Gallipoli was the final resting place for thousands of young Australians. Death struck so fast there was not time for escape or burial. And when Gallipoli was over there was the misery of the European Campaign. Patsy Adam - Smith read over 8000 diaries and letters to write her acclaimed best - seller about the First World War. Soldiers sought her out to tell her why they went, what they saw, and how they felt about that great holocaust. Their simple accounts are more vivid than any novel; the years have not dimmed their memories of lost comrades and the horrors of war. These are the extraordinary experiences of ordinary men - and they strike to the heart. Winner of the Age Book of the Year award when first published in 1978, The Anzacsremains unrivalled as the classic account of Australia's involvement in the First World War.