Brett Mason Brett Mason i(24805905 works by)
Gender: Male
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1 1 y separately published work icon Saving Lieutenant Kennedy Brett Mason , Sydney : NewSouth Publishing , 2023 26646477 2023 single work biography

'The incredible story of an Australian hero who helped save the life of a future president.

'On a moonless night in August 1943, a US torpedo boat commanded by Lt John F Kennedy, on patrol in Solomon Islands, was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. Left clinging to wreckage within sight of Japanese encampments, the eleven surviving members of Kennedy’s crew eventually struggled ashore on a small uninhabited island. Missing, presumed dead, behind enemy lines, with no food or water, and with several injured, the future looked bleak for the shipwrecked Americans. Fortunately, Australian ‘coast watcher’ Lt Reg Evans witnessed the immediate aftermath of the collision from his nearby jungle hideaway. Working under the searching eye of the Japanese military, over the next five days Evans and two Solomon Islander scouts — Eroni Kumana and Biuku Gasa — located Kennedy and his crew and ensured their rescue.

'This story of wartime bravery and survival helped create JFK’s legend and paved his way to the White House. It also shone a spotlight on Australia and America’s shared wartime experience. In Saving Lieutenant Kennedy, Brett Mason, author of Wizards of Oz, sets the heroic rescue and its colourful aftermath against the background of the Pacific war and the birth of the Australia–US alliance, which remains as vital today as when Kennedy and Evans first shook hands.' (Publication summary)
1 1 y separately published work icon Wizards of Oz Brett Mason , Sydney : NewSouth Publishing , 2022 24805924 2022 single work biography

'Two Australian scientists played a vital yet largely unknown role in the Allied victory in the Second World War. Almost eight decades later, Wizards of Oz finally tells their story.

'In this fast-paced and compelling book, Brett Mason reveals how two childhood friends from Adelaide - physicist Mark Oliphant and medical researcher Howard Florey - initiated the three most significant scientific and industrial projects of the Second World War. Manufacturing penicillin, developing microwave radar and building the atomic bomb gave the Allies the edge and ultimate victory over Germany and Japan.

'More than just a story of scientific discovery, Wizards of Oz tells a remarkable tale of secret missions, international intrigue and triumph against all odds. Mason tells how Oliphant and Florey were also instrumental in convincing a reluctant United States to develop and deploy these three breakthrough inventions in time to change the course of the war. The two Australians not only helped win the war but shaped the peace, with their war-time contributions continuing to influence international politics and the health and wealth of nations.

'Oliphant and Florey emerge in Wizards of Oz as the two most consequential Australians of the Second World War - perhaps of all time.'(Publication summary)
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