[close] Written for teenage readers and those seeking a simple version of a complex event, this is the story of a vastly outnumbered force of poorly-trained and poorly-supplied Australian militia who stopped a huge but ill-conceived Japanese attack on Port Moresby, over the spine of New Guinea. The two villains in the piece, Australian general Thomas Blamey and US general Douglas MacArthur, should heave brought about defeat a dozen times over with their stupidity. Further down the chain, competent generals and competent soldiering undid the harm that the top generals attempted.

The Kokoda campaign was the first Allied success against the Japanese, though Milne Bay happened in the same time-frame. It was achieved by fighting a withering attrition, stretching the Japanese supply lines and holding them until reinforcements could be brought up. The 101 days of the subtitle is the time from first engagement to the Australian troops rolling back into Kokoda, a village of no strategic importance which captivated the tiny minds of Blamey and MacArthur. [close]