AustLit

'A very Australian story of heroism and healing.

'In 2004 Garth Callender, a junior cavalry officer, was deployed to Iraq. He quickly found his feet leading convoys of armoured vehicles through the streets of Baghdad and into the desert beyond. But one morning his crew was targeted in a roadside bomb attack. Garth became Australia’s first serious casualty in the war.

'After recovering from his injuries, Garth returned to Iraq in 2006 as second-in-command of the Australian Army’s security detachment in Baghdad. He found a city in the grip of a rising insurgency. His unit had to contend with missile attacks, suicide bombers, and the death by misadventure of one of their own, Private Jake Kovco.

'In 2009, Garth volunteered once more – to lead a weapons intelligence team in Afghanistan. He was helicoptered to blast zones in the aftermath of attacks, and worked to identify the insurgent bomb-makers responsible.

'There are few intimate, vivid accounts of Australians at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is a book written by a soldier in his own voice, capturing the pivotal experiences of service in the Australian Army. Revealing, moving, funny and full of drama, Garth Callender’s story is one of a kind.' (Publication summary)