Australia and World Crisis, 1914-1923: A History of Australian Defence and Foreign Policy 1901-23: Volume 2

Description

Australia and World Crisis, 1914-1923 is the second volume in a pioneering two-volume history of Australian defence and foreign policy. It is based on wide-ranging research in collections of personal and official papers in Australia, Britain, the United States and Canada.

Neville Meaney is an honorary associate professor of history at the University of Sydney.

'Meaney's two volumes ... offer great historical depth to the never-ending debate on Australian strategic policies, between what might be called the global-imperial and the national-regional imperatives ... The comparisons and contrasts between the strategic concerns of a century ago and today deserve careful consideration. Meaney's two volumes are an essential base for such consideration, and for an understanding of the basic structures of Australian strategic policies.' -- Peter Edwards * Australian Journal of International Affairs * 'In a bold re-interpretation of one of Australia's pivotal periods, historian Neville Meaney explodes the myth that the Great War broke upon an innocent nation of colonial deference devoid of any independent strategic consciousness ... [The book] should transform conventional historical accounts of Australia and the Great War and assessments about the relationship between Australian leaders and Empire central in London.' -- Paul Kelly * The Australian * 'No-one writing on the history of Australian foreign policy will be able to ignore Neville Meaney's new contribution. Indeed Meaney's two volumes will remain for a long time required reading for all specialists in this field.' -- Christopher Waters * Australian Journal of Politics and History * 'Rich in quotes and representing a true mastery of the primary and secondary literature, it is an outstanding combination of political, social, and military history that deserves to be read far more widely ... ' -- Augustine Meaher * Canadian Journal of History * 'The persistence of these fundamental choices is superbly demonstrated in a major new book on the history of Australia's strategic policy during and after the First World War. Australia and World Crisis 1914-1923 by the doyen of Australian strategic history, Neville Meaney, takes a long, hard look at why Australia chose to send so many young men to fight in the Near East and Europe' -- Hugh White * Survival: Global Politics and Strategy *