In this new book from Australia's foremost investigative journalist Chris Masters turns his attention to the modern Australian soldier. Moving away from the ongoing fascination with the Anzac story he looks at the rich & illuminating present to write a character study of the modern Australian soldier
- war fighter peacekeeper street-level diplomat & aid worker. Having been taken into their ranks in a way rarely before afforded an outsider Masters gives heart & shape to the contemporary digger: how they are selected how they are led & how they are transformed from civilians to disciplined professional soldiers. & in asking if they are unique he examines what it is that allows these young Australians to lend moral authority to communities teetering on the precipice of violence in places such as Iraq & Afghanistan. By sharing the experiences of the young men & women who make up the Australian army Masters puts under severe challenge the notion that soldiering is the province of dumb grunts. In doing so he argues that the best measure of Australia's military legend is found in the present. Uncommon Soldier is a rare & powerful work.