Sign-In
Cart
Blamey: The Story of Australia's Greatest General, for Readers of Grantlee Kieza, Peter Fitzsimons and Roland Perry
Paperback
Military BiographiesAustralia & Oceania
Publisher Price: $24.99
ISBN13: 9780733343735
Publisher: ABC Books Au
Published: Nov 18 2025
Pages: 448
Weight: 1.15
Height: 1.31 Width: 6.01 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
From Gallipoli to Kokoda and beyond - the story of our greatest general and the power, politics and tragedy of command
General Sir Thomas Blamey, Commander in Chief of Australian Military Forces during World War II, was our highest-ranking soldier and arguably our most controversial.
Blamey was an abrasive and shrewd commander, who could act both decisively and brutally, creating enemies within and outside the military. That reputation, encouraged in the years after the war by his rivals, has followed him ever since and, unlike many other military heroes, his contributions to Australia's defence have been downplayed.
In this re-evaluation of our most senior military commander, Brent Taylor traces Blamey's career, describing the highs and the lows, and dispassionately applies modern business benchmarks to calculate his success as a leader: how many lives saved? In Taylor's estimation, more than 30,000 Diggers' lives.
Without glossing over Blamey's prickly character or the controversial incidents he was involved in, Taylor assesses how Blamey - schooled in battle under John Monash - dealt with the towering political and military leaders of the day, including a domineering US General Douglas MacArthur, a wily British prime minister, an antagonistic Australian government, and a ruthless Japanese command, to lead Australian troops to success while striving to keep them safe.
In challenging the popular view of Blamey as a testy, aloof man out of touch with and disloyal to his troops, Taylor declares him a hero who stood up to foreign agendas to get the best outcomes for the Diggers and his country.
PRAISE
'[Taylor] coolly examines the facts of Blamey's career and concludes that, by any reasonable standard, he was an outstanding leader' Sydney Morning Herald/Age
Also from
Taylor, Brent D.
Also in
Military Biographies
One Man in: The Explosive Firsthand Account of the Lone Special-Ops Commando Who Fought Off a Major Terrorist Attack in Kenya
Craighead, Christian
Hardcover
The Phantom: The Untold Story of the American Marine the Nazis Could Not Kill
Drury, Bob
Clavin, Tom
Hardcover
Band on the Run: Xenophon and the First Great Mercenary Army's Epic Escape from Persia
O'Connell, Robert L.
Hardcover
Never Call Me a Hero: A Legendary American Dive-Bomber Pilot Remembers the Battle of Midway
Orr, Timothy
Orr, Laura
Kleiss, N. Jack Dusty
Paperback
Bird Men: The Rise of American Airpower and the Machine That Ended World War II
Baime, A. J.
Hardcover
Retribution: A Us Marine's Fight for Justice, from the Russian Gulag to Ukraine's Front Lines
DeFelice, Jim
Reed, Trevor
Hardcover
Ortiz's War: The Allies' Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France
Reynolds, Nicholas
Sanders, Katie
Hardcover
George Washington's One-Man Army: The Life, Legend, and Battles of Peter Francisco
Palmer, John T.
Hardcover
Not Our Problem: The True Story of an Afghan Refugee, an American Promise, and the World Between Them
Sodais, Abdulhaq
Sullivan, Spencer
Paperback
Tidal Wave: The Pilots, the Princess, and the Enemy Ace - A True Story of Courage and Survival in WWII
Makos, Adam
Hardcover
The Lazy SEAL: How a slacker made it through the toughest military training on earth and how you can too!
Khol, Nathan
Paperback
Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown
Blehm, Eric
Paperback
The Road to Unafraid: How the Army's Top Ranger Faced Fear and Found Courage Through
Struecker, Jeff
Paperback
American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim Gant
Tyson, Ann Scott
Paperback
Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission
Collins, Eileen M., USAF (Retired)
Ward, Jonathan H.
Hardcover
Courage Under Fire: Testing Epictetus's Doctrines in a Laboratory of Human Behavior
Stockdale, James B.
Paperback
Brotherhood of the Brave: From Boots to Brass, the Soldiers Who Have Shaped the US Army
Kingseed, Cole C.
Paperback
Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant Volume 1/2: Large Print Edition (Large Print Edition)
Grant, Ulysses S.
Hardcover
One is a Warrior: The Relentless Fight of an Army National Guard Sniper Team in Ramadi
Martinez, Harry R.
Hardcover
The War They Won: The Story of World War II, as told by Those Who Were There
K. Kistler, Lt Hobart
Hardcover
Raising Athena: A Mother and Daughter Attend West Point Thirty Years Apart
Shattan, Mylinh Brewster
Hardcover
Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire
Katz, Jonathan M.
Paperback
The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War
Molloy, J. T.
Donohue, John Chick
Paperback
Every Man a Hero: A Memoir of D-Day, the First Wave at Omaha Beach, and a World at War
Lambert, Ray
DeFelice, Jim
Paperback
Remember Us: American Sacrifice, Dutch Freedom, and a Forever Promise Forged in World War II
Edsel, Robert M.
Hardcover
No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden
Owen, Mark
Maurer, Kevin
Paperback
The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Crisis and the Daring Special-Forces Operation That Shocked the World
MacIntyre, Ben
Paperback
Those Who Face Death: The Untold Story of Special Forces and the Iraqi Kurdish Resistance
Grdovic, Mark
Paperback
The Last Hill: The Epic Story of a Ranger Battalion and the Battle That Defined WWII
Drury, Bob
Clavin, Tom
Paperback
As the Pentagon Burned: Leadership and Human Excellence in the Face of the 9/11 Attack
Klimow, Ambassador (Ret) Matthew S.
Paperback
American Sniper: Memorial Edition (Large Print Edition)
DeFelice, Jim
Kyle, Chris
McEwen, Scott
Paperback
Pentagon 9-11: Scars You Can't See A Chief Master Sergeant's Reckoning with Truth, Trust, and Coming Home
Woody, Roger A.
Paperback
American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
McEwen, Scott
DeFelice, Jim
Kyle, Chris
Paperback
Not Our Problem: The True Story of an Afghan Refugee, an American Promise, and the World Between Them
Sodais, Abdulhaq
Sullivan, Spencer
Hardcover
Hunting the Jackal: A Special Forces and CIA Soldier's Fifty Years on the Frontlines of the War Against Terrorism
Waugh, Billy
Keown, Tim
Paperback
Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant Volume 2/2: Large Print Edition (Large Print Edition)
Grant, Ulysses S.
Hardcover
The Naval Academy - A Parent's Ponderings from Home Port: Untying the Bowline on I-Day
Wade, Steve
Paperback
The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army
Lockhart, Paul
Paperback
The Things They Cannot Say: Stories Soldiers Won't Tell You about What They've Seen, Done or Failed to Do in War
Sites, Kevin
Paperback
The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy Seal Leader (Large Print Edition)
Bruning, John
Redman, Jason
Paperback
No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the Seal Teams to the Bin Laden Raid
Chesney, Will
Layden, Joe
Paperback
Own Your Resilience: An Army Leader and War Widow Shares Tools to Live with Courage and Joy
Sileo, Tom
Ballou, Jennifer
Hardcover
Alone at Dawn: Medal of Honor Recipient John Chapman and the Untold Story of the World's Deadliest Special Operations Force
Longfritz, Lori
Schilling, Dan
Paperback
Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution
Philbrick, Nathaniel
Paperback
To End All Wars: A True Story about the Will to Survive and the Courage to Forgive
Gordon, Ernest
Paperback
One is a Warrior: The Relentless Fight of an Army National Guard Sniper Team in Ramadi
Martinez, Harry R.
Paperback
Proud to Serve: Leadership, Responsibility, and Command from 9/11 to Iraq
Walsh, Col Shawn P.
Hardcover
Perfect Spy: The Incredible Double Life of Pham Xuan An, Time Magazine Reporter and Vietnamese Communist Agent
Berman, Larry
Paperback
The Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy) (Large Print Edition)
McRaven, William H.
Hardcover
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
Luttrell, Marcus
Paperback
Forty Autumns: A Family's Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall
Willner, Nina
Paperback
Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich
Webster, David
Paperback
In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown
Philbrick, Nathaniel
Paperback
Wielding the Trident: Admiral Raymond A. Spruance and America's Victory in the Pacific
Blackley, Andrew K.
Hardcover
Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy: Ernest Hemingway's Secret Adventures, 1935-1961
Reynolds, Nicholas
Paperback
The Invisible Veteran: Rediscovering Purpose, Identity, and Connection After Service
Kidder, Kevin
Paperback
Then All Hell Broke Loose: The Odyssey of a Marine Corps Photographer in Vietnam
Fisher, Dennis
Paperback
World War II Generation Speaks: The Things Our Fathers Saw Series, Vols. 1-3
Rozell, Matthew
Hardcover
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Large Print Edition)
Hillenbrand, Laura
Paperback
The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein: My Six Months Inside the Mind of a Tyrant
Piro, George
Hardcover
A Soldier's Life: A Black Woman's Rise from Army Brat to Six Triple Eight Champion
Cummings, Edna W.
Hardcover
The Fate of the Generals: Macarthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines
Horn, Jonathan
Paperback
African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan
Girard, Geoffrey
Lockley, Thomas
Paperback