Challenging Anzac

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

The Anzac legend has shaped Australia's national identity for more than a century. Yet many experiences of war do not fit comfortably within this.

In Challenging Anzac, leading historians explore some of these stories: Aboriginal activists, deserters on the Western Front, veterans who took their own lives and soldiers who became radicalized by their service. They reveal how episodes in Australia's war history that unsettled the Anzac legend from the relief of Tobruk, nuclear testing on Australian soil and feminist protests against war, to alleged atrocities in Afghanistan have been elided or adapted to 'fit' the legend.

Edited by award-winning historians Mia Martin Hobbs, Carolyn Holbrook and Joan Beaumont, Challenging Anzac examines how the reality of warfare has always been at odds with mythic representation and considers why, despite this, the Anzac legend has survived.

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9781761170706
Published: April 2026

Number of pages: 352
Width: 135 mm
Height: 210 mm
Depth: not specified

Publisher: NewSouth Publishing