of the groundbreaking original publication. Investigative journalist Frank Walker's MARALINGA is a must-read true story of the abuse of our servicemen, scientists treating the Australian population as lab rats, and politicians sacrificing their own people in the pursuit of power. During the Menzies era, with the blessing of the Prime Minister, the British government exploded twelve atomic bombs on Australian soil. RAAF pilots were ordered to fly into nuclear mushroom clouds, soldiers told to walk into radioactive ground zero, sailors retrieved highly contaminated debris - none of them aware of the dangers they faced. But the betrayal didn't end with these servicemen. Secret monitoring stations were set up around the country to measure radiation levels and a clandestine decades-long project stole bones from dead babies to see how much fallout had contaminated their bodies - their grieving parents were never told. This chilling expose drawn from extensive research and interviews with surviving veterans reveals the betrayal of our troops and our country.

Frank Walker has been an Australian journalist and foreign correspondent in Germany and the United States for forty years, covering wars and coups, floods and fires, terrorist attacks and political brawls, movie stars and street crime. His first two bestselling books - The Tiger Man of Vietnam and Ghost Platoon - revealed uncomfortable truths about Australia's actions in the Vietnam War. His third bestselling book, Maralinga, lifted the veil of secrecy thrown over the British atomic bomb tests in the outback and shocking human experiments in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s. His fourth book, Commandos, examined the most daring secret raids behind enemy lines by Australians and New Zealanders in World War II. In 2017 Frank wrote Traitors, an expose on how Australia and its allies betrayed our Anzacs and let Nazi and Japanese war criminals go free. His most recent book is The Scandalous Life of Freddie McEvoy: The true story of the swashbuckling Australian rogue. He can be contacted via his website www.frankwalker.com.au

An original and compelling account that succeeds in exposing the subterfuge and myopia of both British and Australian governments - SATURDAY PAPER Demonstrates powerfully why, regardless of the context in which the testing took place, the emotional legacy of Maralinga will linger in the Australian psyche - WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN Excellent examination of a dark chapter in Australian history - AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE MAGAZINE Utterly gripping. It reads like a thriller. - Jon Faine, ABC MELBOURNE This book forces you to question our government and its role in the greatest miscarriage of justice this country has ever seen. - GOOD READING an extraordinary yarn . . . finely researched - SUN-HERALD on THE TIGER MAN OF VIETNAM thoroughly researched and compelling . . . a chilling account - SUN-HERALD on GHOST PLATOON one of those great untold stories . . . Walker tells it with verve and excitement and with meticulous attention to detail - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD on THE TIGER MAN OF VIETNAM