Uncommon Soldier : Brave, Compassionate And Tough, The Making Of Australia's Modern Diggers

Author: Chris Masters

Stock information

General Fields

  • : 39.95 AUD
  • : 9781741759716
  • : Allen & Unwin
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  • : 0.454
  • : June 2012
  • : 230mm X 153mm
  • : Australia
  • : 49.99
  • : September 2012
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  • : books

Special Fields

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  • :
  • : Chris Masters
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  • : Hardback
  • : 1
  • :
  • : en
  • : 355.02
  • :
  • :
  • : 336
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Barcode 9781741759716
9781741759716

Description

Chris Masters, the country's foremost investigative journalist, turns his penetrating gaze on the modern Australian soldier. Moving away from our ongoing fascination with Anzac story, he looks at the rich and illuminating present to write a character study of the modern Australian soldier - war fighter, peacekeeper, street-level diplomat and aid worker. Having been taken into their ranks in a way rarely before afforded an outsider, Masters gives heart and shape to the contemporary digger: how they are selected, how they are led, and how they are transformed from civilians to disciplined professional soldiers. And in asking if they are unique, he examines what it is that allows these young Australians to lend moral authority to communities teetering on the precipice of violence in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. By sharing the experiences of the young men and women who make up the Australian army, Masters puts under severe challenge the notion that soldiering is the province of dumb grunts. In doing so, he argues that the best measure of this country's military legend is found in the present. Uncommon Soldier is a rare and powerful work.

Author description

Chris Masters is Australia's best-known investigative reporter, and the author of "Jonestow"n. In 1985, he won Australia's most prestigious award in journalism, the Gold Walkely, for his Four Corners report on the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior. His reports "The Big League" and "The Moonlight State" both led to royal commissions that helped transform the nation.