Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/News/May 2016/Book reviews
|
The Spy Catchers. Volume Two: The Protest Years 1963–1975 |
- By Hawkeye7
The official history of the
The change in author is seamless, and it reads exactly the same as the previous volume. It also inherits the main flaw of its predecessor, the lack of context. The reader is expected to know who, for example, Joan Coxsedge is (and unfortunately, her Wikipedia article won't be much help). Indeed, for most military historians, the Second World War and the early Cold War are probably more familiar than the Vietnam War and the early 1970s.
This volume covers the most turbulent period in
Explosive topics are handled with the professionalism of a member of the Army Bomb Disposal Squad. But while ASIO's role is detailed, the reader will have to seek more information elsewhere. Nor is this the last word on these subjects. And Blaxland has to deal with some highly contentious and controversial issues, including ASIO surveillance of ordinary citizens, particularly those involved in the anti-Vietnam War movement; ASIO operations exceeding its authority; Liberal ministers, including Prime Minister Robert Menzies deliberately misleading the parliament; international terrorist organisations basing themselves in Australia; and the role of US intelligence agencies in the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.
Publishing details: Blaxland, John (2015). Volume Two: The Protest Years 1963-1975. The Official History of ASIO. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin.
Recent external reviews |
MacLeod, D. Peter (2016). Northern Armageddon: The Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the Making of the American Revolution. New York: Knopf.
- Preston, David (29 April 2016). "The Lucky Moment in War". The Wall Street Journal.
Schmidt, Elizabeth (2013). Foreign Intervention in Africa: From the Cold War to the War on Terror. New York: Cambridge University Press.
- Thomas, Charlie (May 2016). "Elizabeth Schmidt. Foreign Intervention in Africa: From the Cold War to the War on Terror". H-Net Reviews. H-Net Humanities & Social Sciences Online.
Moshenska, Joe (2016). A Stain in the Blood: The Remarkable Voyage of Sir Kenelm Digby. London: William Heinemann.
- "Forgotten hero". The Economist. 28 May 2016.
- Prusher, Ilene (27 May 2016). "Farewell Kabul,' by Christina Lamb". The New York Times.
Coulthart, Ross (2016). The Lost Tommies. London: HarperCollins.
- Conrad, Peter (29 May 2016). "The Lost Tommies by Ross Coulthart review – young martyrs to pointlessness". The Guardian.
|
