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Unnecessary Wars

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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Unnecessary Wars by Henry Reynolds critiques Australia's involvement in various military conflicts, arguing that many could have been avoided. The book examines historical decisions and challenges the commonly held views on the necessity of these wars. It delves into the political and social impacts of military engagement, encouraging readers to question past and future military actions.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$9000

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this exploration of Australia's military history if you're interested in examining the rationale and impact of the country's involvement in various conflicts, particularly those that might be deemed unnecessary. With a critical analysis of political and historical contexts, this book offers an insightful look at how these wars shaped national identity and policy.

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'Australian governments find it easy to go to war. Their leaders seem to be able to withdraw with a calm conscience, answerable neither to God nor humanity.'

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Australian governments find it easy to go to war. Their leaders seem to be able to withdraw with a calm conscience, answerable neither to God nor humanity.

Australia lost 600 men in the Boer War, a three-year conflict fought in the heart of Africa that had ostensibly nothing to do with Australia. Coinciding with Federation, the war kickstarted Australia's commitment to fighting in Britain's wars overseas, and forged a national identity around it. By 1902, when the Boer War ended, a mythology about our colonial soldiers had already been crafted, and a dangerous precedent established.

This is Henry Reynolds at his searing best, as he shows how the Boer War left a dark and dangerous legacy, demonstrating how those beliefs have propelled us into too many unnecessary wars without ever counting the cost.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781742234809

Publisher: NewSouth Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 April 2016

Country: Australia

Imprint: NewSouth Publishing

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 27.0mm

Width: 134.0mm

Height: 208.0mm

Weight: 296g

Pages: 288

About the Author

Henry Reynolds is one of Australia’s bestknown historians. His pioneering work, especially The Other Side of the Frontier, has been critical in changing understandings of the Australian frontier. His most recent book, Forgotten War, won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for nonfiction in 2014.

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