What do you think?
Rate this book
Blamey: The story of Australia's greatest general, for readers of Grantlee Kieza, Peter FitzSimons and Roland Perry
From Gallipoli to Kokoda and beyond - the story of our greatest general and the power, politics and tragedy of command
General Sir Thomas Blamey, Commander in Chief of Australian Military Forces during World War II, was our highest-ranking soldier and arguably our most controversial.
Blamey was an abrasive and shrewd commander, who could act both decisively and brutally, creating enemies within and outside the military. That reputation, encouraged in the years after the war by his rivals, has followed him ever since and, unlike many other military heroes, his contributions to Australia's defence have been downplayed.
In this re-evaluation of our most senior military commander, Brent Taylor traces Blamey's career, describing the highs and the lows, and dispassionately applies modern business benchmarks to calculate his success as a how many lives saved? In Taylor's estimation, more than 30,000 Diggers' lives.
Without glossing over Blamey's prickly character or the controversial incidents he was involved in, Taylor assesses how Blamey - schooled in battle under John Monash - dealt with the towering political and military leaders of the day, including a domineering US General Douglas MacArthur, a wily British prime minister, an antagonistic Australian government, and a ruthless Japanese command, to lead Australian troops to success while striving to keep them safe.
In challenging the popular view of Blamey as a testy, aloof man out of touch with and disloyal to his troops, Taylor declares him a hero who stood up to foreign agendas to get the best outcomes for the Diggers and his country.
PRAISE
'[Taylor] coolly examines the facts of Blamey's career and concludes that, by any reasonable standard, he was an outstanding leader' Sydney Morning Herald/Age
General Sir Thomas Blamey, Commander in Chief of Australian Military Forces during World War II, was our highest-ranking soldier and arguably our most controversial.
Blamey was an abrasive and shrewd commander, who could act both decisively and brutally, creating enemies within and outside the military. That reputation, encouraged in the years after the war by his rivals, has followed him ever since and, unlike many other military heroes, his contributions to Australia's defence have been downplayed.
In this re-evaluation of our most senior military commander, Brent Taylor traces Blamey's career, describing the highs and the lows, and dispassionately applies modern business benchmarks to calculate his success as a how many lives saved? In Taylor's estimation, more than 30,000 Diggers' lives.
Without glossing over Blamey's prickly character or the controversial incidents he was involved in, Taylor assesses how Blamey - schooled in battle under John Monash - dealt with the towering political and military leaders of the day, including a domineering US General Douglas MacArthur, a wily British prime minister, an antagonistic Australian government, and a ruthless Japanese command, to lead Australian troops to success while striving to keep them safe.
In challenging the popular view of Blamey as a testy, aloof man out of touch with and disloyal to his troops, Taylor declares him a hero who stood up to foreign agendas to get the best outcomes for the Diggers and his country.
PRAISE
'[Taylor] coolly examines the facts of Blamey's career and concludes that, by any reasonable standard, he was an outstanding leader' Sydney Morning Herald/Age
- GenresBiography
447 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 12, 2025
7 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Brent D. Taylor
4 books2 followersI am a respected social and market researcher and over the past twenty years I have provided advice to Australian governments and large corporations.
I have long been fascinated with extreme achievers and as a researcher I was constantly frustrated by the lack of explanation as to why extreme achievers are as they are. This was the catalyst for the long exploratory journey that has resulted in The Outsider’s Edge.
As a researcher I am used to looking beyond conventional wisdom to find answers where others have tried and failed. In this case the explanation was in plain sight for all to see. Having discovered why self-made billionaires became so wealthy, I was driven to write this book because no-one else was going to.
I have long been fascinated with extreme achievers and as a researcher I was constantly frustrated by the lack of explanation as to why extreme achievers are as they are. This was the catalyst for the long exploratory journey that has resulted in The Outsider’s Edge.
As a researcher I am used to looking beyond conventional wisdom to find answers where others have tried and failed. In this case the explanation was in plain sight for all to see. Having discovered why self-made billionaires became so wealthy, I was driven to write this book because no-one else was going to.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 21, 2025
Whilst there are some good snippets of information in this book unfortunately I am quite disappointed with it. I will note the author concedes he is not an historian but I do think there is obligation to get the small stuff right.
Unfortunately the account littered with incorrect dates, confusion between battalions, brigades and division (it may seem petty but the author fails to utilise the prefer of 2/ when discussing 2nd AIF units for example it was the 2/14th battalion on the Kokoda Track, not the "14th" and unsure what "2nd Battalion" was on Rabaul, it was 2/22nd).
Incorrect dates also plague the book but that maybe more a matter for the editors for example the bombing of Darwin is mentioned as being 19 February on one page and 19 March on the next.
One of the more disappointing assertions, which is referenced from a contemporary Japanese account in Williams' books "Japan's Pacific War" is that the Australian Army was trained to fight at night! Straight of the bat let's look at 2nd Al Alamein.
The beginning of the book talks of Blamey's time under Sir John Monash in the First World War. Unfortunately the "lions led by donkeys" rhetoric is evident here as is the jingoistic assertion that Monash (whom I am a large admirer of) invented the tactics that won the war and taught them to the wider BEF. Monash was an extremely able Corps commander and no doubt contributed significantly to the war effort but he was a practitioner of the hard learned lessons and doctrine of the wider BEF, Hamel wasn't the first "combined arms" battle.
In terms of his defence and attempts to rehabilitate Balmey on popular perception he does acknowledge some of the more unsavory incidents but I feel that these are somewhat glossed over or excused.
Whilst I do think we need to look at Blamey in a more objective light and re-evaluate his contribution and impact on the Second World War in particular I don't think this book really provides the depth to do that. And unfortunately the myriad of mistakes and errors as what I mentioned above seriously detract over from the overall work and the frequency of them would be an irritant to serious students of military history.
Unfortunately the account littered with incorrect dates, confusion between battalions, brigades and division (it may seem petty but the author fails to utilise the prefer of 2/ when discussing 2nd AIF units for example it was the 2/14th battalion on the Kokoda Track, not the "14th" and unsure what "2nd Battalion" was on Rabaul, it was 2/22nd).
Incorrect dates also plague the book but that maybe more a matter for the editors for example the bombing of Darwin is mentioned as being 19 February on one page and 19 March on the next.
One of the more disappointing assertions, which is referenced from a contemporary Japanese account in Williams' books "Japan's Pacific War" is that the Australian Army was trained to fight at night! Straight of the bat let's look at 2nd Al Alamein.
The beginning of the book talks of Blamey's time under Sir John Monash in the First World War. Unfortunately the "lions led by donkeys" rhetoric is evident here as is the jingoistic assertion that Monash (whom I am a large admirer of) invented the tactics that won the war and taught them to the wider BEF. Monash was an extremely able Corps commander and no doubt contributed significantly to the war effort but he was a practitioner of the hard learned lessons and doctrine of the wider BEF, Hamel wasn't the first "combined arms" battle.
In terms of his defence and attempts to rehabilitate Balmey on popular perception he does acknowledge some of the more unsavory incidents but I feel that these are somewhat glossed over or excused.
Whilst I do think we need to look at Blamey in a more objective light and re-evaluate his contribution and impact on the Second World War in particular I don't think this book really provides the depth to do that. And unfortunately the myriad of mistakes and errors as what I mentioned above seriously detract over from the overall work and the frequency of them would be an irritant to serious students of military history.
November 12, 2025
Even handed and interesting detailed story of Blamey’s role in WWII. The challenges and frustrations as well as his care for his soldiers. He was an enigmatic leader , strong, tough but single minded to bring the war in the Pacific to an end. He was constantly persuading whoever would listen what needed to change. A strategist who had to compromise on a continual basis. Probably given less credit than he deserves.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews