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In 2013, Tom Denniss became the fastest person to circumnavigate
the world on foot. His epic journey lasted nearly two years, and
for each of the 622 days it took him to run around the planet, Tom
completed the equivalent of a marathon or more. Based on distance
alone his feat was an extraordinary act of endurance, but along the
way Tom also survived a near-death experience on an ice cliff as he
was running over the top of the Andes, was chased by dogs, snakes
and suspicious border police, narrowly avoided lethal cars and
buses, suffered in sixty-degree heat and sub-zero blizzards, tore
through seventeen pairs of running shoes, and raised tens of
thousands of dollars for Oxfam. He also experienced an amazing
diversity of scenery, culture, food and people as he traversed New
Zealand, North and South America, Europe from the Atlantic to the
Bosphorus, and Australia from Fremantle to Sydney. The World at My
Feet is his account of an incredible 26,232 kilometre run, and a
vivid insight into an adventure of truly global proportions.
'They have left here today!' he calls to the others. When King puts
his hand down above the ashes of the fire, it is to find it still
hot. There is even a tiny flame flickering from the end of one log.
They must have left just hours ago.' MELBOURNE, 20 AUGUST 1860. In
an ambitious quest to be the first Europeans to cross the harsh
Australian continent, the Victorian Exploring Expedition sets off,
farewelled by 15,000 cheering well-wishers. Led by Robert O'Hara
Burke, a brave man totally lacking in the bush skills necessary for
his task; surveyor and meteorologist William Wills; and 17 others,
the expedition took 20 tons of equipment carried on six wagons, 23
horses and 26 camels. Almost immediately plagued by disputes and
sackings, the expeditioners battled the extremes of the Australian
landscape and weather: its deserts, the boggy mangrove swamps of
the Gulf, the searing heat and flooding rains. Food ran short and,
unable to live off the land, the men nevertheless mostly spurned
the offers of help from the local Indigenous people. In
desperation, leaving the rest of the party at the expedition's
depot on Coopers Creek, Burke, Wills and John King made a dash for
the Gulf in December 1860. Bad luck and bad management would see
them miss by just hours a rendezvous back at Coopers Creek, leaving
them stranded in the wilderness with practically no supplies. Only
King survived to tell the tale. Yet, despite their tragic fates,
the names of Burke and Wills have become synonymous with
perseverance and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds. They
live on in Australia's history - and their story remains immediate
and compelling.
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Batavia (Paperback)
Peter Fitzsimons
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R857
R719
Discovery Miles 7 190
Save R138 (16%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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The Shipwreck of the Batavia combines in just the one tale the
birth of the world's first corporation, the brutality of
colonisation, the battle of good vs evil, the derring-do of
sea-faring adventure, mutiny, ship-wreck, love, lust, blood-lust,
petty fascist dictatorship, criminality, a reign of terror, murders
most foul, sexual slavery, natural nobility, survival, retribution,
rescue, first contact with native peoples and so much more.
Described by author Peter FitzSimons as "a true Adults Only version
of Lord of the Flies, meeting Nightmare on Elm Street," the story
is set in 1629, when the pride of the Dutch East India Company, the
Batavia, is on its maiden voyage en route from Amsterdam to the
Dutch East Indies, laden down with the greatest treasure to leave
Holland. The magnificent ship is already boiling over with a
mutinous plot that is just about to break into the open when, just
off the coast of Western Australia, it strikes an unseen reef in
the middle of the night. While Commandeur Francisco Pelsaert
decides to take the long-boat across 2000 miles of open sea for
help, his second-in-command Jeronimus Cornelisz takes over, quickly
deciding that 250 people on a small island is unwieldy for the
small number of supplies they have. Quietly, he puts forward a plan
to 40 odd mutineers how they could save themselves, kill most of
the rest and spare only a half-dozen or so women, including his
personal fancy, Lucretia Jansz - one of the noted beauties of
Holland - to service their sexual needs. A reign of terror begins,
countered only by a previously anonymous soldier Wiebbe Hayes, who
begins to gather to him those are prepared to do what it takes to
survive . . . hoping against hope that the Commandeur will soon be
coming back to them with the rescue yacht. It all happened, long
ago, and it is for a very good reason that Peter FitzSimons has
long maintained that this is "far and away the greatest story in
Australia's history, if not the world's." FitzSimons unique writing
style has made him the country's best-selling non-fiction writer
over the last ten years, and he is perfect man to make this bloody,
chilling, stunning tale come alive.
The mutiny on HMS Bounty, in the South Pacific on 28 April 1789, is
one of history's truly great stories - a tale of human drama,
intrigue and adventure of the highest order - and in the hands of
Peter FitzSimons it comes to life as never before. Commissioned by
the Royal Navy to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and take
them to the West Indies, the Bounty's crew found themselves in a
tropical paradise. Five months later, they did not want to leave.
Under the leadership of Fletcher Christian most of the crew
mutinied soon after sailing from Tahiti, setting Captain William
Bligh and 18 loyal crewmen adrift in a small open boat. In one of
history's great feats of seamanship, Bligh navigated this tiny
vessel for 3618 nautical miles to Timor. Fletcher Christian and the
mutineers sailed back to Tahiti, where most remained and were later
tried for mutiny. But Christian, along with eight fellow mutineers
and some Tahitian men and women, sailed off into the unknown,
eventually discovering the isolated Pitcairn Island - at the time
not even marked on British maps - and settling there.This
astonishing story is historical adventure at its very best,
encompassing the mutiny, Bligh's monumental achievement in
navigating to safety, and Fletcher Christian and the mutineers' own
epic journey from the sensual paradise of Tahiti to the outpost of
Pitcairn Island. The mutineers' descendants live on Pitcairn to
this day, amid swirling stories and rumours of past sexual
transgressions and present-day repercussions. Mutiny on the Bounty
is a sprawling, dramatic tale of intrigue, bravery and sheer
boldness, told with the accuracy of historical detail and total
command of story that are Peter FitzSimons' trademarks.
Captain James Cook is one of the most recognisable in Australian
history - an almost mythic figure who is often discussed,
celebrated, reviled and debated. But who was the real James Cook?
The name Captain James Cook is one of the most recognisable in
Australian history - an almost mythic figure who is often
discussed, celebrated, reviled and debated. But who was the real
James Cook? This Yorkshire farm boy would go on to become the
foremost mariner, navigator and cartographer of his era, and to
personally map a third of the globe. His great voyages of discovery
were incredible feats of seamanship and navigation. Leading a crew
of men into uncharted territories, Cook would face the best and
worst of humanity as he took himself and his crew to the edge of
the known world - and beyond. With his masterful storytelling
talent, Peter FitzSimons brings James Cook to life. Focusing on his
most iconic expedition, the voyage of the Endeavour, where Cook
first set foot on Australian and New Zealand soil, FitzSimons
contrasts Cook against another figure who looms large in
Australasian history: Joseph Banks, the aristocratic botanist. As
they left England, Banks, a rich, famous playboy, was everything
that Cook was not. The voyage tested Cook's character and would
help define his legacy. Now, 240 years after James Cook's death,
FitzSimons reveals what kind of man James was at heart. His
strengths, his weaknesses, his passions and pursuits, failures and
successes. JAMES COOK reveals the man behind the myth.
The incredible true story of one of the most extraordinary and
inspirational prison breaks in Australian history. New York, 1874.
Members of the Clan-na-Gael - agitators for Irish freedom from the
English yoke - hatch a daring plan to free six Irish political
prisoners from the most remote prison in the British Empire,
Fremantle Prison in Western Australia. Under the guise of a whale
hunt, Captain Anthony sets sail on the Catalpa to rescue the men
from the stone walls of this hell on Earth known to the inmates as
a 'living tomb'. What follows is one of history's most stirring
sagas that splices Irish, American, British and Australian history
together in its climactic moment. For Ireland, who had suffered
English occupation for 700 years, a successful escape was an
inspirational call to arms. For America, it was a chance to slap
back at Britain for their support of the South in the Civil War;
for England, a humiliation. And for a young Australia, still not
sure if it was Great Britain in the South Seas or worthy of being
an independent country in its own right, it was proof that Great
Britain was not unbeatable. Told with FitzSimons' trademark
combination of arresting history and storytelling verve, The
Catalpa Rescue is a tale of courage and cunning, the fight for
independence and the triumph of good men, against all odds.
The epic story of the Boer War and Harry 'Breaker' Morant: drover, horseman, bush poet - murderer or hero?
Most people have heard of the Boer War and of Harry 'Breaker' Morant, a figure who rivals Ned Kelly as an archetypal Australian folk hero. But Morant was a complicated man. Born in England and immigrating to Queensland in 1883, he established a reputation as a rider, polo player and poet who submitted ballads to The Bulletin and counted Banjo Paterson as a friend. Travelling on his wits and the goodwill of others, Morant was quick to act when appeals were made for horsemen to serve in the war in South Africa. He joined up, first with the South Australian Mounted Rifles and then with a South African irregular unit, the Bushveldt Carbineers.
The adventure would not go as Breaker planned. In October 1901 Lieutenant Harry Morant and two other Australians, Lieutenants Peter Handcock and George Witton, were arrested for the murder of Boer prisoners. Morant and Handcock were court-martialled and executed in February 1902 as the Boer War was in its closing stages, but the debate over their convictions continues to this day.
With his masterful command of story, Peter FitzSimons takes us to the harsh landscape of southern Africa and into the bloody action of war against an unpredictable force using modern commando tactics. The truths FitzSimons uncovers about 'the Breaker' and the part he played in the Boer War are astonishing - and finally we will know if the Breaker was a hero, a cad, a scapegoat or a criminal.
If only these walls and this land could talk . . . The Sydney Opera
House is a breathtaking building, recognised around the world as a
symbol of modern Australia. Along with the Taj Mahal and other
World Heritage sites, it is celebrated for its architectural
grandeur and the daring and innovation of its design. It showcases
the incomparable talents involved in its conception, construction
and performance history. But this stunning house on Bennelong Point
also holds many secrets and scandals. In his gripping biography,
Peter FitzSimons marvels at how this magnificent building came to
be, details its enthralling history and reveals the dramatic
stories and hidden secrets about the people whose lives have been
affected, both negatively and positively, by its presence. He
shares how a conservative 1950s state government had the incredible
vision and courage to embark on this nation-defining structure; how
an architect from Denmark and construction workers from Australia
and abroad invented new techniques to bring it to completion; how
ambition, betrayal, professional rivalry, sexual intrigue, murder,
bullying and breakdowns are woven into its creation; and how it is
now acknowledged as one of the wonders and masterpieces of human
ingenuity.
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Ned Kelly (Paperback)
Peter Fitzsimons
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R669
R569
Discovery Miles 5 690
Save R100 (15%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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The mutiny on HMS Bounty, in the South Pacific on 28 April 1789, is
one of history's great epics - and in the hands of Peter FitzSimons
it comes to life as never before. Commissioned by the Royal Navy to
collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and take them to the West
Indies, the Bounty's crew found themselves in a tropical paradise.
Five months later, they did not want to leave. Under the leadership
of Fletcher Christian most of the crew mutinied soon after sailing
from Tahiti, setting Captain William Bligh and 18 loyal crewmen
adrift in a small open boat. In one of history's great feats of
seamanship, Bligh navigated this tiny vessel for 3618 nautical
miles to Timor. Fletcher Christian and the mutineers sailed back to
Tahiti, where most remained and were later tried for mutiny. But
Christian, along with eight fellow mutineers and some Tahitian men
and women, sailed off into the unknown, eventually discovering the
isolated Pitcairn Island - at the time not even marked on British
maps - and settling there. This astonishing story is historical
adventure at its very best, encompassing the mutiny, Bligh's
monumental achievement in navigating to safety, and Fletcher
Christian and the mutineers' own epic journey from the sensual
paradise of Tahiti to the outpost of Pitcairn Island. The
mutineers' descendants live on Pitcairn to this day, amid swirling
stories and rumours of past sexual transgressions and present-day
repercussions. Mutiny on the Bounty is a sprawling, dramatic tale
of intrigue, bravery and sheer boldness, told with the accuracy of
historical detail and total command of story that are Peter
FitzSimons' trademarks.
The Battle of Le Hamel on 4 July 1918 was an Allied triumph, and
strategically very important in the closing stages of WW1. A
largely Australian force commanded by the brilliant John Monash,
fought what has described as the first modern battle - where
infantry, tanks, artillery and planes operated together, as a
coordinated force. Monash planned every detail meticulously - with
nothing left to chance: integrated use of planes, wireless (and
even carrier pigeons!)was the basis, and it went on from there,
down to the details. Infantry, artillery, tanks and planes worked
together of the battlefront, with relatively few losses. In the
words of Monash: 'A perfect modern battle plan is like nothing so
much as a score for an orchestral composition, where the various
arms and units are the instruments, and the tasks they perform are
their respective musical phrases.'
Sir Hubert Wilkins is one of the most remarkable Australians who
ever lived. The son of pioneer pastoralists in South Australia,
Hubert studied engineering before moving on to photography. In 1908
he sailed for England and a job producing films with the Gaumont
Film Co. Brave and bold, he became a polar expeditioner, a
brilliant war photographer, a spy in the Soviet Union, a pioneering
aviator-navigator, a death-defying submariner - all while being an
explorer and chronicler of the planet and its life forms that would
do Vasco da Gama and Sir David Attenborough proud. As a WW1
photographer he was twice awarded the Military Cross for bravery
under fire, the only Australian photographer in any war to be
decorated. He explored the Antarctic with Sir Ernest Shackleton,
led a groundbreaking ornithological study in Australia and was
knighted in 1928 for his aviation exploits, but many more
astounding achievements would follow. Wilkins' quest for knowledge
and polar explorations were lifelong passions and his missions to
polar regions aboard the submarine Nautilus the stuff of legend.
With masterful storytelling skill, Peter FitzSimons illuminates the
life of Hubert Wilkins and his incredible achievements. Thrills and
spills, derring-do, new worlds discovered - this is the most
unforgettable tale of the most extraordinary life lived by any
Australian.
Sport was never meant to be complicated. No gibberish, no
statistics, no talk of green-zones, black-zones, channels and
percentage plays, no cheating, no grubbiness and certainly no
ball-tampering. Peter FitzSimons celebrates the good, the generous
and the kind in Australian sport, the genuine characters, the
national treasures and the special moments when the losers were the
true champions and the game, whichever game, was done proud.
Hilarious and heart-warming, this is Fitzy at his passionate best.
He reminds us that there really are good men and women in sport,
that fair play still exists and that anyone can be a winner.
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