Ward Books

Author Janet Bamford says that 16% of the typical household budget goes to pay for insurance. So knowing the score on health, life, disability, auto, and home insurance not only averts financial ruin, but also saves you premium dollars. Bamford offers sound guidelines for what you'll need to protect yourself and your family -- and shows you how to find the best prices on each type of policy. Her section on health insurance plans is especially helpful in navigating the new world of managed care.

You may have heard of the Kingsford Smith Airport in Sydney. Well Kingsford-Smith was an extraordinary aviator. After harrowing experiences in Australia he set out across the Pacific. He had to raise funds, organize a team and get the right plane.

It's amazing he made it.

He didn't fly very high and with wicker seats that wobbled around its amazing that he made it across the Pacific. His landing in Fiji was memorable. Ward McNally's descriptions of what early aviation was really like are wonderful and he's found some remarkable anecdotes.

This is one of my favorite books about a pioneer. It is a must read for any Australian, a good read for anyone interested in history or aviation, and contains many possible lessons for business school students in being an entrepreneur and pioneer.

The behavior of the Japanese was so appalling during the war that there was immense pressure for them to be punished for what had happened. The desire for retribution created questionable decisions in a number of cases. General Tomoyuki Yamahsita had conquered Malaya and was one of Japans more successful military leaders. Late in the war he was responsible for the defense of the Philippines. The reason he was put on trial and executed related to the treatment of Phillipino civilians prior to the siege of Manilla. Detachment of Marines under his command raped and killed large numbers of innocent civilians before fighting a bloody Defence of the city. The incident was a horrendous one but the reality was complex. Yamahsita had decided that the best way to resist the American forces which had superiority in tanks and aircraft was to retreat to the hills in North Luzon and to fight a guerilla war. He ordered his units to carry out those orders but the marine units in Manilla rebelled and declared that they wanted to fight for the capital. In there view a retreat would lead to a loss of honor.

At his trial these facts were not in dispute. Yamahsita however was convicted and sentenced to death. The rational was that as the commander of the Philippines he had a responsibility for all of the units nominally under his command. This extended to rebellious units who were defying his command. His execution has been viewed by Japan as a miscarriage of justice and an example of judicial murder.

Ian Ward has written a book about the trial of General Takuma Nishimura the most highly ranked Japanese officer tried by Australia. It suggests that again justice may have miscarried.

The background to the incident is that of the Parit Sulong Massacre. On January 22 1942 units of the Australian 8th Division retreated from Parit Sulong leaving in a hospital some 150 badly injured men. What happened was that Japanese soldiers dragged these 150 men from their hospital. They were then shot some who survived the bullets were bound with fencing had petrol poured on them and set them alight. One man Lt Ben Hackney escaped as he had not been tied to the others but was later recapturec. During his captivity Hackney decided that the perpetuators of this act should be brought to justice. Other prisoners suggested that he write down what had happened so that he would be able to give evidence after the war. His memory of the incident was that a high ranking Japanese General had spoken to the men who carried out the massacre directly prior to the incident and he assumed that he was responsible for giving the order. That man was identified as General Nishumura.

The trial came down to a simple question. Had General Nishumura ordered the death of the captives or had it been an un-authorized act carried out by some of his subordinates. The prosecuting authority did not call witnesses but relied on depositions. The Defence simply called Nishumura who gave evidence that he had not made any orders for the prisoners deaths. The case was finished within a day and was something of a record for a capital case. As the subordinate officers were not called they could not be cross examined.

In a case such as this there would normally would have been considerable cross examination. It was the practice in these sorts of trials to give a considerable sentencing discount to such witnesses for instance in this case they would avoided the death penalty. Witnesses have a lot of reasons to lie and to implicate others.

The author of the book however raises further material of relevance. The investigation of this case was Captain Godwin. Godwin had been a prisoner of war and during his confinement had been tortured and starved. He lost 75% of his body weight when a prisoner. It seemed that he developed considerable hatred for his captors as a result.

He prepared the case against Nishumura. During his investigation he came across Lt Seizaburo Fujita. Fujita freely admitted to being the officer who ordered the deaths of the Australian prisoners. He was not arrested and it would seem clear that the interrogation of Fujita was poor and carried out in such a way to ensure finding material that implicated Nishumura rather than looked at the case objectively. The statement taken from him appeared short and coached. Other material he gathered appeared to have been summarized and edited to remove important discrepancies between witness statements. Further stole a document from the Japanese archive to stop it going into evidence. It was a Japanese report by the officer who carried out the massacre that to some extent assisted the Defence case.

The Defence in Australian war crimes trials was provided by Japanese Civil Lawyers who had limited experience in criminal trials no knowledge of Australian Law and whose living arrangements made it difficult for them to consult with other lawyers. (They were detained as prisoners)

After Nishumura was was found guilty he was sentenced to death. His lawyers then returned to Japan and interviewed the witnesses who had given the depositions which had resulted in conviction. All of them said that Godwin in taking the depositions had told them what he wanted them to say and made threats that they would be arrested if they did not say the right thing. Affidavits from these witnesses were not successful in getting a retrial. Clearly if the lawyers representing Nishumura had been able to prepare the trial properly by obtaining this evidence prior to the trial the outcome would have been different.

Ironically one of the Tribunal members who heard Nishumura's case was hospitalized immediately after the hearing. It would seem that he was probably insane during the proceedings.

All in all if the author is correct this trial is one that brings no credit on Australia.

As a mother of two young children I found this book fun and entertaining. My children love Snarly Sally and in the process we are talking about the ABC'S. The illustrations are quite imaginative. I look forward to more Snarly Sally books!

My 2 year old ocean-crazy son loves this book. It's rhythmic story teaches about sea animals as well as counting to 10. I love the beautiful illustrations, truly some of the best I've ever seen, just gorgeous. We love this book!

Amazon doesn't work correctly - it doesn't list hardback or softcover on so many books!!

This is a small hardback, 126 pp on thick paper, with copious great photos. From the UK, very hard to find. English subways. Covers underground trains, stations, cars, history. Highly recommended.

88 pp, large (8.5 x 11), photo gallery, with helpful text. Excellent modeling reference work. Photos are full of "context", featuring typical, work-a-day scenes. Photos are a bit "washed-out", but most are in color. Hard to find, but definitely worth having in your library.

My son Sam received this book from Grandma and it is easily his favorite! It's an extremely interactive book in very creative ways. He has learned to count forward and backward through the blast off page in the back. He loves to push the blast off button and then read the rocket book. I'm telling you this is probably the best book around for a three year old!

Stockwell's art is as eclectic as his acting career. I am not a professional artist or art critic, but his collages really make me think. He has a unique perspective to find links in ordinary items to inspire one to look deeper into the details, finding hidden meanings. My personal favorite is Wet Dreams, but Eclipse of the Sun, Pandora's Box, and Dream House are also favorites. As with all true art, the photos in the book do not do justice to his true work. I highly recommend visiting a live show if you can get to a gallery with his works. For those of us who cannot afford to purchase an original, this book allows us to view some of his work. Great actor - better artist.

This book pulls together much of what I have been hearing over the years about the prevalence of spirals throughout history and in various cultures. It gets a bit loose at times with its focus, but always brings ita back to the ubiquitous nature of the spiral in a pleasurably readable manner.