AustLit

'The climax of this book is an account of the Battle of Long Tan, which is told here by the most senior ranking Australian soldier to survive the battle.

'Platoon Sergeant Bob Buick - decorated with the Military Medal for bravery for his actions during the Battle of Long Tan - tells in vivid and enthralling detail the story of his tour of Viet Nam. It culminates in the most famous battle involving Australian Diggers in the Viet Nam War, in which thirteen of Buick's men were killed and the remainder survived against overwhelming odds.

'All Guts and No Glory is a no-pulled-punches account, covering all the major actions Buick's platoon encountered. It brings to life the frustrating, gut-wrenching and sorrowful experience of those who served as infantry warriors in Viet Nam, only to come home to an apathetic and sometimes hostile public. This is a poignant reminder of what combat, infantry soldiering and the Viet Nam war was all about. All Guts and No Glory also debunks the myths, lies and legends of the Long Tan Battle.

'Bob Buick has collaborated with one of Australia's best-known authors of the Viet Nam era, Gary McKay, MC, himself a Viet Nam veteran and infantryman, to write this first-hand description of the Long Tan Battle and other operations against the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army. (Publication summary)

'On Friday 8th March 1968, 20-year-old Gary McKay lost the lottery. He was conscripted.

'From a comfortable and carefree life of surfing and rugby football, he was drafted into the deadly serious preparation for war in the jungles of South Vietnam.

'In Good Company is his story told in his own words. It begins with induction and selection for the officer academy for national servicemen at Scheyville, a six-month 'pressure cooker' course which produced second lieutenants ready to lead troops into action against the Viet Cong. It ends three and a half years later with a burst of NVA machine-gun fire during a battle among enemy-held bunkers in the hills of Nui Le.

'Here is a grass-roots account of the blood, sweat and tears shared by a rifle platoon in jungle warfare, a straightforward story of the fears and the camaraderie which soldiers experience in combat.

'Gary McKay fashioned this account from his experience in action, leading his platoon. The detail is provided from the 80 letters he wrote to his wife while he served. He wrote his story for the reader who wants to know what the soldier on the ground went through - in the fetid jungle, in battle. Anyone who wants to understand what service in South Vietnam meant to those who were there should read this book.' (Publication summary)