The Odyssey (Homer)

The Odyssey

Homer

Blurb: The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer.

ISBN: (Paperback)

Year: 720 / 1946

Publisher: Penguin Classics

Pages: 365 (Fiction)

Links

1. Goodreads page

2. Wikipedia page
3. Sparknotes page
4. E-book copy to read online
5. Buy from Amazon

Australian War Classics (Various)

Australian War Classics 

Various

Blurb: Four timeless accounts

We Were the Rats - Lawson Glassop

Glassop compellingly captures all the fear, bravery and determination of the so-called 'Rats of Tobruk' - the Australian soldiers who found themselves under protracted siege on the North African coast. We Were the Rats is a novel that paints a quintessential portrait of the fiercely independent and intrinsically larrikin Aussie Digger.

Desert Siege - Chester Wilmot

Tobruk, like Gallipoli, holds a special place in Australia's war annals. Wilmot's gripping account of how the Australian Imperial Force helped hold the besieged coastal fortress against the superior might of the Germans is based on personal observation, official documents, and eyewitness accounts - from both sides.

Behind Bamboo - Rohan D. Rivett

Rivett's saga of life as a Japanese prisoner of war, including the hell of his days on the infamous Burma-Thailand Railway, is brutal in its honesty, haunting in its realism and alive with the Australian POW's indomitable will to survive.

The Ridge and the River - T.A.G. Hungerford

Hungerford's tautly written novel, based on  his own experiences as a commando on Bougainville, recreates the ordeal of face-to-face confrontation with the enemy - and the unassailable Aussie humour and the triumph of sheer guts over the constant fear and group tensions intrinsic to jungle warfare.

ISBN: 0734305222 (Hardback)

Year: 1944 / 1946 / 1952

Publisher: Claremont

Pages: 1243 (Fiction / Non-Fiction)

Links

1. Buy from Dymocks

2. Buy from Amazon

3. Australian War Memorial

4. TV Series dealing with Australian's at War

5. Photos of Australian War Graves

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (Thomas Keneally)

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith

Thomas Keneally

Blurb: When Jimmie Blacksmith marries a white woman the backlash from both Jimmie's tribe and white society initiates a series of dramatic events. As Jimmie tries to survive between two cultures, tensions reach a head when the Newbys, Jimmie's white employers, try to break up his marriage. The Newby women are murdered and Jimmie flees, pursued by police and vigilantes. The hunt intensifies as further murders are committed, and concludes with tragic results. 

Thomas Keneally's fictionalised account of the 19th century Aboriginal, Jimmy Governor, is a powerful story of a black man's revenge against an unjust and intolerant society.

ISBN: 0207197164 (Paperback)

Year: 1972

Publisher: A&R Classics

Pages: 178 (Fiction)

Links

1. Wikipedia page

2. IMDB page for the film adaption

3. Synopsis of the book

4. Education resource for the book

5. Buy from Amazon

The Red Badge of Courage (Stephen Crane)

The Red Badge of Courage

Stephen Crane

Blurb: He felt that in this crisis his laws of life were useless. Whatever he had learned of himself was here of no avail. He was an unknown quantity.

Following one soldier's journey from naive recruit to hardened survivor, The Red Badge of Courage is a vivid and powerfully psychological take on the American Civil War. Fighting for the Union army, Henry Fleming is thrown into a bloody war where the harsh realities and horrors of battle quickly become evident. Fearful, occasionally vain, but always viewing the war with honest eyes, Henry eventually comes to thrive as a soldier in combat and it is with a new conscience and outlook that he matures into manhood. 

ISBN: 9780007902200 (Paperback)

Year: 1895

Publisher: Collins Classics

Pages: 188 (Fiction)

Links

1. Wikipedia page for the book

2. Spark Notes on the book

3. Buy from Amazon

4. Read the text online here

5. Goodreads page for the book

Frankenstein: Wishbone Classics #7 (Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, retold by Michael Burgan)

Frankenstein: Wishbone Classics #7

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, retold by Michael Burgan

Blurb: Meet Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant young scientist. After two years of hard work and experimentation, he discovers the secret of bringing a creature to life.

To his surprise, Dr. Frankenstein's creation is horrifying and he abandons the monster. Lonely and rejected, the eight-foot beast seeks revenge. When the doctor's friends are murdered, Frankenstein knows who the killer is.

Now Frankenstein must search the world to track down the hideous creature. Can the doctor find the monster before he strikes again?

ISBN: 0061064173 (Paperback)

Year: 1996

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks

Pages: 125 (Fiction)

Links

1. Buy from Barnes and Noble

2. Goodreads page for the series

3. Other Frankenstein books to read

4. Wikipedia page on the character

5. Spark Notes page on the story of Frankenstein