{"title":"Series: A Shot of History","description":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to the 'A Shot of History' collection – a captivating series that delves into the intriguing narratives of our past. This collection is designed for history enthusiasts and military aficionados who crave to journey through time and explore world-changing events.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAmongst the enthralling titles is \u003cem\u003eThe Killer Bees\u003c\/em\u003e, a meticulously researched book that uncovers the pivotal moments of history with a focus that is both enlightening and engaging. As you browse through this collection, you'll encounter stories of remarkable resilience, strategic brilliance, and the indomitable human spirit that shaped our world as we know it today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhether you're looking to deepen your understanding of historical turning points or simply enjoy a gripping tale from yesteryears, 'A Shot of History' is sure to offer insights backed by scholarly research and a narrative that brings the facts to life. Time travel through the pages of history and let these books be your guide.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"australias-trail-blazing-first-novelist-john-lang-by-sean-doyle-9781923004382","title":"Australia's Trail-Blazing First Novelist: John Lang","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘\u003ci\u003eWhat a life! What a story! Superbly researched and wonderfully crafted ...\u003c\/i\u003e’ - \u003cb\u003ePeter FitzSimons\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Writer, journalist, barrister, larrikin'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWho was the first Australian novelist?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Lang, born in a Parramatta pub in 1816 with the convict ‘stain’ upon him, was a singular character. The first native-born person to have a novel published, he was also a newspaperman, a classical scholar and translator, barrister, celebrity, jailbird ... enigma. He was hugely energetic, capable, and original, but he also had his demons.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA larrikin polymath who refused to be bound by convention, Lang didn’t just want his allotted portion – he wanted all of it. He got a lot of it, too, but not the chalice of immortality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLang was a serial pioneer. In literature, he also wrote the first ‘detective novel’ in English, the first convict-system satire, the first Indian travelogue by an Australian, and he created the template for the bush novel. In journalism, he was the first Australian to launch and run a newspaper overseas. And in law, he was the only barrister to ever defeat the mighty East India Company in an Indian courtroom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSo why have we never heard of him?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis long-overdue biography explores answers to this revealing question as it tracks Lang’s rise from those humble beginnings to fortune and fleeting fame. Author Sean Doyle tells the riveting story of Lang’s remarkable life and times across three continents in the age of Empire, when the modern world was young ...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e‘\u003ci\u003eWhat a life! What a story! Superbly researched and wonderfully crafted, this book makes a life long gone, live and breathe again. As one fascinated by the growth of the national identity, without ever realising how much Lang had to do with moulding it, I was surprised and enthralled by Doyle’s account.\u003c\/i\u003e’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePeter FitzSimons AM, bestselling history author, journalist, TV and radio presenter\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e‘\u003ci\u003eA necessary and valuable addition to literary history: the story of John Lang, a largely forgotten founding figure of Australian – and Anglo-Indian – letters. A satirist whose pen got him into all sorts of trouble, Lang’s rollercoaster life was infused with ironies and an underlying bittersweetness, amplified by his early death. His achievements were many, and promised so much more. Doyle, like his subject, wears his scholarship lightly: biography, historical saga and literary appreciation are woven seamlessly through this overdue book.\u003c\/i\u003e’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePeter Goldsworthy AM, poet and writer\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e‘\u003ci\u003eAn exceptionally well-crafted biography of a dazzlingly colourful yet largely forgotten character from Australia’s past. Thanks to Sean Doyle’s meticulous research and accessible style, John Lang has finally found the recognition he deserves.\u003c\/i\u003e’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn Zubrzycki, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Shortest History of India\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Last Nizam\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46626867609836,"sku":"9781923004382","price":27.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781923004382.jpg?v=1751935260"},{"product_id":"a-shot-of-history-attack-on-sydney-harbour-by-doctor-tom-lewis-9781922765383","title":"A Shot of History: Attack on Sydney Harbour","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the night of 31 May 1942, Sydney Harbour was attacked by midget submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy. An accommodation vessel of the Royal Australian Navy was torpedoed, and 21 sailors died. The midget submarines were hunted down, and two were sunk.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWar had already come to northern Australia, and now the southern cities were made bitterly aware that the world-wide conflict had reached them. The midget submarine attack was only the beginning: gun strikes were made against land targets, and more enemy submarines came south, attacking freighters up and down the continent’s eastern coast.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis new accounting of the night Sydney Harbour was attacked reveals new details of the fight that ensued and sets some of the previous historical accounts right. The text is supported by numerous photos as well as extensive plans of the midget submarines, and details of the curious stories following the war, including the discovery of the third midget submarine, sunk off the New South Wales coast.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46653464543468,"sku":"9781922765383","price":27.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/16064953482872.jpg?v=1752456599"},{"product_id":"a-shot-of-history-convict-hell-by-david-w-cameron-9781922765369","title":"A Shot of History: Convict Hell","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe year 2022 marks the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the penal settlement at Macquarie Harbour. This convict penal settlement, located on the isolated, primeval, and rugged west coast of Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania), quickly gained a reputation as an ‘Earthy Hell’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eColonial historian John West succinctly recorded in 1852: ‘The name Macquarie Harbour is associated exclusively with remembrance of inexpressible depravity, degradation, and woe. Sacred to the genius of torture, Nature concurred with the objects of its separation from the rest of the world, to exhibit some notion of a perfect misery. There, man lost the aspect and the heart of man …. This region is lashed with tempests: the sky is cloudy, and the rain falls more frequently than elsewhere. In its chill and humid climate, animal life is preserved with difficulty; half the goats died in one season, and sheep perished; vegetation, except in its coarsest and most massive forms is situated and precarious …. The passage to this dreary dwelling place was tedious and often dangerous. The prisoners, confined in a narrow space, were tossed for weeks on an agitated sea. As they approached, they beheld a narrow opening chocked with a bar of sand and crossed with peril. This they called Hell’s Gate – not less appropriate to the place than to the character and torment of the inhabitants: beyond they saw impenetrable forests, skirted with an impervious thicket; and beyond still enormous mountains covered with snow, which rose to the clouds like walls of adamant: every object wore the air of rigour, ferocity, and sadness’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis was just the beginning for those sentenced to Macquarie Harbour. The barbaric treatment from officials and fellow convicts alike resulted in Macquarie Harbour representing a true convict hell hole, not only resulting in murder but in cannibalism by several men in their attempts to escape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Shot of History: Convict Hell\u003c\/i\u003e by David W. Cameron delves into this harrowing chapter of history, offering a gripping exploration of the grim realities faced by those who were unfortunate enough to be sent there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46653502423276,"sku":"9781922765369","price":27.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/16064813482872.jpg?v=1752456729"},{"product_id":"assassination-of-the-butcher-of-prague-by-david-w-cameron-9781923004184","title":"Assassination of the Butcher of Prague","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn 4 June 1942, one of the most powerful figures of the Nazi Third Reich, Reinhard Heydrich, the ‘Butcher of Prague’ and architect of the 'Final Solution', died from wounds suffered in an assassination attempt carried out just days before. His death caused shockwaves in the Nazi State, resulting in savage reprisals, with Hitler ordering the annihilation of two village populations thought to be involved in assisting the assassins. Thousands of others were sent to concentration camps, where many were tortured and executed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe British-trained Czech assassins, part of ‘Operation Anthropoid’, were eventually betrayed in their hideout in a Prague church. The initial battle to capture the Czech operatives in the choir stalls, after many hours, resulted in numerous German casualties. However, the German SS-troops and Gestapo soon realised another four operatives were in the vaults of the church, leading to further fighting. Hitler ordered they be taken alive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAssassination of the Butcher of Prague\u003c\/em\u003e provides a detailed and fascinating account of the assassination and subsequent events, hour by hour, and day by day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46653520478444,"sku":"9781923004184","price":32.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/18452963482872.jpg?v=1752456824"},{"product_id":"death-on-bloody-ridge-by-david-w-cameron-9781922896261","title":"Death on Bloody Ridge","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe August Offensive or 'Anzac Breakout' at Gallipoli was an attempt to break the stalemate of the campaign. It saw some of the bloodiest fighting since the landing as Commonwealth and Turkish troops fought desperate battles at Lone Pine, German Officers’ Trench, Turkish Quinn’s, The Chessboard, The Nek, The Farm, Hill Q, Chunuk Bair, and Hill 971. The offensive was designed to allow the allied forces to 'break out' of the Anzac beachhead below the Sari Bair Range.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe capture of Chunuk Bair by the New Zealanders resulted in some of the bloodiest fighting at Gallipoli and was key to the entire August offensive. While it was taken and held for a few days, its recapture by the Turks on 10 August 1915 decided the fate of the Gallipoli Campaign. Within four months, the Allies were forced to evacuate the peninsula, leaving it to the Turks—a decisive victory for the Ottoman Empire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDeath on Bloody Ridge: Chunuk Bair\u003c\/em\u003e—the battle that decided the fate of the Gallipoli Campaign—focuses solely on this one decisive battle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46654280728812,"sku":"9781922896261","price":32.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/17373733482872.jpg?v=1752460767"},{"product_id":"devil-been-walkabout-tonight-by-david-w-cameron-9781923144354","title":"Devil Been Walkabout Tonight","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDevil Been Walkabout Tonight\u003c\/em\u003e focuses on the last three months of Robert O’Hara Burke, William John Wills, and John King on Cooper’s Creek. The original expedition, which set out in August 1860, aimed to explore the centre and northern reaches of the Australian continent. The expedition essentially concluded with the death of Burke and Wills on Cooper’s Creek from starvation and illness in late June and early July 1861.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe tragedy was a sliding doors moment in history. Burke, Wills, and King arrived back at the famous ‘Dig Tree’ campsite on the same day that this manned outpost decided to pack up and return south towards Menindie. They missed each other by a matter of hours.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOver the last few decades, revisionist history has attempted to place Burke, Wills, and the sole survivor King, within the paradigm of ‘stupid, arrogant white fellas’ who ignored the wisdom and help of the Yandruwandha people, who had successfully carved out a niche along and around Cooper’s Creek. The story, as told by the participants through their diaries, letters, journals, and oral history from members of the Yandruwandha clan, tells a completely different story. The three men appreciated that their very survival was dependent on the Yandruwandha, and much time was spent trying to keep good relations with the local indigenous clan, with a few odd exceptions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOverall, relations between the two groups were good, and it was for this reason that King survived with the help of the Yandruwandha people—without them, he too would have died. This book places the death of Burke and Wills, and the generosity and good will of the Yandruwandha clan, in its proper historical context.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46654360289516,"sku":"9781923144354","price":32.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/19854663482872.jpg?v=1752461219"},{"product_id":"kokoda-legend-by-david-howell-9781923004986","title":"Kokoda Legend","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne of the finest soldiers and most courageous leaders I have ever known\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e. – Lt Doug McClean, D Coy, 39th Battalion\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf you have trekked Kokoda, then the campsite of Templeton's Crossing will be familiar. Discover the story of the man behind the name.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCaptain Sam Templeton was the first Australian officer to be captured by the Japanese in the Kokoda Campaign. After being interrogated by his captors, he was executed on the battlefield. Prior to facing his enemy, Templeton had predicted his fate, telling one of his platoon commanders that if he went into action, he wouldn’t come back. Having resigned himself to his destiny, Templeton misled his captors on the numerical strength of the Australian forces waiting in Kokoda and Port Moresby.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDid the misinformation given by a militia officer slow the initial push by the Yokoyama Advance Force into the Owen Stanley Range, allowing the Australian Imperial Force to join the fight earlier? Did Templeton create doubt in the mind of the commander of the South Seas Force, influencing an operational change for the attack on Port Moresby?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA quiet and often aloof character originally from Belfast, Captain Sam Templeton is mentioned in just about every book written about Kokoda. 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