1 comments about Skidboot: The Amazing Dog.

1. Skidboot started out like a little rascal, but ended up a diamond in the rough. It is a sweet story. I enjoyed reading it.

No comments about In My Father's Words: The World War I Diaries of Ray Davis, An Australian Soldier.

1 comments about Searching for Aboriginal Languages: Memoirs of a Field Worker.

1. This is a fascinating book.

   First off, it presents a close-up view of what the last stages of language death are like -- the language is spoken by only two or three people very old people. They may speak it well, or may speak it haltingly, or may only remember a few phrases. And then they die, and there went the language. Since most of the languages in the US and in the world are headed toward that fate in the next forty years, I think it's time people get to see what it looks like, and what a great loss it is.

   Second off, this book is the closest I've seen anyone manage to explaining what it is that we linguists do. If only this book got half the press that Steven Pinker's ramnblings get!

   And third off, this book recalls some of the daily experiences of the author's travels in rural Australia, among the Aborigines. As one rarely reads anything about Australian Aborigines, or rural Australia in general, this alone makes it interesting. I, for one, had no idea that the Aborigines were, until recently, in a situation combining some of the worst features of Apartheid and of what the US was doing to its Natives in the 19th century.

1 comments about Wings of Destiny: Wing Commander Charles Learmonth DFC and Bar and the Air War in New Guinea.

1. Wings of Destiny is the story of two brothers who both lost their lives in war service to their King and country.
   
   W/Cdr Charles Learmonth died on 6 January 1944, when his Bristol Beaufort A9-346 of No 14 Squadron RAAF crashed into the sea during a formation flying exercise, some 18 miles north-west of Rottnest Island in Western Australia. His elder brother, Lt John Noel Learmonth MiD of 2/3 FD Regt RAA, fell captive at the fall of Crete in May 1941. He died suddenly while PoW on 10 May 1944 at Oflag IX AZ in Germany.
   
   In January 1944 Charles Learmonth, a decorated veteran of Douglas Boston operations with 22 Squadron RAAF over New Guinea, was aged 26 and CO of No 14 Squadron RAAF. He was highly regarded as both pilot and commanding officer.
   
   A highly experienced commercial pilot, Charles Page has gone to very considerable effort in gathering all the threads of this story, calling on Learmonth's own considerable body of war-time letters, on Squadron and other official records, on interviews with surviving servicemen, and by personal visit to the principal places on the story. The result is a well-presented, carefully researched account, beautifully and lavishly illustrated in line art, maps and photos (all of uniformly high quality), well-supported with full Source notes, Bibliography and a very serviceable Index.
   
   At the personal level this is a satisfyingly detailed story of hard service and warm romance, with proper weight given not only to Charles Learmonth but also to his wife, his brother, and his crew. While the RAAF operations side in Australia and New Guinea is very well covered indeed, in the broader air operations context there are a couple of slips, in a brief passage on the Bristol Beaufighter (p164). While these detract little from an otherwise highly satisfying account, they are worth a brief remark.
   
   The oft-told, supposed Japanese origin of the "Whispering Death" nickname is repeated: but it is in fact a long-debunked myth - see Wings Of the Phoenix (HMSO 1949) and Beaufighter at War (Bowyer 1976) for example. And in remarking on the Beaufighter's quiet approach, Page goes on to mention the "sleeveless valves" of the Bristol Hercules engine - a slip for the well-known sleeve-valve design.
   
   This is Charles Page's second book, and his second valuable contribution to Australia's war-time aviation history. Highly recommended: four stars from me.

No comments about Neither-Nor: A Young Australian's Experience with Deafness (Deaf Lives Series, Vol. 5).

No comments about Commandant of Solitude: The Journals of Captain Collet Barker 1828-1831.

No comments about An All Consuming Passion: Origins, Modernity, and the Australian Life of Georgiana Molloy.

No comments about Peter Sculthorpe: The Making of an Australian Composer.

2 comments about Dear Mem Fox, I Have Read All Your Books Even the Pathetic Ones: And Other Incidents in the Life of a Children's Book Author.

1. I enjoyed this quick read. Mem is such a clear and concise writer. It provides a entertaining overview of Mem's life experiences. Contrary to the other review on Amazon this book BARELY covers the process of getting a children's book published. I would estimate that 5 pages MAX of the over 200 pages is devoted to this so don't buy this book for this reason. Otherwise a worthwhile read if you wanted to know more about what goes on behind the scenes of writing a children's book.



2. Having never read a Mem Fox book, it was the title of this book that caught my eye. For anyone who has fancied writing children's books, this is a must-read. It covers the writing and editing processes and provides insight into obtaining publishers and illustrators. Great book, as are all of Ms. Fox's books.

No comments about The Migrant.