More than Bombs and Bandages exposes the false assumption that military nurses only nursed. Based on author Kirsty Harris’ CEW Bean Prize-winning PhD thesis, this is a book that is far removed from the ‘devotion to duty’ stereotyping offering an intriguing and sometimes gut-wrenching insight into the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) during World War I. More than Bombs and Bandages provides rich pickings for all those interested in nursing history, women in the Australian military the application of medical treatments and World War I. What I enjoyed most about is Dr Kirsty Harris’s ability to reflect those nurses voices in a way that was so real – one could be there, the settings were so well understood from her research and the language kind of made a time warp in the reading. Very satisfying. As you know I have that Peter Rees book, but I could not get into it after reading the historical one. It was like comparing a great documentary to Facebook trivia!!! Rev’d Dr Barbara Oudt

More than Bombs and Bandages exposes the false assumption that military nurses only nursed. Based on author Kirsty Harris' CEW Bean Prize winning PhD thesis, this is a book that is far removed from the 'devotion to duty' stereotyping offering an intriguing and sometimes gut wrenching insight into the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) during World War I. More than Bombs and Bandages provides rich pickings for all those interested in nursing history, women in the Australian military the application of medical treatments and World War I.

Open hostilities in the Korean War ended on the 27th of July 1953. The armistice that was signed at that time remains the poignant symbol of an incomplete conclusion – of a war that retains a distinct possibility of resuming at short notice. So what did Australia contribute to the Korean War from June 1950 to July 1953? What were the Australians doing there? How significant was the contribution and what difference did it make? What has that meant for Australia since then, and what might that mean for Australia into the future? Australians served at sea, on land and in the air alongside their United Nations partners during the war. They fought with distinction, from bitterly cold mountain tops, to the frozen decks of aircraft carriers and in dogfights overhead. This book includes the perspectives of leading academics, practitioners and veterans contributing fresh ideas on the conduct and legacy of the Korean War. International perspectives from allies and adversaries provide contrasting counterpoints that help create a more nuanced understanding of Australia’s relatively small but nonetheless important contribution of forces in the Korean War. The book finishes with some reflections on implications that the Korean War still carries for Australia and the world to this day.

The Politics of Wounds explores military patients' experiences of frontline medical evacuation, war surgery, and the social world of military hospitals during the First World War. The proximity of the front and the colossal numbers of wounded created greater public awareness of the impact of the war than had been seen in previous conflicts, with serious political consequences. Frequently referred to as 'our wounded', the central place of the soldier in society, as a symbol of the war's shifting meaning, drew contradictory responses of compassion, heroism, and censure. Wounds also stirred romantic and sexual responses. This volume reveals the paradoxical situation of the increasing political demand levied on citizen soldiers concurrent with the rise in medical humanitarianism and war-related charitable voluntarism. The physical gestures and poignant sounds of the suffering men reached across the classes, giving rise to convictions about patient rights, which at times conflicted with the military's pragmatism. Why, then, did patients represent military medicine, doctors and nurses in a negative light? The Politics of Wounds listens to the voices of wounded soldiers, placing their personal experience of pain within the social, cultural, and political contexts of military medical institutions. The author reveals how the wounded and disabled found culturally creative ways to express their pain, negotiate power relations, manage systemic tensions, and enact forms of 'soft resistance' against the societal and military expectations of masculinity when confronted by men in pain. The volume concludes by considering the way the state ascribed social and economic values on the body parts of disabled soldiers though the pension system.

Here, There & Away is a unique collection of entertaining stories from the families who support our service men and women. Spanning the three branches of the Australian Defence Force this is a literary first. The stories cover the period from World War I to more recent times, and celebrate the love, care and support given by and to members of the wider defence family as well as the resilience required in diverse locations and situations. Some stories will tug at the heart strings while others are funny in the extreme. Many touch on significant historical events. There are a number of stories that will surprise and enlighten – all within a gentler context than the normal genre of military history. The reader will be left pondering and maybe even enticed to further explore some aspects of Australian military history. The stories in Here, There & Away poignantly depict the ups and downs of everyday life for military families in times of war and peace, but they also reflect many aspects of life experienced by the wider community. This collection is an important contribution to Australian social and military history, and an entertaining and uplifting book for readers of all ages.

This book contributes to the global turn in First World War studies by exploring Australians’ engagements with the conflict across varied boundaries and by situating Australian voices and perspectives within broader, more complex contexts. This diverse and multifaceted collection includes chapters on the composition and contribution of the Australian Imperial Force, the experiences of prisoners of war, nurses and Red Cross workers, the resonances of overseas events for Australians at home, and the cultural legacies of the war through remembrance and representation. The local-global framework provides a fresh lens through which to view Australian connections with the Great War, demonstrating that there is still much to be said about this cataclysmic event in modern history.