New Great Australian Flying Doctor Stories

"Where's your thumb?" the doctor asked the injured ringer.

"Oh, we stuck it over there on the gatepost, fer safe keepin'." And just as the doctor turned around to the gatepost, he saw a crow heading skyward, thumb and all.

From the pilots, doctors and nurses who spread their 'mantle of safety' throughout the remote inland of Australia, as well as the men and women they treat on the ground, comes a brand-new collection of Flying Doctor yarns as told to master storyteller Bill 'Swampy' Marsh. Hear of those whose very lives depend on the Royal Flying Doctor Service, like the man suffering from extreme burns who rode his motorbike 18 km back across his property to get help while opening and closing every gate along the way because you "always leave gates as you find them". Out here, stoicism and a sense of humour go hand in hand, as in the case of the stockman with a compound leg fracture who, when asked by the Flying Doctor if it hurt, replied, "Oh, it itches a bit."

Through fog, lightning, thunder, flooding rains and dust storms, the Flying Doctor braves the elements to get to the remote outback landing strips where they're needed. The tales they live to tell will have you shaking your head in amazement.

New Great Australian Flying Doctor Stories is a testament to the bravery, resilience and indomitable spirit of those who dedicate their lives to helping others in Australia's most isolated regions.