The Cost of War

The achievements of Australian servicemen and women have played a central role in shaping Australia's national identity. But while we rightly commemorate the sacrifices of Australians in war, we have ignored those who returned to Australia and their struggles to reintegrate into Australian society. The Cost of War: Australians Return focuses on the Anzacs who returned to Australia from the First World War, the Second World War, and Vietnam. It examines the effects of combat, the emotional and physical scars borne by returned men and women, the impact of return on families and friends, the repatriation system that sought to alleviate the effects of return, and the efforts of Australians to understand the bodily, psychological, and cultural wounds of war. Although the book presents a darker side of the Anzac experience, it is also an appreciation of how Australians have turned something so painful into a political mythology of enduring significance. Written in a clear, refreshing, and accessible style, the author's insightful analysis is based on extensive research carried out throughout Australia.