A true insider's story of the Backpacker Murders from the detective who led the team that arrested Ivan Milat.

The British Admiralty's telegram arrived at Navy Office in Melbourne, the order to go to all-out war. It was coldly succinct- TOTAL GERMANY ... The war at sea had begun. When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, the British asked Australia for help. With some misgivings, the Australian government sent five destroyers to beef up the British Royal Navy in the Mediterranean. HMAS Vendetta, Vampire, Voyager, Stuart and Waterhen were old ships, small with worn-out engines. Their crews used to joke they were held together by string and chewing gum; when the Nazi propaganda minister Josef Goebbels heard of them, he sneered that they were a load of scrap iron. Yet by the middle of 1940, these destroyers were valiantly escorting troop and supply convoys, successfully hunting for submarines and indefatigably bombarding enemy coasts. Sometimes the weather could be their worst enemy - from filthy sandstorms blowing off Africa to icy gales from Europe that whipped up mountainous seas and froze the guns. Conditions on board were terrible - no showers or proper washing facilities; cramped and stinking sleeping quarters; unpleasant meals of spam and tinned sausages, often served cold in a howling squall. And always the bombing, the bombing. And the fear of submarines. When Nazi Germany invaded Greece, the Allied armies - including Australian Divisions - reeled in retreat. The Australian ships were among those who had to rescue thousands of soldiers. Then came the Siege of Tobruk - Australian troops holding out in that small Libyan port city. The Australian destroyers ran 'the Tobruk Ferry' - bringing supplies of food, medicine and ammunition into the shattered port by night, and taking off wounded soldiers. But the four destroyers now left were struggling, suffering from constant engine breakdowns, with crews beleaguered by two years of bombings, wild seas and the endless fear of being sunk. In late 1941 the ships were finally sent home, staggering back to Australia, proudly calling themselves the Scrap Iron Flotilla in defiance of the Goebbels' sneer. That flotilla is now an immortal part of Australian naval legend, and this is its story.

This is the colourful story of FRANCIS BIRTLES, a fascinating individual who led a life of incredible adventure and exploration in Australia and throughout the world. A narrative account of the life and times of one of Australia's most extraordinary adventurers - a man who crossed Australia more than 70 times in the early part of the 20th century - by bicycle and car. In 1927 he acheived the greatest motoring feat of the times, driving a car from London to Melbourne. This story follows his exploits across scorching Arabic deserts, through steamy Indian jungles and mountain snowstorms. In between these journeys he made a collection of documentaries and films of his encounters with the outback. He documented his exploration of Australia in his book, BATTLEFRONTS OF OUTBACK. He eventually travelled to the Northern Territory in search of gold and retired a wealthy man.

The machine gun is a uniquely American invention that, more than any other single invention, revolutionized the way in which war was waged. Machine Gun tells the story of the people responsible for the development of the weapon itself - beginning with Samuel Colt's creation of the first mass-produced, rapid-firing revolver; to Dr. Richard Gatling and his Gatling Gun; and Hiram Maxim, whose Maxim Gun was the first truly automatic weapon. In this engrossing history, Smith traces the uses of the rapid-fire gun and its slow integration into the weaponry of military forces around the world. First used primarily to 'pacify' native populations, the machine gun was not fully integrated into military tactics until after the unprecedented casualties of World War I and the resultant social upheaval that utterly changed the very nature of tactical warfare. Machine Gun is an enthralling account of the people who invented and promoted the weapon, how it affected the very nature of warfare, and of the society out of which it arose - and which it in turn transformed inexorably.

Jack Ryan's latest mission from Tom Clancy's internationally bestselling series, now a major show on Amazon Prime America is under attack from within. Patients in hospitals, clinics, and at home are dying when the drugs they need for survival turn out to be ineffective copies. A corrupt pharmaceutical billionaire has spent millions supporting radical groups while using the chaos they engender to cover his money-making schemes, but for a man with such towering ambitions, the only real goal is power. To get that, he'll have to eliminate the only impediment in his path -- Jack Ryan. The question is, how do you attack the most closely guarded man in the world? For a man who has built his fortune on underhanded dealings and misdirection, the answer is as simple as it is shocking- He'll have to kidnap the First Lady.

'Mustn't complain' - but people always do¿ Nobody likes The Complaints - they're the cops who investigate other cops. Complaints and Conduct Department, to give them their full title, but known colloquially as 'The Dark Side', or simply 'The Complaints'. It's where Malcolm Fox works. He's just had a result, and should be feeling good about himself. But he's a man with problems of his own. He has an increasingly frail father in a care home and a sister who persists in an abusive relationship - something which Malcolm cannot seem to do anything about. But, in the midst of an aggressive Edinburgh winter, the reluctant Fox is given a new task. There's a cop called Jamie Breck, and he's dirty. The problem is, no one can prove it. But as Fox takes on the job, he learns that there's more to Breck than anyone thinks. This knowledge will prove dangerous, especially when a vicious murder intervenes far too close to home for Fox's liking.

Founded in 1888, James Hardie Industries is one of Australia's oldest, richest and proudest corporations. And its fortunes were based on what proved to be one of the worst industrial poisons of the twentieth century: asbestos. Asbestos House , the name of the grand headquarters that Hardie built itself in 1929, tells two remarkable tales. It relates the frantic financial engineering in 2001 during...

In this appealing memoir, McCourt describes his own coming of age as a teacher, a storyteller, and, ultimately, a writer.

In this witty, engrossing and sometimes poignant memoir, a sequel to his best-selling The Justice Game, Australia’s inimitable Geoffrey Robertson charts his progress from pimply state schoolboy to top Old Bailey barrister and thence onwards and upwards to a leading role in the struggle for human rights throughout the world.He wryly observes the absurdities of growing up as one of ‘Ming’s kids’; the passion of student protest in the sixties and his early crusades for ‘Down Under-dogs’, before leaving on a Rhodes Scholarship to combat the British establishment, with the help of John Mortimer of ‘Rumpole’ fame. There are dramatic accounts of fighting for lives on death rows, freeing dissidents and taking on tyrants, armed only with a unique mind and a passion for justice – on display whenever he boomeranged back to Australia to conduct Geoffrey Robertson’s Hypotheticals.In this updated edition of his amazing life story, he tells of David and Goliath battle; tales that feature a cast of characters from Malcolm Turnbull to Mike Tyson; from Nigella Lawson to Kathy Lette and Julian Assange. Throughout his exploits – recounted here with irreverent humour and dashes of true wisdom – Geoffrey Robertson has remained determinedly independent and his own man. He has also, in respect of human rights, changed the way we think.

The 50 stories in this collection are about men and war, ranging in time from the Ancient Greeks to Operation Desert Storm. The stories reveal the different aspects of war; heroism, excitement and terror. It also includes first-hand accounts of the soldiers who participated in military events.

Since studying journalism at RMIT in Melbourne, Kathryn Bonella has worked as a journalist in television and print. She moved to London 18 months after graduating and spent several years freelancing for 60 Minutes as well as numerous English and American television programs, magazines and newspapers. She returned to Australia in 2000 to work as a full-time producer for 60 Minutes. She moved to Bali in 2005 to research and write Schapelle Corby's autobiography, My Story.

Since studying journalism at RMIT in Melbourne, Kathryn Bonella has worked as a journalist in television and print. She moved to London eighteen months after graduating and spent several years freelancing for 60 Minutes as well as numerous English and American television programs, magazines and newspapers. She returned to Australia in 2000 to work as a full-time producer for 60 Minutes. She moved to Bali in 2005 to research and write Schapelle Corby's autobiography, My Story, and then Hotel Kerobokan and now Snowing in Bali.

Frank McCourt continues his life story in the brilliant, bestselling sequel to the million-selling `Angela's Ashes'.`Angela's Ashes' was a publishing phenomenon. Frank McCourt's critically-acclaimed, lyrical memoir of his Limerick childhood won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics' Circle Award, the Royal Society of Literature Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Award amongst others, and rapidly became a word-of-mouth bestseller topping all charts worldwide for over two years. It left readers and critics alike eager to hear more about Frank McCourt's incredible, poignant life.`'Tis' is the story of Frank's American journey from impoverished immigrant with rotten teeth, infected eyes and no formal education to brilliant raconteur and schoolteacher. Saved first by a straying priest, then by the Democratic party, then by the United States Army, then by New York University - which admitted him on a trial basis though he had no high school diploma - Frank had the same vulnerable but invincible spirit at nineteen that he had at eight and still has today. And ``Tis' is a tale of survival as vivid, harrowing, and hilarious as Angela's Ashes. Yet again, it is through the power of storytelling that Frank finds a life for himself. `It is only the best storyteller who can so beguile his readers that he leaves them wanting more when he's done. McCourt proves himself one of the very best' (Newsweek). `With `Tis', McCourt blesses his readers with another chapter of his story, but as it closes, they will want still more.

Has Jack Reacher finally met his match? 61 Hours ended with Reacher trapped in a desperate situation from which escape seemed impossible. Even for him. Was that really the end of the road for the maverick loner? Worth Dying For is the kind of explosive thriller only Lee Child could write - a heart-racing page-turner no suspense fan will want to miss

Mason Mace Perry was a maverick cop on the DC police force until she was kidnapped and framed for a crime. She lost everything - her career, her liberty - and spent two years in prison. Now back on the outside, Mace is trying to rebuild her life and track down the people who set her up. But even with her police chief sister at her side, she has to work in the shadows: there's a vindictive US attorney on her tail and he's just looking for a reason to send her back behind bars... Roy Kingman is a young lawyer, still getting used to his high-paid job at a law firm in Washington. When Roy discovers the dead body of a female partner at the firm, his fate becomes entangled with Mace's, as the two team up to investigate. But as their enquiries gather pace, Roy and Mace soon find themselves in unexpected territory; drawn into both the private and public world of the nation's capital, as dark secrets begin to emerge. For what began as a fairly routine homicide investigation will quickly turn into something far more complex. And possibly lethal...

On the night of the State Dinner honouring the British Prime Minister, Oliver Stone witnesses an explosion. A bomb has been detonated in what looks like a terrorist plot directed at the President and the Prime Minister. In the aftermath, British MI5 agent Mary Chapman is sent to assist the investigation alongside American authorities.

The troubling story of how a cadre of influential scientists have clouded public understanding of scientific facts to advance a political and economic agenda.

This is a major new edition of the pre-eminent Australian dictionary, prepared at the Australian National Dictionary Centre in Canberra and reflecting changes in Australian and international English.