This week, Jeff Popple reviews three Australian books about war and adventure. More of Jeff’s reviews can be found on his blog: murdermayhemandlongdogs.com
Adventure Lives Here by Cam James
Echo, $27.45
Cam James has a passion for adventure, and he has managed to turn that passion into a fun career. After finishing his time in the Australian Army, Cam decided to set up his own adventure company with the intent of taking people on the best and most exciting holidays they could dream of. In Adventure Lives Here, Cam takes the reader on a journey through his army service, which included a spell in Afghanistan, to the setting up of his business, his near-death experience in Papua New Guinea, and treks in Nepal and Australia. An enjoyable and inspiring book.
The Greatest Escape by Neil Churches
Macmillan, $34.95
Neil Churches unearths an overlooked real-life adventure in The Greatest Escape. In 1941, Australian Ralph Churches found himself stuck behind enemy lines in Greece and captured by the Germans. Sent to a POW camp in present day Slovenia, Ralph decided that he had to escape. With the help of the local Partisan network, fellow prisoners, and Allied Intelligence operatives, he put in place an audacious plan that saw 106 prisoners embark on a harrowing 160-mile journey across the Alps pursued by German soldiers. Told by Ralph’s son, Neil, this is a well-researched and fascinating account of forgotten bravery.
Sandpiper by Michael Pert
Shawline, $26.95
Australian Michael Pert provides an entertaining fictional story of wartime adventure in Sandpiper. Set across the length of World War II, Sandpiper is a nicely plotted ‘cat and mouse’ thriller about the efforts of British Intelligence to uncover a German spy whose activities are threatening Allied operations in France in the critical months leading up to D-Day. Smoothly written and briskly paced, Sandpiper is a very enjoyable tale that moves effortlessly from London and the English countryside to a thrilling finale in France. Complete with a good cast of characters and a convincingly limned backdrop of wartime intrigue, it is a compelling read.
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