A story of young Australians' mateship and bravery against all odds in WWII

For Australians, Kokoda is the iconic battle of World War II, yet few people know just what happened - and just what our troops achieved. In this new edition of his bestselling account of this seminal battle, Peter FitzSimons tells the Kokoda story in a gripping, moving story specially geared for high-school age readers.

Conditions on the track were hellish - rain was constant, the terrain close to inhospitable, food and ammunition supplies were practically non-existent and the men constantly battled malaria and dysentery, as well as the Japanese.

Kokoda was a defining battle for Australia - a small force of young, ill-equipped Australians engaged a highly experienced and hitherto unstoppable Japanese force on a narrow, precarious jungle track - and defeated them.

Prase for the original edition: ''an engrossing narrative, beautifully controlled by a master storyteller'' The Sydney Morning Herald