Kirjahaku

Bones, Stones and Molecules provides some of the best evidence for resolving the debate between the two hypotheses of human origins. The debate between the 'Out of Africa' model and the 'Multiregional' hypothesis is examined through the functional and developmental processes associated with the evolution of the human skull and face and focuses on the significance of the Australian record. The book analyzes important new discoveries that have occurred recently and examines evidence that is not available elsewhere. Cameron and Groves argue that the existing evidence supports a recent origin for modern humans from Africa. They also specifically relate these two theories to interpretations of the origins of the first Australians. The book provides an up-to-date interpretation of the fossil, archaeological and the molecular evidence, specifically as it relates to Asia, and Australia in particular.

Looking at a period of history 22 to 2.5 million years ago, ""Hominid Adaptations"" synthesises the information currently available on hominid palaeobiology. It examines the record of the Neogene fossil apes: their adaptive trends, their morphologies and their relationships to the environment; their evolution and in many cases their extinctions. In so doing, it provides original insights into the evolution of our most distant and our most immediate fossil ancestors.

In early August with the failure of the August Offensive at Gallipoli the senior commanders still believed that victory was possible. To help prepare for a new offensive sometime in the first half on 1916 the allied forces attempted to straighten out the line connecting Suvla and Anzac at a small hillock called Hill 60.

The August Offensive was the last attempt by the Allied forces to break the stalemate with the Turkish defenders that had developed since the Anzac landings in late April 1915. It resulted in some of the bloodiest battles on the Gallipoli peninsula - which included the battles for Leane's Trench, Lone Pine, The Nek, Chunuk Bair, Hill Q and Hill 971. Drawing from letters, diaries and official reports from both Commonwealth and Turkish sources, David Cameron recreates in compelling detail the first five days of the offensive.

"Our Friend the Enemy" is the first detailed history of the Gallipoli campaign at Anzac since Charles Bean’s Official History, viewed from both sides of the wire and described in first-hand accounts. Australian Captain Herbert Layh recounted that as they approached the beach on 25 April that “once we were behind cover the Turks turned their ... [fire] on us, and gave us a lively 10 minutes. A poor chap next to me was hit three times. He begged me to shoot him, but luckily for him a fourth bullet got him and put him out of his pain.” Later that day, Sergeant Charles Saunders, a New Zealand engineer, described his first taste of battle: “The Turks were entrenched some 50-100 yards from the edge of the face of the gully and their machine guns swept the edges. Line after line of our men went up, some lines didn’t take two paces over the crest when down they went to a man and on came another line.” Gunner Recep Trudal of the Turkish 27th Regiment wrote of the fierce Turkish counter-attack on 19 May designed to push the Anzac’s back into the sea: “It started at morning prayer call time, and then it went on and on, never stopped. You know there was no break for eating or anything … Attack was our command. That was what the Pasha said. Once he says “Attack”, you attack, and you either die or you survive.”

On July 21, 1942, a large Japanese reconnaissance mission landed along the north-eastern coastline of Papua, soon turning into an all-out attempt to capture Port Morseby. This is the powerful story of the three weeks of battle by a small Australian militia force to keep the Japanese at bay. Outnumbered by at least three to one, they fought to hold the Kokoda Plateau--the gateway to the Owen Stanleys. Desperately short of ammunition and food and stranded in the fetid swamps and lowland jungles, they did everything they could to keep the Kokoda airstrip out of Japanese hands. Not far away, desperately trying to reach the Australians, were two groups of Anglican missionaries trapped behind enemy lines. With each passing day the parties grew, joined by lost Australian soldiers and downed U.S. airmen. Using letters, diaries, and other first-hand accounts, David W. Cameron has for the first time written a detailed, compelling account of what occurred at the northern foot of the Owen Stanleys in late July and early August 1942.