Afghanistan: Australia’s War
Over the course of the last ten years, Gary Ramage has travelled extensively with both the United States and the Australian Army in Afghanistan as a civilian and news photographer. Living alongside the soldiers, he has captured images of the battles, the men, and the landscape. His photographs are stunning — powerful, moving, gut-wrenching. They speak of the dirt, blood and the grit of war, of comrades-in-arms, the power of mateship. They also show many unexpected moments of tenderness: a baby in the arms of a soldier; a child’s hand pressed to a window as soldiers march by; a soldier and his dog sleeping together on the ground for warmth. These are the juxtapositions which make his photographs so memorable.He photographs the whole war — not only the battles and their bloody aftermath, but the landscape, the towns, the people, the patrols, the barracks, and the bases.
Afghanistan: Australia’s War is an extraordinary visual record which recognises and celebrates the significant contribution that Australian troops have made to the conflict in Afghanistan over the past ten years. Featuring the stunning images of photographer Gary Ramage, and the words of Ian McPhedran, this book is an emotional, graphic, very moving and comprehensive record of the ten years of Australia’s war in Afghanistan.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Gary Ramage spent twenty years in the Australian army. He is now News Corp Australia’s chief photographer at the National Press Gallery in Canberra. He won a Walkley Award in 2012 for best broadcast camerawork for a video piece on a battle between Australian soldiers and Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan. He has covered conflicts in Somalia, Kosovo, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ian McPhedran is a bestselling author and National Defence Writer for News Corp Australia. He has covered conflicts in Burma, Somalia, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, East Timor, Iraq, the Soloman Islands and Afghanistan. He won a Walkley award for best news report in 1999.
Afghanistan: Australia’s War is available now.