In Beyond The Broken Years - fifty years after The Broken Years, Bill Gammage's classic on World War One soldiers, was published - provocative military historian Peter Stanley argues why it's vital for Australians to understand how our military past has been created. By whom, how and with what consequences.
Stanley explores military history and the storytellers - from historians Charles Bean, Henry Reynolds, Joan Beaumont and David Horner to ''storians' Peter FitzSimons and Les Carlyon. And grapples with what it means to write military history, its different approaches, the rise of popular writers and much more. He asks readers to consider a genre that plays a central role in the Australian identity, but many take for granted.
'An unflinching and insightful tour through the evolving landscape of Australian war history, led by one of the country's most trusted guides. This impressive blend of scholarship and reflection is crucial reading for anyone wanting to understand the place of war in Australian history.' - Kate Ariotti, University of Queensland
'All historians of Australian military history will be indebted to Peter Stanley for this virtuoso commentary on the books of the field, written with his characteristic flair, insight and delight in controversy.' - Emeritus Professor Joan Beaumont, Australian National University
'Peter Stanley's evocation of Australia's military history is not to be missed. Half a century after Bill Gammage's superb book The Broken Years was published, Stanley has cleverly drawn on the cream of Australian military historians to underline the key elements of Australia's military past. However, it is Stanley's own analysis of the importance of Australia's military past that has given new meaning to the importance of Australians at war. Remarkably, Stanley has researched 1300 books written by Australian authors since 1974. The result is a gripping overview of our military history that should not be missed.' - The late Tim Bowden AM, author, radio and television broadcaster, producer and oral historian
'Peter Stanley is surely the military historian's historian. This book is an extraordinary achievement, both knowledgeable and eminently readable. It should take pride of place in any military history library.' - Mike Carlton, author, broadcaster and journalist
'In engaging prose, and with a light touch, Stanley analyses the military history boom of the last fifty years, pondering the rise and rise of Anzac commemoration, and making a strong claim for better representation of frontier wars at the Australian War Memorial. Beyond The Broken Years will be devoured by those who enjoy military history and will endure as the authoritative account of how Australians have understood our experience of war.' - Carolyn Holbrook, Deakin University.