For many Australians the Great War is the event that defined our nation. The larrikin diggers, trench warfare, and the landing at Gallipoli have become the stuff of the Anzac 'legend'. It was also a war fought by the families at home. Their resilience in the face of hardship, their stoic acceptance of enormous casualty lists and their belief that their cause was just, made the war effort possible.

Broken Nation: Australians in the Great War combines deep scholarship with powerful storytelling. Internationally recognised historian Joan Beaumont, brings the war years to life: from the well-known battles at Gallipoli, Pozieres, Fromelles and Villers-Bretonneux, to the lesser known battles in Europe and the Middle East; from the ferocious debates over conscription to the disillusioning Paris peace conference and the devastating 'Spanish' flu the soldiers brought home. We witness the fear and courage of tens of thousands of soldiers, grapple with the strategic nightmares confronting the commanders, and come to understand the impact on Australians at home and at the front, of death on an unprecedented scale.

More than one hundred years after the First World War, Broken Nation provides lucid insight into the dramatic events, mass grief and political turmoil that makes the memory of this terrible war central to Australia's history.

Winner - 2014 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Australian History.

Winner - 2014 NSW Premiers awards: Australian History Prize.

Winner - 2014 Queensland literary awards: University of Southern Queensland History Book Award.

Details: Non-fiction, published 2014.

Format: Soft cover, illustrations (photographs), 656 pages.

Dimensions: 23.4 cm (h) x 15.3 cm (w) x 3.5 cm (d) / 966 grams.