Desert Boys

More than 2,200 Australians died in the desert campaigns in WWI, while another 3,500 died in the desert and Mediterranean campaigns in WWII. Thousands more carried the wounds of war for the rest of their lives. Countless more were the families who mourned them. A ripple effect of grief passed down the generations. This is the story of Australia's desert wars as never before told. Using letters, diaries, interviews, and unpublished memoirs, Desert Boys provides a powerful insight into the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of two generations of Australian soldiers. In many cases these were fathers and sons going to successive wars with all the tragedy, adventure, and hardship that brought. These are extraordinary stories of bravery, hope, mateship, and adversity, a very long way from home.

Peter Rees is a journalist who worked in the Canberra Press Gallery for many years before leaving to write books full time. He is the author of Other Anzacs, The Boy from Boree Creek, Killing Juanita, and Tim Fischer's Outback Heroes.