Harvest of Fear

This is a history of Australia's experience of the Vietnam War. Although it provides an insight into the kind of war the Australians found themselves fighting in Phuoc Tuy, the book is not a blow-by-blow account of battles and strategy. Instead, it aims to offer an understanding of how the war came about, how Australia came to be involved, and why Australian involvement was the cause of such division at home. Murphy explains the Australian intervention as the harvest of its fears about Asia and Communism, and of misunderstandings formed in a Cold War climate. The book draws together the story of Phuoc Tuy province in colonial and post-colonial times; Cold War politics and diplomacy in Australia; and the development and impact of a strident Australian anti-war movement.