Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Patrick Carlyon, Allen & Unwin, $17.99.
There is more to Gallipoli than legends. They were all brave Australians who landed on that Turkish shore. While this book sets out to explore the events of Gallipoli in 1915, the story of Gallipoli and its diggers thrives as one of our most compelling legends.
“Gallipoli may sound romantic to us, but it certainly wasn’t for the men who lived and died there…” While it may not always be possible to separate fact from legend, Carlyon has tried to find the specifics.
The Walkley Award-winning journalist points out that it’s the stories about hardship, loss and endurance — those are the experiences — that result in ‘our story’ a century later. It’s the human faces behind this imposing account that helps to resurrect history with such clarity.
Anzac Day, for many Australians, is a special time each year when we think most deeply about who we are as a people. Driving straight into the battle’s heart, Carlyon ploughs his way past the folklore, fact and fiction to deliver an extraordinary and assertive journey.
There are some pertinent questions: ‘Anzac soldiers fought on Turkish soil a century ago. So why do we still care about what happened there? Why do we celebrate a battle lost?’
It explores the lives and choices of the men — soldiers, politicians and generals alike – who found themselves caught up in a battle fought far from home.
“The Gallipoli campaign was a military folly, but it long ago came to double as something else – a measure of national character. Its place in the national imagination seems set to keep on growing.”
The soldiers were brave and scared too. “They fought well and made mistakes. They went looking for adventure; instead, they stumbled into misery.”
This chronicle is more than just about legends: it is full of diagrams, maps, black and white photographs and appendix containing letters and a respectable bibliography and index.
