Kokoda Wallaby: Stan Bisset: The Rugby International Who Became a Kokoda Hero

by Andrew James

Stan Bisset was a real hero, both in battle, on the rugby pitch and in desperate armed combat against the Japanese during the Second World War. As a member of the ill-fated 1939 Wallaby touring team to England, he was a rugby legend. In the Middle East and on the Kokoda Track, he was one of Australia's most distinguished and heroic combatants. But above all else, he personified so many attributes of the Australian soldier: moral and physical courage, compassion, selflessness, independence, loyalty, resourcefulness, devotion, and humor. Stan Bisset's remarkable life story is told by former Australian soldier and Afghanistan veteran Andrew James. This is a truly inspiring book that crosses generations.

296 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2011

About the author

Andy worked in commercial television, live events and brand consultancy before buying a contract publishing agency in 2005, which he ran until its sale in 2010. Since then he has worked as a media and business consultant, notably to an importer of delightful wine.
He spent his teenage years employed at the Whitehall Theatre, where he studied for school exams in the lighting box watching such formative productions as What, No Pyjamas? He is a pretty good cook and mediocre musician, has curated a significant art exhibition, climbed Snowdon, ridden motorcycles at ridiculous speeds, had poetry published in Magma Poetry magazine and spent three years living in a church in North Yorkshire, before being reclaimed by London. A lifelong Crystal Palace FC supporter, he is also a devotee of South Africa’s Western Cape. He lives in Southwest London.

Blow Your Kiss Hello is his first novel and a second is underway.

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a line in the Joe Jackson song from the 80's; Real Men, which says something like "..boys who always grew up better men than me and you..." and for some reason that really resonated to me while reading this book. Bisset is a football and war hero and apart from that just seems a really decent human being. The book bogged down occasionally when it provided too much detail of infantries and battalions and who was who in the chain of command, but apart from that it was a really good book. Peter Fitzsimons is quoted on the front cover endorsing the book but I couldn't help but wonder if the story would have been even better if he had authored it. Fitzsimon's quote really some the book up: 'This is a wonderful book about an extraordinary man.'

[Calum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an important book. It has both educated and challenged me in various areas of my own life. This book i readily recommend to any of my fellow Australians who posses even a remote interest in our nation's past.