y separately published work icon Shoot Straight, You Bastards! : The Truth Behind the Killing of 'Breaker' Morant single work   biography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2002... 2002 Shoot Straight, You Bastards! : The Truth Behind the Killing of 'Breaker' Morant
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Murder or justice? This question is still being fiercely debated a century after Lieutenant Harry 'Breaker' Morant and Lieutenant Peter Handcock were shot on a lonely veldt outside Pretoria at dawn on 27 February 1902, by a British military firing squad. They were found guilty by court martial of murdering Boer prisoners. In popular vernacular 'shoot straight' means 'tell the truth'. The lies, deceit and political skulduggery behind these executions are exposed here for the first time.

The issue of Harry 'Breaker' Morant's guilt or innocence remains unresolved. In this work Nick Bleszynski asserts that the guilt for Morant's and Peter Handcock's deaths lies with Lord Kitchener.

Notes

  • Dedication: This book is dedicated to my mother, / brother, grandparents, my wife Jill, / Rocky and the Bushranger boys, who were / all there when it mattered.
  • Epigraph: 'A brave race can forget the victims of the field of battle, but never those of the scaffold. The making of political martyrs is the last sanity of statesmanship.' / Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Milsons Point, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Random House Australia , 2002 .
      Extent: xliii, 386p., [8]p. of platesp.
      Description: illus., ports
      Note/s:
      • Foreword by Tim Fischer.
      • Includes bibliography (pp. 381-386).
      ISBN: 174051081X
    • Milsons Point, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Random House Australia , 2003 .
      Extent: xxxi, 650p., [8]p. of platesp.
      Edition info: Updated and expanded ed.
      Description: illus., ports
      Note/s:
      • Copyright date.
      • Includes bibliography (pp. 639-650).
      ISBN: 1740512170 (pbk)
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Other Formats

  • Also braille, sound recording.
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Works about this Work

Pardon Me for Being a Historian Craig Wilcox , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , June vol. 41 no. 2 2010; (p. 233-240) ‘What are the origins of recent calls for a retrospective pardon for Harry ‘Breaker’ Morant and the two other Australian found guilty of murder during the Boer War of 1899-1902? Who’s behind the calls, what course have they taken, and what success might they find? Whatever the calls’ result, historians should resist the underlying rejection of evidence and imagination in favour of patriotic platitudes and narrow legalism.’ (Publisher’s abstract p. 233)
Italicising the Imagination Nick Bleszynski , 2005 single work criticism
— Appears in: Newswrite : The NSW Writers' Centre Magazine , December - January no. 154 2005-2006; (p. 14, 22) The author examines the fine line between writing fiction and non-fiction.
Spirited Retelling of Light Horse Story John Farquharson , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 9 August 2003; (p. 6a)
— Review of Shoot Straight, You Bastards! : The Truth Behind the Killing of 'Breaker' Morant Nick Bleszynski , 2002 single work biography
Myth Hard to Break H. A. Willis , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 9 March 2002; (p. 7)
— Review of Shoot Straight, You Bastards! : The Truth Behind the Killing of 'Breaker' Morant Nick Bleszynski , 2002 single work biography
Breaking the Rules Red Harrison , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 23-24 February 2002; (p. 8-9)
— Review of Shoot Straight, You Bastards! : The Truth Behind the Killing of 'Breaker' Morant Nick Bleszynski , 2002 single work biography
Spirited Retelling of Light Horse Story John Farquharson , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 9 August 2003; (p. 6a)
— Review of Shoot Straight, You Bastards! : The Truth Behind the Killing of 'Breaker' Morant Nick Bleszynski , 2002 single work biography
Breaking the Rules Red Harrison , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 23-24 February 2002; (p. 8-9)
— Review of Shoot Straight, You Bastards! : The Truth Behind the Killing of 'Breaker' Morant Nick Bleszynski , 2002 single work biography
Myth Hard to Break H. A. Willis , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 9 March 2002; (p. 7)
— Review of Shoot Straight, You Bastards! : The Truth Behind the Killing of 'Breaker' Morant Nick Bleszynski , 2002 single work biography
Italicising the Imagination Nick Bleszynski , 2005 single work criticism
— Appears in: Newswrite : The NSW Writers' Centre Magazine , December - January no. 154 2005-2006; (p. 14, 22) The author examines the fine line between writing fiction and non-fiction.
Pardon Me for Being a Historian Craig Wilcox , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , June vol. 41 no. 2 2010; (p. 233-240) ‘What are the origins of recent calls for a retrospective pardon for Harry ‘Breaker’ Morant and the two other Australian found guilty of murder during the Boer War of 1899-1902? Who’s behind the calls, what course have they taken, and what success might they find? Whatever the calls’ result, historians should resist the underlying rejection of evidence and imagination in favour of patriotic platitudes and narrow legalism.’ (Publisher’s abstract p. 233)
Justice for the Breaker Samela Harris , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 23 February 2002; (p. 8)
Hope Yet for Historical Hero to Get Fair Go and Fair Trial Nick Bleszynski , 2002 single work biography
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 23 February 2002; (p. 4-5)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (7)
Last amended 20 Nov 2006 13:34:08
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