The Great War
Carlyon, Les

RRP
A$34.99

Winner of the inaugural Prime Minister's Prize for History, 2007

The Great War is Les Carlyon's extraordinary account of the Anzacs on the Western Front from 1916 to 1918. This new Picador edition is designed to sit alongside a matching edition of Gallipoli, his other classic work on Australia's involvement in the First World War.

Destined to become an Australian classic... "The Great War is a deeply moving monument to a generation and what they endured. Read this book and weep." (West Australian)

"A remarkably lucid and powerful narrative... This is a seasoned writer at the height of his powers." (Courier Mail)

"Monumental... An emotional journey back to the Western Front that is at times almost unbearably poignant... In The Great War Carlyon has succeeded triumphantly in bringing back to life the essential character of the men of the First AIF in France. The Australians who fought long ago at Mouquet Farm, Messines, Polygon Wood and Passchendaele have gone, but, thanks to Carlyon, they are still with us. To paraphrase Bean, The Great War will stand as a lasting monument to that body of great-hearted men." (The Australian)

Author Information

Les Carlyon was born in northern Victoria in 1942. He has been editor of the Age, Melbourne, and editor-in-chief of the Herald & Weekly Times. He has twice won the Walkley Award. His Gallipoli was published in 2001 to enormous critical and commercial success in Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain, and is now widely regarded as the definitive history of that campaign. Gallipoli won the Queensland Premier's Literary Award for Best History Book and the Australian Publishers' Association Readers' Choice Award.

In 2006 The Great War was published to universal acclaim and became an instant bestseller. It won the inaugural Prime Minister's Prize for History in 2007, and was also honoured by the Australian Book Industry Awards, winning the Australian Book of the Year, as well as the Best General Non-fiction Book.