On 31st October 1917, as the day's light faded, the Australian Light Horse charged against their enemy. Eight hundred men and horses galloped four miles across open country, towards the artillery, rifles and machine guns of the Turks occupying the seemingly unassailable town of Beersheba. What happened in the next hour changed the course of history. This brave battle and the extraordinary adventures that led to it are brought vividly to life by Australia's greatest storyteller, Peter FitzSimons. It is an epic tale of farm boys, drovers, bank clerks, dentists, poets and scoundrels transported to fight a war half a world away, and is full of incredible characters: from Major Banjo Paterson to Lawrence of Arabia; the brilliant writer Trooper Ion Idriess and the humble General Harry Chauvel; the tearaway Test fast bowler 'Tibby' Cotter and the infamous warhorse, Bill the Bastard. All have their part to play in the enthralling, sprawling drama of the Australian Light Horse. Theirs was a war fought in an ancient land with modern weapons; where the men of the Light Horse were trained in sight of the pyramids, drank in the brothels of Cairo and fought through lands known to them only as names from the Bible. The Last Charge of the Australian Light Horse traces the hard path of the Light Horse from the bleakest of starts - being deprived of their horses and fighting at Gallipoli in the tragic Battle of the Nek - to triumph and glory in the desert. Revealing the feats of the Australians who built the legend, it is a brilliantly told tale of courage, resilience and derring-do from Australia's favourite storyteller.

Australia is drenched in a light that is different from anywhere else in the world. A light so distinctive, we know it can only be of one place.Imagined as a celebration of the particular beauty of Australian light, this generous publication roams the country, from rugged coastline to arid outback, to reveal how light shapes our wide, brown land. Wind-etched rocks, patterns in sand. Teal oceans. Surfers, slick in their wetsuits against the morning sun. A beach filled with people. A beach with no people. Rockpools. High-rise buildings against sand and sea. Golden sunsets over city skylines. Rays reaching through forest branches to frosted ground. Paddocks muted by mist, trees laden with luminous snow. The variation in the fall of light on our landscape seems limitless.With an introduction by a galactic astrophysicist, In an Australian Light reminds us of the myriad ways we experience light in this vast and diverse land.

First raised during the Boer War, the Light Horse attracted many from the outback - men who knew how to survive and fight in hot and dry country, and who had a special bond with their horses. Battle-hardened at Gallipoli, by the time the men arrived in Palestine they were more than ready to play their critical role in Colonel Lawrence's defeat of the Turks (in the face of the British High Command's acceptance of the status quo). And under their brilliant commander, Sir Harry Chauvel, they were victorious in the Sinai, Palestine and Syria - culminating in the last great cavalry charge in our history, the taking of Beersheba in 1917. Their victories played a decisive part in shaping Middle Eastern history in the 20th century. Roland Perry tells the story as it deserves to be told - with colour and authority, bringing their exploits to life. Every Australian knows this story - but few, until now, have read it. 'a history book that deserves a place in every suburban home library . . . the story of an extraordinary generation of Australians who created an enduring legend while changing the course of history' - West Australian 'the first great read about the victories of the Australian cavalry in Arabia' - The Australian 'conjures up the romantic image of the Light Horse that endures to this day' - Herald Sun 'briskly written, well-researche'd - The Age 'A compulsive read' - Newcastle Herald

A novel set on a remote Australian island, where a childless couple live quietly running a lighthouse, until a boat carrying a baby washes ashore.

A look at the lives of five young men who, during the Vietnam era, start a commune in Australia-and a look at how young men often look to the wild to find themselves and the consequences this sometimes yields. The Rosebud Farm project was born of idealism, commitment, and virtue, all deeply rooted in friendships that have transcended distance and time. The men in this story, insulated by wealth and innocent of heart, were trying to make sense of a tumultuous world and trying to find some peace in it.One of these five young men was Charlie Dean, the brother of Howard Dean (who has written the introduction). Louella Bryant has won numerous awards for her short stories and poems. She is the author of two young-adult historical novels- 'The Black Bonnet', finalist for the Vermont Book Award, and 'Father By Blood', winner of the Silver Bay Children's Literature Award-and a picture book, Two 'Tracks in the Snow'. Louella teaches creative writing in the Spalding University MFA writing program in Louisville and mentors young writers at the New England Young Writers' Conference at Bread Loaf.