The myth of Anzac has been one of Australia's most enduring. The belief in the superior fighting qualities of Australian soldiers in World War I is part of the national consciousness, and the much touted 'special' relationship of Britain and Australia during the war is accepted as fact. This provocative and wide-ranging book is a reassessment of Australia's role in World War I and its relations - military, economic, political and psychological - with Britain.

Eric Andrews shows that it suited all parties - in Britain and Australia - to propagate the myth of Anzac for their own purposes.

It was widely assumed at popular and official levels that Britain and Australia were countries with similar interests united by Empire. The book considers this assumption in light of Australia's actual military experience in the war and finds that it was false. The book also discusses the impact of the war on the Australian attitude to Empire and on the psychology of those who lived and had even been born in Australia but who saw themselves as Britons.

The end of the war and the passing of the innocence and euphoria that had been there when it started provoked much nationalist sentiment in Australia: many stopped seeing themselves as Victorians, Queenslanders, let alone Britons, and considered themselves Australians. Unlike many other studies of Anzacs, the book looks at the role played by New Zealand.

1. This fresh - and at times controversial - look at issues of abiding interest and significance is an enlightening contribution to the study of Australia and the Empire and to military history.