Roland Perry

Bill was massive. He had power, intelligence, and unmatched courage. In performance and character, he stood above all the other 200,000 Australian horses sent to the Middle East in the Great War. But as war horses go, he had one serious problem. No one could ride him but one man - Major Michael Shanahan. Some even thought Bill took a...

The extraordinary story of Stan Savige - from Gallipoli marksman to WWII General and the founder of Legacy Stan Savige had been on Gallipoli for just two weeks, in the trenches firing at Turks less than 20 metres away. But Sniper's Ridge was a different proposition. Killing took on another dimension. In the flurry of trench warfare, a soldier would...

Compelling and wholly absorbing... among the most remarkable Australians of his time, Bob Carr, Australian General Sir John Monash changed the way wars were fought and won. When the British and German High Commands of the First World War failed to gain ascendancy after four years of unprecedented human slaughter, Monash used innovative techniques and modern technology to plan and...

Roland Perry is gloriously readable, always thoughtful. Wisden The 1932-33 Ashes was the most notorious and polarising series in the history of cricket. The events of that turbulent summer centred around Don Bradman, the greatest batsman ever to play the game. With him in their side, Australia appeared unbeatable. And yet England alleged they had found the one shortcoming in...

'Genius, complex, authentic - Roland Perry captures all the essential characteristics of this globally recognised Australian who was influenced by the giants of science and then became one himself.' Dr Matt Agnew 6 August 1945: the United States launches the world's first nuclear attack on Japan. J. Robert Oppenheimer will be remembered as the father of the bomb, but it...

Discovering the man behind the legend 'Conversations with Bradman were, like his batting, never dull and often unpredictable.' -- From the Introduction In 1995, journalist and author Roland Perry wrote to Sir Donald Bradman requesting a face-to-face interview for a biography he was planning of the great cricketer. Surprisingly, the Don agreed. For Perry, those days spent speaking with Bradman...

Monash and Chauvel follows the extraordinary campaigns of the two most outstanding battlefield commanders of the First World War across all the Allied armies: John Monash and Harry Chauvel. John Monash commanded the Australian forces on the Western Front at the most critical time of the war, 1918. With his German Jewish heritage, Monash was an outsider who had risen...

Bill the Bastard is a remarkable tale of the bond between a determined trooper and his stoic but cantankerous mount during the Light Horse campaigns against the Ottoman Empire in the Great War. They fought together. They depended on each other for survival. And when the chips were down, Bill's heroic efforts and exceptional instincts in battle saved the lives...

Just after midnight on 1 March 1942, Australia's most renowned cruiser, HMAS Perth, was sunk by Japanese naval forces in the Sunda Strait off the coast of Java. Of the 681 men aboard, 328 survived the sinking and made it to shore—and one cat. Her name was Red Lead, and she was the ship's cat, beloved by the crew and...

'Roland Perry shows the true picture . . . enjoyable, clearly argued, comprehensive, and highly readable.' - Michael McKernan, Australian Book Review 11 March 1942: The Japanese have stormed the Philippines, forcing US General Douglas MacArthur to flee with his family, escaping by the skin of their teeth to the nearest safe country - Australia. Meanwhile, Australia's foremost general, Thomas...

Roland Perry is gloriously readable, always thoughtful. Wisden The 1932-33 Ashes was the most notorious and polarising series in the history of cricket. The events of that turbulent summer centred around Don Bradman, the greatest batsman ever to play the game. With him in their side, Australia appeared unbeatable. And yet England alleged they had found the one shortcoming in...

From the turbulent life of the late Shane Warne to the skill, mentality and character behind Pat Cummins' new-look captaincy, and through the decades to the wit, wisdom and genius of Sir Donald Bradman, Great Achievers and Characters in Australian Cricket examines the career highs and lows of many of the game's big names through the ages. The chapters cover...

Horrie the War Dog by Roland Perry tells the remarkable story of Horrie, the Egyptian Terrier, found as a starving pup in the harsh Libyan Desert. He became the much-loved mascot of the First Australian Machine Gun Battalion in World War II. Yet he was no ordinary symbol, and the Gunners' love for him was not mere affection for a...