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‘Adrian candidly presents the ‘equation of service’: the challenges overcome that create feelings of personal achievement, the mateships that hold people together, and the lows that can shake your belief in self.’ - General David Hurley AC CVO DSC (Retd) "Your past doesn’t define you—it teaches you. Every experience is a lesson, not a life sentence." In Stay Loose, Adrian Hodges delivers a candid reflection on three decades of service in the Australian Army, from navigating the dangers of war to the challenges beyond the battlefield. Adrian chronicles both the highs and lows. From his battalion's deployment to Somalia's famine-stricken chaos—Australia's first major overseas operation since the Vietnam War—to participating in the nation’s first lethal firefight in decades, he offers harrowing frontline insights. His memoir covers a military exchange in Malaysia, as well as service in Afghanistan and Iraq, providing an intimate view of the physical and psychological tolls faced by soldiers. But this memoir isn’t just about combat. Adrian reflects on his struggles after leaving the Army, battling uncertainty and searching for direction. His post-military career led him to work as a court recorder on several high-profile legal cases, including the investigation into the Black Hawk helicopter crash that claimed 18 military lives. He also recounts backpacking through North Africa and the Middle East, contrasting his military service with personal discovery. Eventually re-enlisting, Adrian’s return to operations and military exchanges weaves themes of brotherhood, resilience, and the strength found in family. Now a private military contractor in the UAE, he explores how his past shaped his future. Stay Loose is a deeply personal journey of finding humour and catharsis in extraordinary circumstances, proving that past experiences offer lessons, not life sentences. ‘The motto of The Royal Australian Regiment is “Duty First” Adrian’s story puts life and understanding into that motto.’- General David Hurley AC CVO DSC (Retd)

Nothing can prepare a man for the horrors of war, nor the haunting memories that linger long after the battle is over. In The Impossible Survivor, Jeff Steel invites readers into the life of Neil Lindsay, a retired RAF Bomber Command veteran, as he confronts the shadows of his past. On a seemingly ordinary day in 1995, Neil and his daughter Margaret visit a memorial honouring the fallen soldiers of the Goulburn Valley. What begins as a simple outing soon unravels the buried truths of Neil’s harrowing experiences during World War II. An ambitious young man, Neil's fate intertwined with the legendary figures of the RAF, including the celebrated Wing Commander Guy Gibson. He bravely flew perilous missions over Nazi Germany, becoming the sole survivor of a downed bomber and enduring two years of torment in a German prisoner-of-war camp. As he stands before the memorial stone he provides a glimpse into his past, sharing the first fragments of the extraordinary story that had been hidden for so long. The Impossible Survivor is a powerful tribute to those who fought bravely, capturing the essence of ordinary men faced with extraordinary circumstances. These men did not seek out the risk of death or the challenges of war; they volunteered out of a sense of duty and courage. They faced life-or-death situations with a blend of character, training, determination, and a touch of luck, fully aware of the slim chances of returning home. Neil Lindsay’s story stands as a powerful testament to their extraordinary resolve.

The tactics, technologies, and turning points<p>Discover the key themes and big ideas behind the major events and milestones in the history of warfare - from the dawn of civilization to the 21st century.Tracing the epic 5,000-year story of warfare from the earliest battles to the War on Terror, The Military History Book explores and explains the causes and consequences of each, offering a new angle on military history. Individual entries analyse the key social and political driving forces, the arms and armaments, and the technologies and tactics of war over the last 7,000 years - from the tactics of early infantry and siegecraft to the rise of naval combat steel, steam, and shellfire, and from trench warfare and aerial dogfights to chemical weapons and cyber warfare.Combining authoritative text and memorable quotes with photographs, maps, illustrations, and infographics, each episode is made accessible and easy to understand, brining military history to life like never before.</p>

Uncover the untold story of a forgotten battle off Australia's shores  The official history of the Royal Australian Air Force claims that no enemy submarines operating off the Australian coast during World War II were sunk. But what if history got it wrong?  In a fierce and decisive air action off the coast of New South Wales, RAAF Beaufort bombers engaged a colossal Japanese submarine over 100 meters long. What followed was a deadly duel between the submarine's anti-aircraft guns and the bombers' machine guns. The I-178, with her crew of 88, lies lost somewhere north of Sydney. The events of that day have remained buried—until now.  In this groundbreaking work - Tom Lewis-  one of Australia’s leading military historians rewrites the history books. ‘The Secret Submarine’ not only reveals a forgotten victory but also immerses readers in the harrowing experiences of those who served in WWII bombers and submarines. Additionally, it chronicles the broader, brutal struggle between Japanese forces and the combined might of the USA and Australia, a conflict that saw over 40 ships sunk and countless lives lost off Australia’s east coast.  Praise for Tom Lewis ‘Tom Lewis has reminded us of the perils of lack of preparation in peacetime and the price to be paid in war for not recognising new technologies and methods for striking at Australians from the sea.’ [Attack on Sydney Harbour] - Lieutenant-Commander Desmond Woods OAM RAN  Tom Lewis never lets his readers down. He has embedded a narrative with all the necessary historical and political background, photographs, maps, diagrams, pen-pictures of key players as well as a closing epilogue. ’ [Attack on Sydney Harbour] - Neville Taylor RUSI Vic  Remarkable in its sweep of World War II’s Pacific theatre, and the terrible price all involved would have paid if it continued. Atomic Salvation would be ideal for a comprehensive documentary’– Ian Richards, film-maker  An effective blend of historical narrative and scholarly argument, Dr Tom Lewis’s Atomic Salvation is both a memorable and enlightening reading experience. – [Atomic Salvation] – Dr LFS Browne – Historian  The sanitized version of warfare in books and films omits the bloody and ferocious encounters at the sharp end of war, this book explains. [The Truth of War] – Newcastle Herald

The Secrets Of Anzac Ridge The impact of World War I ripples through time. In this moving and essential book, historian Patricia Skehan brings to light secret details of Anzac experiences on the Western Front.  In the annals of human history, the stakes are highest in war. And in World War I, what was at stake was the future of the world. Anzac troops, fighting and dying so far from home, were crucial to the result that shaped the twentieth century. Those troops wrote letters and diaries, materials that now form the record for the human face of war. Patricia Skehan reveals riveting secrets from the diaries of James Armitage, a young Sydney man who enlisted on his eighteenth birthday, as well as the writings of General Sir John Monash, the military mastermind leading the Anzac troops. With permission from both their relatives, their records of the Western Front are interweaved with stories from doctors, nurses, gunners and many others. The result is a moving portrait of catastrophic events set on Anzac Ridge, in Flanders fields. The Secrets of Anzac Ridge shows us how much humans care for each other even when the world is at its darkest, illuminating the courage and heart of those living in the trenches.

Fascinating stories from Australia's colonial navies and the early Royal Australian Navy, whose untried ships and the eager crew manning them performed feats of great courage in World War I.

Victory '45 Celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE Day, bestselling historians James Holland and Al Murray tell the unflinching story of the eight surrenders that brought victory to the Allies and ended the Second World War. 'A gripping, eye-opening and satisfying new account' The Express From the Italian Alps to northern Germany, to London, New York, Washington and Tokyo, Victory '45 tells the story of the extraordinary summer when the greatest conflagration the world had ever known finally came to an end after eight surrenders that heralded the Allied victory. Comprised of eight chapters based around each of those surrenders and the victory celebrations which followed, it will be rich in character and human drama with revealing stories and perspectives behind the end of the war not yet told before. Each chapter will follow the viewpoints of a number of key characters as they traverse these world-changing events - from ordinary servicemen and women and civilians to generals and political leaders. What took place during the negotiations of those surrenders and the terms that were agreed there would determine the directions the participating countries would take in the years that followed and ultimately the shape of our current world.

Vietnam became the Western world’s most divisive modern conflict, precipitating a battlefield humiliation for France in 1954, then a vastly greater one for the United States in 1975. Max Hastings has spent the past three years interviewing scores of participants on both sides, as well as researching a multitude of American and Vietnamese documents and memoirs, to create an epic narrative of an epic struggle. He portrays the set pieces of Dienbienphu, the Tet offensive, the air blitz of North Vietnam, and less familiar battles such as the bloodbath at Daido, where a US Marine battalion was almost wiped out, together with extraordinary recollections of Ho Chi Minh’s warriors. Here are the vivid realities of strife amid jungle and paddies that killed 2 million people.Many writers treat the war as a US tragedy, yet Hastings sees it as overwhelmingly that of the Vietnamese people, of whom forty died for every American. US blunders and atrocities were matched by those committed by their enemies. While all the world has seen the image of a screaming, naked girl seared by napalm, it forgets countless eviscerations, beheadings and murders carried out by the communists. The people of both former Vietnams paid a bitter price for the Northerners’ victory in privation and oppression. Here is testimony from Vietcong guerrillas, Southern paratroopers, Saigon bargirls and Hanoi students alongside that of infantrymen from South Dakota, Marines from North Carolina, Huey pilots from Arkansas.No past volume has blended a political and military narrative of the entire conflict with heart-stopping personal experiences, in the fashion that Max Hastings’ readers know so well. The author suggests that neither side deserved to win this struggle with so many lessons for the 21st century about the misuse of military might to confront intractable political and cultural challenges. He marshals testimony from warlords and peasants, statesmen and soldiers, to create an extraordinary record.