Ronald McKie (1909–1991)

The book is the story of Operations Jaywick and Rimau, raids carried out from Australia against Japanese shipping in Singapore. Jaywick which took place in 1943 was a great success, 7 ships were sunk for no casualties. Rimau, which took place the following year was a disaster, with every man who took part killed. During the war both missions were secret and this book was the first full account of the operations. Most of the book covers the first raid "Jaywick" as much more information survived and what a story it is. Men recruited by a secret organisation to carry out raids behind enemy lines. Trained and sent off in a small fishing vessel that sailed from Australia to Singapore and back. The second part is about "Rimau"(which means tiger in Malay) also went to Singapore but this time by submarine, the raid was detected and for over a month the men tried to escape the Japanese. Those who hadn't been killed were captured and treated as heroes by their captors, hence the title. A month before the war ended they were executed. A remarkable story in every regard and a good read.… (plus d'informations)

A coming of age story in north Queensland in the 1910's, Jamie is brought up by his saintly grandmother, advised by an eccentric and drunken intellectual, and deflowered by his French teacher. Themes of Australian independence from the British Empire and the dignity of Indigenous culture emerge from the narrative. Ultimately, his grandmother and his professor die, his French teacher is transferred to another school, and his mango tree - his vantage point for looking out upon the world - ceases to bear fruit. Jamie, safe from the war that has just ended and the influenza that swept his town, thrusts himself upon the world by travelling south at the end of the story… (plus d'informations)

From childhood, Jamie had climbed the mango tree, straining for the topmost branch. In those early years, the tree was a castled turret, a peak above the snow line, the spires of a pirate galleon. The mango tree was a friend, a challenge, a peace, a place to sulk, a place to sing impssoble songs. And as he grew up, the tree became a dreaming place, a confessional where the wind snatched his words and carried them away and the answers never came back.

Winner of the Miles Franklin Award in 1975 and later made into a movie.… (plus d'informations)