Those Ragged Bloody Heroes: From the Kokoda Trail to Gona Beach 1942

by Peter Brune

The definitive account of the Australians on the Kokoda Trail - a story told through the eyes of the Australians who fought there, many of whom have now passed away.

Genres: History, Military Fiction, World War II, War, Australia

436 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1992

Reviews

[Imie Mark III · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adding insult to the injuries of the Australian soldiers who gave their all against tremendous odds in late 1942, stalling and finally beating back the Japanese advance across the Owen Stanley range in southern New Guinea, is both the manner in which they were immediately (and spuriously) characterized as incompetent cowards and the fact the true and full story of their feats are now known to so few.

While their story should be told and the lessons to be learned not soon forgotten, I found Brune's method of storying painfully detailed and at times unnecessarily repetitive.

I will say, reading the book on an older e-reader did it no favors as the few maps provided were undersized and lacking in clarity in addition to not being readily available for reference as battles unfolded. Add to that challenges of my own cultural barriers (unfamiliarity with Aussie terms, phrases, and illustrations along with their military structure, etc.) and there are certainly aspects of my struggle through the book which I cannot pin on the author. Nonetheless, for someone who not only has personal ties to present day Papua New Guinea but also appreciates military history, I found the book quite a challenge to navigate.

[David McAllistair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Kokoda book written purely from the Australian perspective and in doing so perpetrates the usual myths such as the Australians were outnumbered etc. There is only one book which accurately accounts for the Japanese side titled 'Kokoda' by Peter Williams. In doing so he debunks seven decades of one-sided Kokoda history.