
A Very Rude Awakening
The Night the Japanese Midget Subs Came to Sydney Harbour
Peter Grose(Author)
Allen & Unwin (Publisher)
Published on 1. May 2007
Book
Paperback/Softback
328 pages
978-1-74175-219-9 (ISBN)
Description
On the night of 31 May 1942, Sydney was doing what it does best: partying. The theatres, restaurants, dance halls, illegal gambling dens, clubs and brothels offered plenty of choice to roistering sailors, soldiers and airmen on leave in Australia's most glamorous city. The war seemed far away. Newspapers devoted more pages to horse racing than to Hitler.That Sunday night the party came to a shattering halt when three Japanese midget submarines crept into the harbour, past eight electronic indicator loops, past six patrolling Royal Australian Navy ships, and past an anti-submarine net stretched across the inner harbour entrance. Their arrival triggered a night of mayhem, courage, chaos and high farce which left 27 sailors dead and a city bewildered. The war, it seemed, was no longer confined to distant desert and jungle. It was right here at Australia's front door.Written at the pace of a thriller and based on new first person accounts and previously unpublished official documents, A Very Rude Awakening is a ground-breaking and myth-busting look at one of the most extraordinary stories ever told of Australia at war.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
St Leonards NSW
Australia
Dimensions
Height: 230 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
450 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-74175-219-9 (9781741752199)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2007
Allen & Unwin
€23.99
Available for download
Person
Peter Grose is a former publisher at Secker & Warburg, founder of Curtis Brown Australia, and was until recently the chairman of ACP (UK).
Content
ContentsIntroduction1 There's a War On2 England Expects3 Running Wild4 Rather Peculiar Instructions5 Day of Attack Shall be Notified6 Day of Attack Shall be 31 May 317 Come back Alive8 The Net9 All Hell Breaks Loose10 Me with Black Beards11 Sudden Death12 Matsuo's Turn13 Examining the Wreckage14 No Reference Whatsoever15 Has Everybody Seen a Submarine?16 Caught Napping17 The Night Watchman's Tale18 The Admiral's Report19 Final RestAppendix 1 - Genuine SellerAppendix II - Other Gentlemen's MailAppendix II - Whatever Happened to Acknowledgements