This is an interesting, if somewhat short book. Like many biographies, it lacks a strong narrative line, because the author goes to Gallipoli and comes home rather at the whim of fate. The interest comes, not so much from his journey, or from his thoughts and reactions, as from the little details which he recalls. Some of the things he records are so strangely incongruous in what was, after all, a bitter struggle to the death, that unless an eyewitness had remarked on them, you'd never think them likely.

After listening to this account, I continue to be amazed by the almost impassive narratives of a horrific war, but then I wonder if some level of detachment wasn't necessary in order to mentally handle the experience. I can't imagine how they endured the horror of being surrounded by rotting, stinking bodies (of men, mules and horses), of seeing bodies cartwheel through the air after being hit by a shell, of dealing for days at a time with the terrible injuries suffered during a "push" and for months on end with the injuries and sickness that comes with living in trenches. It is an eye opening look at the reality of The Great War.

Annise turns in a solid reading (complete with authentic Australian accent) on this solo project.