Volume II – The Government and the People, 1942–1945 (1st edition, 1970)

This is the second of two volumes on political events in Australia during the 1939-45 War. The narrative in this volume extends from the entry of Japan into the war until the surrender in August 1945. Thus it covers the period when Australia stood in greatest danger and when the Australian war effort reached its peak.

During all except the last few months of this period John Curtin was Prime Minister of Australia, and, in large part, the history is a record of his wartime administration and provides the background for the study of his leadership in crisis.

During this period, too, the United States of America became an ally and American forces were based in Australia. Besides dealing with the immediate problems arising from these facts, the Australian Government also found itself faced with the special difficulty of being one of the smaller nations in a global war for which the strategy was determined by three great powers, and in which the allocation of forces and materials was decided by inter-Allied bodies on which Australia was not directly represented.

At the same time there were domestic, political, social and industral problems at home. The study of a nation attempting to mobilise a total war effort both to ensure its own survival and to contribute to a common cause reveals both sources of strength and causes of weakness.

• Contents, Illustrations, Cartoons, Maps, Preface, Chronology (pages i - xv )
• Chapter 1 – War in the Far East, December 1941–January 1942 (pages 1 - 69 )
• Chapter 2 – The Enemy at the Gate, February–March 1942 (pages 70 - 148 )
• Chapter 3 – Higher Policy in the Pacific, April 1942–June 1943 (pages 149 - 220 )
• Chapter 4 – Organised for Total War, April 1942–June 1943 (pages 221 - 282 )
• Chapter 5 – The Australian Contribution (pages 283 - 304 )
• Chapter 6 – The Political Scene, January 1942 to August 1943 (pages 305 - 370 )
• Chapter 7 – The Balanced War Effort, October 1943 to June 1944 (pages 371 - 442 )
• Chapter 8 – The Forward View (pages 443 - 549 )
• Chapter 9 – The Last Year – June 1944–June 1945 (pages 550 - 587 )
• Chapter 10 – The Last Phase in the Pacific (pages 589 - 622 )
• Epilogue (pages 623 - 635 )
• Appendix 1 – Civil Defence Organisation (pages 636 - 667 )
• Appendix 2 – Civilian Wartime Experience in the Territories of Papua and New Guinea (pages 668 - 708 )
• Appendix 3 – The Return of the AIF and Its Use in the Australian Theatre (pages 709 - 710 )
• Appendix 4 – The “Brisbane Line” – A Study in Wartime Politics (pages 711 - 717 )
• Appendix 5 – The Australia First Movement (pages 718 - 742 )
• Appendix 6 – A Note on Sources of Information on the Bombing of Darwin (pages 743 - 744 )
• Appendix 7 – Censorship Reports as a Guide to Public Opinion (pages 745 - 750 )
• Appendix 8 – Machinery for the Coordination of the Requirements of the Australian and United States Forces in the South–West Pacific Area (pages 751 - 754 )
• Index (pages 755 - 771 )