CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1 War’s after-shadows
From the secret armies to the Reds

Chapter 2 The Great Crash and Fascism’s rise
Happy valleys and flirtations with extremes

Chapter 3 Aggression everywhere
Appeasement and war

Chapter 4 In classic lands
Success and tragedy in the shadow of the ancient

Chapter 5 Japan ascendant
The unstoppable force

Chapter 6 The prophet and the heroes, the politicians and the prisoners
MacArthur, Curtin; war and the people

Chapter 7 In the balance
Military success, political dreams

Chapter 8 Peace and its discontents
The people want; the people fear

Chapter 9 Welcome to the 1950s
Decade of employment and dread

Chapter 10 The atomic years
Dread defines Australia’s nuclear enthusiasm

Chapter 11 A million immigrants and the advance towards Vietnam
New people; new ally

Notes