Book

Betty Jeffrey’s *White Coolies* is a firsthand account of the Australian Army nurses imprisoned by the Japanese in Sumatra from 1942 to 1945. Based on her wartime diary, it records the women’s hunger, disease, forced labour and repeated transfers between camps, as well as the courage, humour and mutual support that helped them survive.

The Snowy: A History tells the story of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme through the experiences of the migrant workers, engineers, local residents and families whose lives it transformed. Drawing extensively on oral histories, Siobhán McHugh examines the scheme’s engineering achievements, dangerous working conditions and human cost, as well as its effects on the mountain communities and landscape. The book also explores the scheme’s important role in the emergence of multicultural Australia.

Between 1966 and 1980, the War History Office of the National Defense College of Japan published the 102-volume Senshi Sōsho (War History Series). These volumes give a detailed account of the operations of the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second World War. This book, vol. 3 of the series, describes in depth the campaign to gain control over the Indonesian archipelago. (copyright: the Corts Foundation)

Between 1945 and 1949, Indonesia defended its recently declared independence, and the Netherlands waged its last major colonial war. Much is now
known about this war, but a great deal has also remained unclear or contested. At the end of 2016, the second Rutte cabinet decided to finance a broad-based study on the Dutch military conduct during this conflict. This book presents the conclusions of that study.

In presenting to the reader the first edition of Isles of the East, it is hoped that its pages may prove of interest to those, who seek information regarding Java and the Dutch Indies generally, as a pleasure resort on the one hand, and as a country offering exceptional commercial opportunities, on the other.

Through the eyes of young Major Jacobs, a full view emerges of the "boiling cauldron" that was Sumatra in 1945. In spite of the official Allied victory, Jacobs had to attempt to rule Sumatra using the existing Japanese military structure until British relief arrived.

An account of the Allied defence of Palembang, Sumatra, against the Japanese invasion in February 1942, focusing on the strategically vital Pladjoe and Soengei Gerong oil refineries, the Japanese airborne assault, and the desperate Allied attempts to defend and destroy the installations before withdrawing from southern Sumatra.

Raymond Westerling’s Challenge to Terror is his account of his military career in the Netherlands East Indies during the Indonesian struggle for independence. It describes his counter-insurgency operations in South Sulawesi and Sumatra, including the controversial methods used by forces under his command against suspected Republican guerrillas. Written from Westerling’s own perspective, the book presents his justification for these methods and his interpretation of the violence and political upheaval surrounding the Indonesian Revolution.

Mud, Sweat and Snow records the experiences of workers during the first decade of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme. Drawing on Noel Gough’s own service with the Snowy Mountains Authority and the recollections of fellow workers, it describes the demanding conditions, isolated settlements and multinational workforce that built the scheme between 1949 and 1959. Illustrated with photographs and maps, it also shows how the project contributed to the development of multicultural Australia.

David Van Reybrouck’s *Revolusi* traces Indonesia’s struggle for independence from Dutch colonial rule, the Japanese occupation and the revolution of 1945–49. Drawing on extensive research and eyewitness testimony, it places the conflict within the wider history of colonialism, nationalism and global decolonisation.

Ian Shaw’s *On Radji Beach* recounts the sinking of the *Vyner Brooke* and the massacre of Australian Army nurses and other survivors by Japanese troops on Bangka Island in February 1942. Centred on sole nurse survivor Vivian Bullwinkel, it examines the victims’ ordeal, the evidence surrounding the killings and the enduring legacy of the massacre.

Snowy: The Making of Modern Australia recounts the construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme through archival research and interviews with those involved. Brad Collis examines both its engineering achievements and the experiences of the tens of thousands of workers drawn from more than thirty countries. The book presents the scheme as a nation-building project that helped transform post-war Australia into a modern industrial and multicultural society.