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Boffins Books is delighted to host Phil Craig to discuss his new historical account of WW2, 1945: The Reckoning.
About the Event
This year we mark the 80th anniversary of the end of WW2. And there’s much to celebrate. But best selling writer Phil Craig thinks the time has come to look at the darker side of the story too - especially what he calls the ‘imperial muscle memory’ that defined some Australian and British actions in the final months of the war and the little known weeks of ‘post war war’ that followed (despite all the Allied propaganda about liberation and self determination).
In this special event Phil discusses these provocative questions.
In Borneo, a little known Australian special forces campaign with a secret colonial agenda goes horribly wrong amid scenes reminiscent of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Australia's tribal allies pay a bloody price, and it possibly seals the fate of thousands of Australian and British POWS at the nearby Sandakan prison camp.
In Indochina and the East Indies British Generals free and arm Japanese prisoners of war and use them in savage campaigns that aim to put colonial rulers back into their palaces. Decisions made in London and Paris set the scene for 30 years of carnage in Vietnam, which will drag in thousands of Australian troops in the years to come,
Phil will take a challenging and surprising look back at both the uncomfortable and the inspiring events of 1945 - and discuss what victory in the Second World War truly meant. The power of Britain, her dominions like Australia and her empire was critical in defeating great evil during the Second World War. Of that I am certain. But until we understand the full story - warts and all - we cannot arrive at a full reckoning, nor understand why the rest of the world - especially in SE Asia - doesn’t always see our role in the 1940s as ‘heroic underdog’.
About Phil Craig
Phil Craig is a best-selling author and multiple award-winning filmmaker.
He studied history at Cambridge University, was a BBC graduate trainee and built his career working for the iconic British TV series World in Action and Panorama. Later, he held senior positions at the prestigious Brook Lapping production company, at Channel Four, at the Discovery Channel and at ABC Television in Australia, where he ran the entire factual output, including its high profile ANZAC centenary project. Throughout his TV and writing career, Phil has spent many years researching and reinterpreting the story of Britain and its Empire during the Second World War, including his definitive and bestselling account of 1940 - Finest Hour.
He now runs The Scandal Mongers Podcast with his friend and fellow writer, Andrew Lownie.
Can't make it? We'll happily have a copy of 1945: The Reckoning signed for you. Simply contact us via phone, email, online or visit us in-store and we'll take care of the rest.
