Kokoda (by Peter FitzSimons)

By: Peter FitzSimons

Narrated by: Lewis FitzGerald

Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

For Australians, Kokoda is the iconic battle of World War II, yet few people know just what happened and just what our troops achieved. Now, best-selling author Peter FitzSimons tells the Kokoda story in a gripping, moving story for all Australians.

Conditions on the track were hellish - rain was constant, the terrain close to inhospitable, food and ammunition supplies were practically non-existent, and the men constantly battled malaria and dysentery, as well as the Japanese. Kokoda was a defining battle for Australia - a small force of young, ill-equipped Australians engaged a highly experienced and hitherto unstoppable Japanese force on a narrow, precarious jungle track - and defeated them.

©2005 Peter FitzSimons (P)2013 Audiobook recording produced by Evan Croker.

Great story in our history

Loved this story from beginning to end. It was captivating and read with so much passion...felt so real that I could've been there. Great story, great story tellers and great history. Would highly recommend this audiobook.

Great Book!

This is the second Peter FitzSimons book I have listened to. I wasn't disappointed. This is a masterful writing of a subject that is so important to be remembered. I was spellbound for days listening to Mr. FitzSimons book.
C. Allred
Washington state, USA

Deserving Tribute

It seems appropriate to write a review of this title on Australia Day. FitzSimons tells a familiar historical tale of the misuse of Australian troops by persons far away and without adequate appreciation of the facts as they were at the battleface. Like many stories of former gallantry, there is a sense of the inevitable and of the unnecessary. FitzSimons captures all of this and more. He is unflattering in his condemnation of criminal negligence, whether it was Blamey's or McArthur's. He is patriotic to a fault and respectful of the Digger and the Digger's duty to his mates. He tells the story, often in the first person, relying on interviews with survivors, diaries and other contemporaneous records. It reads like a novel in parts and a documentary in others. At times it choked me up, but it often made me smile. It is a strange thing that one can be proud of some much bloodshed. That said, if the book has a failing, it is that it is a wee bit too empathic for me and, I suspect many Australians, preferring as we do to let the result speak for itself and not boast about it. Of course there are exceptions, and FitzSimons might have found a valid one here.
As for FitzGerald's reading, I thought it an outstanding performance from an accomplished artist. He captured the fervor, the frustration and the brutality, and his nuance was pitched perfectly. I loved the use of the 1940's Australian idiom (now, sadly, dying) but I thought the use of an echo on many of the quotations was an unnecessary dramatic device. I liked the Chapter divides military segue. I note that the new edition of the hardcopy contains an Afterword that is not in this production, but which is short and could be read in the bookshop waiting in line!
I think this is an important read for most Australians. I was heartened to see from the reviews on this site that it struck a chord with many others, too. I would be interested to know how it has been received in a Japanese market because, although critical of Japanese brutality (to themselves and others), it is respectful of those unfortunate men of both sides that gave their lives to hold or take a sod of mud in a jungle far from their homes.

A must for all Australians

A fantastic story of courage and the deprivations of war. Well told with a great narrator. A great book to demystify the Kokoda Legend and raise it to a new level.

How the Aussies stopped the Japs

The gritty fight by a vastly outnumbered Aussie militia to stop the Japs from crossing one of the worst jungles in the world to threaten Australia is one of the smaller battles of WWII. The day-by-day, person-by-person accounts from both sides keeps up interest in an obscure historical event. The Aussie fighters are occasionally portrayed a bit too heroically, bordering on wartime propaganda, but the scorn for distant and bungling military command rings true. Both sides lost more than half their men fighting for a tiny outpost on a footpath in the middle of New Guinea, a awesome example of men at war.

Should be compulsory reading to all Australians.

Would you listen to Kokoda again? Why?

Yes, worth listening to again.

What other book might you compare Kokoda to and why?

Batavia. Australian history at a personal and factual level.

Have you listened to any of Lewis FitzGerald’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

At times humorous and sad but not to the extreme.

beautifully written and heartbreaking

A gripping tale wonderfully narrated that tells of the valiant efforts of the young Australians to stop the Japanese advance against Australia and reveals how they were poorly served by their senior commander and grossly underrated that foolish American Emperor Doug out MacArthur. Best story I have listened to this year.

Brilliant

An absolute must for any Australian. Gritty, tragic yet heartwarming. A superb story and performance.

A compelling story

In World War II the Japanese landed in New Guinea in preparation for the invasion of Australia. The 39th Battalion along with its later reinforcement troops of the 2/14th and 2/16th battalions saved Australia from Invasion. Australia had send troops to help Britain in Egypt and Europe; they recalled these troops to protect Australia from Invasion, in the meantime they had to rely on the 39th Battalion.

The 39th Battalion went to New Guinea and fought the battles of Kokoda between July and November 1942. They were outnumbered five to one, as they held back the Japanese on the Kokoda track. The Kokoda Track is the only land route from Buna (air field) in the north, across the Owen Stanley Ranges to Port Moresby in the South. The 39th fought in spite of being weakened by dysentery, poor supplies, and little food and depleted ammunition.
Beyond the graphic descriptions of battle, FitzSimons choose to weave personal experience of a few figures into his account of the struggle. Stan Bisset, his brother Butch and Joe Dawson are some of those he wrote about. He also writes about Damien Parer, Australia’s greatest war photographer and ABC Radio War Correspondent Chester Wilmot.

FitzSimons states that the battle of Isurava on August 26, 1942 was a defining battle that proved the value of the Australian soldier. FitzSimons gives a moving account of the battle and the extraordinary feats of Sergeant Bruce Kingsbury who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

FitzSimons journalist background is revealed in the way he wrote the book as compared to a historian. The author did a prodigious amount of research for this book. In his preparation to write the book FitzSimons walked the Kokoda track. He said, “It was the hardest physical ordeal of my life.”

There are plenty of stories of horrific battles and terrible conditions and privations for soldiers of both sides to have endured. General Douglas McArthur is portrayed in a poor light by FitzGerald; he included the upper brass of the Australian Army for their poor performance. FitzSimons points out that Kokoda (WWII) was the Gallipoli (WWI) for a new generation.

If you are interested in World War II Pacific Theatre history, this is an important book about the battle for Australia. Louis FitzGerald narrated the book.

A great true story of suffering and war

What made the experience of listening to Kokoda the most enjoyable?

Kokoda is legend in Australia, and no doubt many places in the world with legends and stories abound. Peter Fitzsimons does a wonderful job in his telling.

What other book might you compare Kokoda to and why?

Consider this comparable to his Tobruk