- Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: Random House Australia (Oct 1 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1741667976
- ISBN-13: 978-1741667974
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 567 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,711,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
In 1788, 11 small ships set sail from England on an eight-month-long voyage over the roughest of seas, carrying 1,500 people, food for two years, and all the equipment needed to build a colony of convicts in a land completely beyond their experience and imagination. In Portsmouth, the fleet's preparation was characterized by disease, promiscuity, and death. The journey itself was one of unbearable hardship, but also of extraordinary resilience. Upon their arrival, however, the colonists faced their biggest challenges of all: conflict, starvation, and despair. Combining the skill of a vigilant journalist with the magic of a master novelist, this entrancing history brings the sights, sounds, sufferings, and joys of the “First Fleeters” back to life. Journals, letters, reports, and pleas to England are all interwoven here with the author's own insight, and together they convey the innermost horrors and joys of the very first European Australians. The result is a narrative history that is surprising, compelling, and unforgettable.
About the Author
David Hill is the author of The Forgotten Children.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Botany Bay and all that!, Jun 7 2009
By Steven C. Porter "umqhele" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: 1788: The Brutal Truth of the First Fleet (Paperback)
What to do? At Sydney airport after a long 14 hr flight from the US and just being told that the onward flight to Melbourne is delayed (yet again!) I found this book in one of the concessions. I had always known that Australia was settled by a bunch of convicts, in fact one of my grand father's great uncles was a judge in Belfast in the early 1800s and apparently his standard punishment for anybody in his courtroom was "transportation for life!" but this book gave me a very detailed and fascinating account of what actually happened. The marines and officers sent out with the convicts (men and women) suffered equally badly in the early days (who would have thunk it?), many of them "had relationships" resulting in children, and many of the marines and officers stayed on after their terms of service were over, joining with the convicts who were effectively prevented from going home because they had no money to begin the foundation of this new nation. Well worth reading to round out world history in the southern hemisphere.One observation is that I would have appreciated some maps. The voyage from England to New South Wales colony is easy to follow in my head, as were the voyages back and for emergency supplies. But I did not know that Botany Bay is not the same as Sydney Bay until I was half way through the book. Some maps for this reader would have helped greatly.
I do recommend this book, as I nearly finished it during the wait and eventual travel time to Melbourne that day.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intelligent, Provocative, Readable, Enjoyable, Mar 13 2009
By John Lonergan - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: 1788: The Brutal Truth of the First Fleet (Paperback)
Though certainly not the first account of British migration to Australia, David Hill's "1788" is a wonderful place to start....and possibly finish. His writing is an intelligent blend of description, analysis and reflection, and he demonstrates his own history as an investigative journalist - the research is impressive, as are the insights.The issues (what a mild word that is in this context) around British relationships with the indigenous people of eastern Australia are covered realistically and without punch-pulling - I salute Hill especially for this aspect of his book.
I really enjoyed "1788," and learned a lot from it.
Two minor issues I have, both relating to the sub-title: "The Brutal Truth of the First Fleet."
First, I didn't find it all THAT brutal, and I'm the kind of bloke who walks out of movies when the going gets rough (I only just made it through Slumdog Millionaire).
Second, the book covers much more than the First Fleet, its journey and arrival. Indeed, the arrival of the Second Fleet is a key part of the narrative, and the book ends with Phillip's departure in 1792.
But these are minor - it's a great book, worth chasing, and definitely a 5-Star read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Average history, Nov 20 2011
By P. Bechtel - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: 1788: The Brutal Truth of the First Fleet (Paperback)
This volume is interesting for a large number of quotes from original sources (letters, diaries, etc,) but is not in the same league of "The Fatal Shore". The writing seems like an connected series of notes and is not very readable. It seems to be written on a high school/pre-college level. For some readers the large number of quotes may be a disadvantage in interrupting the flow. I have read several different histories of Australia and found this book the most difficult to finish. I did admire the author for tracking down and editing the original source material.
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