Peter Brune

Between 1946 and 1966, large numbers of displaced persons (DPs) came to Australia to escape the horrors of war-torn Europe. Peter Brune’s latest work had its genesis in more than 40 interviews he conducted with DPs in the period 2001–2022. He spoke to migrants from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, and...

In the spirit of Les Carlyon's bestselling Gallipoli , this book restores Milne Bay, Gona, Buna and Sanananda to their rightful place beside Kokoda as sacred ground, and a vital part of Australian history.

Descent into Hell is a scrupulously researched and groundbreaking account of one of the most traumatic calamities in Australian history – the Malayan Campaign, the fall of Singapore, and the subsequent horrors of the Thai-Burma Railway. Unpicking the myths and legends of the war, Peter Brune goes to the heart of the Australian experience. He describes the shambolic planning by...

The Kokoda Trail is part of Australian military folklore. During July to September 1942, the Japanese aimed to capture Port Moresby by an overland crossing of the Owen Stanley Range and a landing in Milne Bay. To oppose a force of 10,000 crack Japanese troops on the Kokoda Trail, the Allies committed one under-trained and poorly-equipped unit—the 39th Battalion, later...