One of Australia's best known journalists, Mike Carlton, will be signing copies of his ground-breaking new book, Cruiser: the Life and Loss of HMAS Perth and Her Crew exclusively at Boffins.
Of all the Australians who fought in the Second World War, none saw more action nor endured more hardship than the crew of HMAS Perth. To tell this harrowing story, Mike Carlton spent three years researching naval archives and interviewing the few men still alive who survived the sea battles, the sinking and the horrors of the Burma-Thai railway.
Most of the crew who served on HMAS Perth were young – many were teenagers – from cities, towns, villages and farms across the nation.
In February 1942, HMAS Perth was hit by torpedoes and more than 300 men were lost. Another 328 were captured, the only Australian sailors to be captured by the enemy in the Second World War. Most became slave labourers in the infinite hell of the Burma-Thai railway. Many died there, victims of unspeakable atrocity. Only 218 men, less than a third of her crew, survived to return home at war's end.
Cruiser: the Life and Loss of HMAS Perth and Her Crew sheds new light on one of Australia's most significant wartime stories and gives a voice to some of the survivors who until now, had not spoken of their experiences. A former war correspondent with a lifelong passion for naval history, Mike Carlton says this is the book he has always wanted to write.
Don't miss your chance to meet Mike Carlton in his only Perth bookstore appearance.
