Anzac Journeys: Returning to the Battlefields of World War Two

Hardback

Main Details

Title Anzac Journeys: Returning to the Battlefields of World War Two
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Bruce Scates
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:328
Dimensions(mm): Height 252,Width 177
Category/GenreWorld history
Australia, New Zealand & Pacific history
History of specific subjects
Military history
ISBN/Barcode 9781107020672
ClassificationsDewey:940.5394
Audience
General
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations 11 Maps; 82 Halftones, color

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 1 July 2013
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Australians have been making pilgrimages to the battlefields and cemeteries of World War Two since the 1940s, from the jungles of New Guinea and South-East Asia to the mountains of Greece and the deserts of North Africa. They travel in search of the stories of lost loved ones, to mourn the dead and to come to grips with the past. With characteristic empathy, Bruce Scates charts the history of pilgrimages to Crete, Kokoda, Sandakan and Hellfire Pass. He explores the emotional resonance that these sites have for those who served and those who remember. Based on surveys, interviews, extensive fieldwork and archival research, Anzac Journeys offers insights into the culture of loss and commemoration and the hunger for meaning so pivotal to the experience of pilgrimage. Richly illustrated with full-colour maps and photographs from the 1940s to today, Anzac Journeys makes an important and moving contribution to Australian military history.

Reviews

'Why do Australians pick at the scab of war memory? Bruce Scates explains, in a nice blend of empathetic and analytical.' Professor Peter Stanley, University of New South Wales