ReadHowYouWant

    View Cart Book has been added to your cart.
    BestSeller
    The Backroom Boys
    The Backroom Boys
    Alfred Conlon and Army's Directorate of Research and Civil Affairs,1942-46
    The Backroom Boys is the remarkable, but little known, story of how a varied group of talented intellectuals, drafted into the Australian Army in the dark days of 1942, provided high - level policy advice to Australia's most senior soldier, General Blamey, and through him to the Government for the remainder of the war and beyond. This band of academics, lawyers and New Guinea patrol officers formed a unique military unit, the Directorate of Research and Civil Affairs, under the command of an eccentric and masterful string - puller, Alf Conlon. The Directorate has been depicted as a haven for underemployed poets or meddlesome soldier - politicians. Based on wide - ranging research, this book reveals a fuller and more fascinating picture. The fierce conflicts in the wartime bureaucracy between public servants and soldiers, in which the Directorate provided critical support to Blamey, went to the heart of military command, accountability and the profession of arms. The Directorate was a pioneer in developing approaches to military government in areas liberated by the combat troops, as demonstrated by the Australian Army in New Guinea, and Borneo in 1945 - 46. It is an issue of enduring importance. The Directorate established the Australian School of Pacific Administration, and had an important role in founding the Australian National University. Its influence extended into post war Australia. The Backroom Boys emphasises the personality of Colonel Alf Conlon, as well as the talented men and women he recruited. Above all, this book shows how, unexpectedly, the Australian Army fostered a group of men and women who made a lasting contribution to the development of Australia in the decades after the war.
    Read more Show less

    NZ$ 98.99









    Book Author
    Graeme Sligo
    Genre History
    Binding
    PERFECT BINDING (PAPERBACK)
    Format
    Large Print 16 Pt Edition (Standard Large Print)
    ISBN
    9781741362374
    Publisher
    Big Sky Publishing
    Age Range
    General
    Approximate delivery

    UP TO 30 DAYS (?)

    Publication Date
    21-Apr-2016

    Related Books





    in purchased.