Kokoda by Peter FitzSimons (2005, Paperback, Illustrated)

From the title of this review you can probably tell I did not enjoy this book. In fact, I found this quite unreadable. I did proceed, by making a supreme effort, to page 100 or so, but was overwhelmed (as you may be) by the turgid writing and matey attempt to include all and sundry, writer (sic), reader and X number of deceased military and other personnel, in an artificial vacuum which we are supposed to believe represents some form of past historical reality.

If I had to point out one significant fault in this very unfortunate volume, apart from the lack of competent editing (and one suspects that this so-called author has risen to such dizzy heights that he believes he can dispense with the majority, if not all, of the editorial input), it would be the addition of one character too many. That character, very significantly, is the author. I may be mistaken in this, but I believe that there is one thing an author needs to do very badly, and that is not dominate a text himself or herself. Actually, this is very basic stuff, (see under Authorial Intrusion) which is why I marvel at the success of such a book. This author (sic) has not even attempted to ground himself in basic writing skills. Instead he relies on gimmicks and wishful thinking and, well... who cares.

If you are desirous of knowing something about this campaign, please find and read George Johnston's wonderful account, New Guinea Diary.