190,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿 

Come visit us in-store this weekend! 📚 Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

Kokoda

75th Anniversary Edition
4.28 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 1,853 ratings, 125 reviews)
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
Kokoda by Peter FitzSimons is a gripping account of the pivotal World War II battle that took place on the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea. It highlights the bravery and resilience of the Australian soldiers as they confronted Japanese forces under extraordinarily challenging conditions. By weaving together personal stories and historical details, the book offers a compelling narrative of courage and endurance in the face of adversity.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$4499
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

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?

This book may appeal to you if you have an interest in profound tales of heroism and endurance during World War II. It's an engaging narrative that delves into the dramatic and gruelling events faced by soldiers in the Pacific Theatre, capturing both the strategy and the humanity of this crucial wartime campaign.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Updated edition - with a new foreword by Peter FitzSimons.

A superb blend of authority and gripping storytelling - history at its best.

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

For Australians, Kokoda is the iconic battle of World War II, yet few people know just what happened - and just what our troops achieved. Now, bestselling author Peter FitzSimons tells the Kokoda story in a gripping, moving story for all Australians.

Conditions on the track were hellish - rain was constant, the terrain close to inhospitable, food and ammunition supplies were practically non-existent and the men constantly battled malaria and dysentery, as well as the Japanese.

Kokoda was a defining battle for Australia - a small force of young, ill-equipped Australians engaged a highly experienced and hitherto unstoppable Japanese force on a narrow, precarious jungle track - and defeated them.

'An engrossing narrative, beautifully controlled by a master storyteller' - Sydney Morning Herald

'This reads like fiction, but it is all fact' - Lieutenant Allan 'Kanga' Moore, 39th Battalion.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Kokoda by Peter FitzSimons is widely praised for its compelling and immersive narrative, with critics noting the author's skill in masterfully weaving history into a story that captures the vivid details and dramatic experiences of the time. The book has been commended for reading with the intensity of fiction while remaining true to factual events, offering a profound insight into the experiences of those who fought.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780733619625

Publisher: Hachette Australia

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 November 2010

Country: Australia

Imprint: Hachette Australia

Illustration: 3x8pp 1c

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 47.0mm

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 233.0mm

Weight: 690g

Pages: 512

About the Author

Peter FitzSimons is well known as a journalist, TV personality and author. His bestsellers include NANCY WAKE, NED KELLY, BATAVIA, EUREKA and KOKODA. He lives in Sydney and loves talking to the media - any media, anywhere - as much as they love talking to him.

Also by Peter FitzSimons

View all
  • Mutiny on the Bounty
    Mutiny on the Bounty by Peter FitzSimons is an enthralling retelling of one of history's most dramatic nautical adventures. The book delves deep into the legendary mutiny that took place on HMS Bounty on 28 April 1789, in the idyllic waters of the South Pacific. FitzSimons, known for his meticulous research and captivating storytelling, transports readers to a world of...
    Paperback
    $3500
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Batavia
    Batavia by Peter FitzSimons brings to life one of the greatest and most harrowing stories in Australia's history. Set in 1629, the narrative follows the maiden voyage of the Dutch East India Company’s flagship, the Batavia, as it travels from Amsterdam to the Dutch East Indies. Laden with the greatest treasure to leave Holland, the ship encounters an unforeseen disaster...
    Paperback
    $4500
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Gallipoli
    On 25 April 1915, Allied forces made a bold and fateful landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula, a strategically critical locale in present-day Turkey. Their mission was clear: to secure the sea route between Britain and France in the west and Russia in the east. However, after eight gruelling months of intense combat, the campaign ended in failure. Despite this, the...
    Paperback
    $3000
    (1)
    Backorder
    Ships mid November
  • Burke and Wills
    The iconic Australian exploration story - brought to life by Peter FitzSimons, Australia's storyteller. 'They have left here today!' he calls to the others. When King puts his hand down above the ashes of the fire, it is to find it still hot. There is even a tiny flame flickering from the end of one log. They must have left...
    Paperback
    $3999
    Backorder
    Ships mid November
  • The Legend of Albert Jacka
    Our heroes can come from the most ordinary of places. As a shy lad growing up in country Victoria, no one in the district had any idea the man Albert Jacka would become. Albert 'Bert' Jacka was 21 when Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914. Bert soon enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, and the young private was...
    Hardback
    $6000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Catalpa Rescue
    The incredible true story of one of the most extraordinary and inspirational prison breaks in Australian history. New York, 1874. Members of the Clan-na-Gael—agitators for Irish freedom from the English yoke—hatch a daring plan to free six Irish political prisoners from the most remote prison in the British Empire, Fremantle Prison in Western Australia. Under the guise of a whale...
    Paperback
    $3999
    (1)
    Backorder
    Ships early December
  • The Last Charge of the Australian Light Horse
    On 31st October 1917, as the day's light faded, the Australian Light Horse charged against their enemy. Eight hundred men and horses galloped four miles across open country, towards the artillery, rifles and machine guns of the Turks occupying the seemingly unassailable town of Beersheba. What happened in the next hour changed the course of history. This brave battle and...
    Hardback
    $6000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Fromelles and Pozières
    In the Trenches of Hell On 19 July 1916, 7,000 Australian soldiers—in the first major action of the AIF on the Western Front—attacked entrenched German positions at Fromelles in northern France. By the next day, there were over 5,500 casualties, including nearly 2,000 dead—a bloodbath that the Australian War Memorial describes as 'the worst 24 hours in Australia's entire history.'...
    Paperback
    $3600
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Battle of Long Tan
    From the bestselling author of Kokoda and Gallipoli comes the epic story of Australia's deadliest Vietnam War battle. 4.31 pm: Enemy [on] left flank. Could be serious. 5.01 pm: Enemy ... penetrating both flanks and to north and south. 5.02: Running short of ammo. Require drop through trees. It was the afternoon of 18 August 1966, hot, humid with grey...
    Paperback
    $4499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Incredible Life of Hubert Wilkins
    The extraordinary, must-read story of the brave, bold Hubert Wilkins - Australia's most adventurous explorer, naturalist, photographer, war hero, aviator, spy and daredevil - brought to life by Australia's greatest storyteller. Sir Hubert Wilkins is one of the most remarkable Australians who ever lived. The son of pioneer pastoralists in South Australia, Hubert studied engineering before moving on to photography,...
    Paperback
    $3999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Ned Kelly
    History comes to life with Peter FitzSimons. The National Bestseller Love him or loathe him, Ned Kelly has been at the heart of Australian culture and identity since he and his gang were tracked down in bushland by the Victorian police and came out fighting, dressed in bulletproof iron armour made from farmers' ploughs. Historians still disagree over virtually every...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Charles Kingsford Smith and Those Magnificent Men
    The must-read story of the boy from Brisbane who became a wartime hero and aviation trailblazer. In an action-packed life, the indomitable 'Smithy' went from fighting as a soldier amid the carnage of Gallipoli and the Western Front to taking to the skies against the likes of the Red Baron—for which he won the Military Cross for gallantry—before becoming the...
    Paperback
    $3600
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

More from History & Military

View all
  • Behind Enemy Lines
    New Release
    Behind Enemy Lines
    Archie Gibson's initiation into desert warfare almost proved to be his last. Barrelling through the sand dunes at the wheel of his truck, Gibson spied a searing flash of light up ahead, the signature of a feared German 88mm gun firing ... right at him. He leapt from his speeding vehicle just before it was torn apart and turned into...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    The Cauldron
    How did an elderly cleric overthrow the Shah of Iran and change the world?Why did Bin Laden attack the USA - and why did the USA destroy Saddam?How did Britain and France carve up the Middle East - and why did the Kurds never get their own state? THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE MAKING OF TODAY'S MIDDLE EAST: A SPELLBINDING...
    Hardback
    $4999
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Saving Elli
    One child. Two years in hiding. Three lives in mortal danger. In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's house, another Jewish girl is hidden. Her name is Elli. Her father has been executed at Mauthausen concentration camp. Her mother is fleeing for her life. Elli is next. To save her, resistance couple Frits and Jo Hakkens must risk everything, concealing her...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Suicidal Empathy
    The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique...
    Paperback
    $3099
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    The Race to the Top of the World
    The epic true story of George Mallory and Edmund Hillary and the quest to be the first to conquer Everest. A captivating story of adventure, daring, despair and triumph from Australia's favourite storyteller. Last century, two men, thirty years apart, set out to become the first to conquer the highest point in the world. Their names are synonymous with adventure...
    Hardback
    $4699
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Man's Search For Meaning
    Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is a profound, thought-provoking memoir and psychological exploration that delves into the harrowing experiences of life in Nazi concentration camps, intertwined with the author’s groundbreaking theories on existential psychology. The book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, offering a beacon of hope and a roadmap for finding purpose...
    Paperback
    $1800
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Chief and the Empire
    The Chief and the Empire uncovers the extraordinary true tale of Te Tai Tokerau rangatira Te Pahi - the first influential Māori leader to cross the Tasman - whose curiosity about the Pākehā world forged alliances, saved lives, and ultimately cost him his own. On a visit to Sydney in 1805, Te Pahi was feted as a celebrity, building close...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Wager
    THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 'The beauty of The Wager unfurls like a great sail... one of the finest nonfiction books I've ever read' Guardian 'The greatest sea story ever told' Spectator 'I cannot think of anyone who would not love this book... It is an extraordinary true story, beautifully...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Plunder
    New Release
    Plunder
    The last weeks of World War II on the Western Front in Europe witnessed extraordinary scenes of heroism, horror, melodrama, and pathos. In Plunder, Max Hastings presents a cast of fascinating people—British, American, and German—in a series of great events in which some distinguished themselves through wonderful deeds, others through the basest crimes. The book takes its title from Montgomery’s...
    Paperback
    $3699
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Discipline
    Silence is complicity, but how do we confront the cost of speaking up? Sydney, May 2021. Ashraf is an academic whose career and personal life are in freefall. Hannah is a young journalist struggling to honour the voices of her community. When a Year 12 Al-Bayinnah College student is arrested for protesting a university's ties to an Israeli weapons manufacturer,...
    Paperback
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Golden Menhir
    Assurancetourix is entering the legendary Gallic bards' competition to win the golden menhir. But with the Romans keeping a close watch, Asterix and Obelix must protect him at all costs. Their mission? Keep him safe-no matter what... even if it means risking their own ears! First released as a book-disc in 1967, this adventure soon became a rare treasure, long...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Shattered Lands
    'A sparkling debut by an outstanding young historian' – PETER FRANKOPAN 'This book is a revelation … both original and important' – MISHAL HUSAIN A history of modern South Asia told through five partitions that reshaped it. As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and...
    Paperback
    $3699
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 190,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.