The great Australian war stories that didn’t actually happen

MILITARY HISTORY
Lest: Australian War Myths
Mark Dapin, Scribner, $34.99

Industrious non-fiction authors are driven by a parasite: humanities encephalon worm. It burrows into the author’s head, and from past connected it’s the worm’s game. The writer is compelled by their precise being to get the information – nary substance however obscure – retired into the world.

A publication of Australian subject historiography from 1 of the country’s starring publishers could lone beryllium the effect of a peculiarly industrious worm. The author’s not atrocious either. Lest: Australian War Myths is an introspection of 110 years of humanities fallacies. It is thoughtful, meticulous, funny, astatine times furious, and to veterans astatine least, kind.

The instauration was Dapin’s eight-part ABC vigor series, Myths of War. Chapters understandably alteration successful code and style. There’s near-straight historiography surrounding Simpson’s Donkey; a hilarious part-travelogue relationship of the Emu War; a sly journalist’s retelling of the John Farnham quality of ANZAC Day 2005, and insightful societal commentary connected “the Myth of the White Feather Women”. Not coincidentally, Dapin has had a varied vocation arsenic a journalist, past PhD, and transgression author.

There’s capable assortment to support those too historiography nerds good engaged (I’m atrocious to admit we’re a tiny crowd.) Dapin is astatine his strongest erstwhile discussing matters related to his PhD (regarding the Vietnam War) oregon erstwhile utilizing press-based sources – arsenic is the lawsuit successful a hilarious retelling of aboriginal ANZAC Day events.

John Simpson and his donkey.

He finds himself connected shaky crushed lone once. When discussing the Gallipoli Campaign, Dapin wanders from historiography to strategy, dismissing the conception that the run mightiness person helped the warfare effort by shoring up the Entente presumption successful the Balkans: “(Balkan) armies were of mostly mediocre prime and astir apt could not person achieved overmuch against Austria-Hungary.”

This is simply incorrect. The Entente armies of Serbia and Montenegro achieved a large woody against Austria-Hungary. The Serbian Army won superior victories astatine the Battles of Cer, and Kolubara (1914); the second retook Belgrade from the Central Powers. Even erstwhile the concern was hopeless, the Montenegrins defeated a overmuch larger Austro-Hungarian unit astatine Mojkovac (1916). Indeed, the Entente’s nonaccomplishment to found a Balkan bridgehead astatine Gallipoli helped induce Bulgaria onto the Central Powers’ side, starring to their near-total triumph connected the Serbian front.

It’s a uncommon lapse successful a publication that different ne'er fails to see beyond the archetypal viewpoints. Dapin besides has axes to grind not strictly related to the material, but these marque for large entertainment. Though possibly marque the enactment little apt to look successful the curriculum. Any effort by men of gilded parentage to wax lyrical arsenic “salt of the earth” types is met with scorn, arsenic are notions of a nationally unsocial “mateship”.

There are besides moments of genuine fury. When the enactment tracks to “the Myth of the RSL”, Dapin is incensed that without grounds it becomes accepted, adjacent policy, to demean WWII veterans who tin nary longer support themselves, for imagined crimes against their Vietnam peers. Yet helium ne'er fails to beryllium benignant erstwhile appropriate, and shows genuine warmth for the radical who made our subject history. Even the protagonist (or the antagonist, depending which broadside you were on) of the Emu War is treated with a gentle, if baffled respect.

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Towards the end, Dapin reflects connected however adjacent motivations to combat are distorted and mythologised. Referencing Vietnam-era surveys, helium points retired volunteers for combat often rather bask fighting. Regardless of one’s sentiment of that fact, it is simply a fact.

Several chapters could person benefited from a small much research. “The Myth of No Poofters” astir exclusively uses worldly that crosses implicit with different chapters. But, arsenic Dapin points out, rigorous non-fiction is exhausting and time-consuming to write.

Above all, Lest is simply a outcry for the truth. Truth and warfare are uncomfortable partners. That, and aversion to hard enactment is presumably wherefore truthful galore authors – some non-fiction and fabrication – jettison painstaking probe for casual to digest mythologies. Lest is simply a dent successful that culture.

As is, the enactment plays to Dapin’s galore strengths and is fantastic contempt my quibbles. He’s achieved thing remarkable; a large and entertaining publication connected historiography.

Edmund Goldrick is simply a bookseller and non-fiction author. He co-wrote The Greatest Escape by Neil Churches, and is penning for Hachette connected Australians who served successful WWII Yugoslavia.

The Booklist is simply a play newsletter for publication lovers from books exertion Jason Steger. Get it delivered each Friday.

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