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William Swallow was a wayward boy who became a wayward man. Transported as a convict, he became a diligent escaper, but his greatest exploit was when he and some of his fellows commandeered the Cypress in Recherche Bay Tasmania and sailed to Tahiti.

The adventures that follow are as amazing as they are exciting, packed with historical detail and event. Swallow and his companions, and those he inspired, lived in harsh times. Their stories shed entertaining light on a forgotten corner of history. - Sally Odgers, Author

Whitehall London was the environment where William Swallow was raised. At fourteen, he joined His Majesty's Navy in order to escape from the filth and degradation of his home.

Life at sea was hard; he experienced several floggings for insubordination, but he didn't have a moment of regret. He got to see the world and became an experienced mariner.

Swallow's first voyage to Canton, China, was in 1826 aboard the ship Prince of Wales, a 120-gun man of war. The ship's assignment was to escort several British merchant ships from the East India Company who intended to trade with the Chinese. It was on this voyage that his life turned for the worse - he was arrested for pilfering the officer's larder. On arrival back in London he was court-marshalled.

James Porter, also a very young seaman, had a similar life to William Swallow. His life also had a turn for the worse. He began his criminal career at the age of eleven. He went to sea and spent a large part of his young life in South America. He was arrested and sent to Sarah Island where he befriended William Swallow. He too embarked on a wondrous journey.

The Levant: A Short History of the Middle East, by G.S. Willmott is one of those unclassifiable books that moves seamlessly between fact and fiction. From the stone age to modern times, the author follows the fortunes of the Middle East, giving a broad historical perspective as well as more intimate stories about characters, familiar and not familiar, from different eras. We follow Orr and his tribe as they go hunting for deer and find an elephant instead, Hugues de Payens, a young man soon to be a knight, Saul, the boy who would become a king, David with his sling, the Knights Templar, and, in more modern times, Vida, a Jewish woman who lost her family in the holocaust, but who lived on to become an associate of Benjamin Netanyahu. Storytelling about individual people renders broad history much more interesting, and the fortunes of these characters, real, imagined or a combination of both, makes the story feel real. Readers of G.S. Willmott's other books will know what to expect, and will probably be moved to do some extra research on their own. - Sally Odgers, Editor and Author

The Levant: A Short History of the Middle East, by G.S. Willmott is one of those unclassifiable books that moves seamlessly between fact and fiction. From the stone age to modern times, the author follows the fortunes of the Middle East, giving a broad historical perspective as well as more intimate stories about characters, familiar and not familiar, from different eras. We follow Orr and his tribe as they go hunting for deer and find an elephant instead, Hugues de Payens, a young man soon to be a knight, Saul, the boy who would become a king, David with his sling, the Knights Templar, and, in more modern times, Vida, a Jewish woman who lost her family in the holocaust, but who lived on to become an associate of Benjamin Netanyahu. Storytelling about individual people renders broad history much more interesting, and the fortunes of these characters, real, imagined or a combination of both, makes the story feel real. Readers of G.S. Willmott's other books will know what to expect, and will probably be moved to do some extra research on their own. - Sally Odgers, Editor and Author

This story deserves to be told. Garry Willmott creates graphic and quite horrifying insights into unseen and 'unsung' aspects of World War 1, where so many Australian, Canadian, British, New Zealander, American and French soldiers were slaughtered and still, today, lie uninterred in forgotten furrows of French fields.

The author tells this story in a simple direct style which has an immediate impact. Garry Willmott's ancestors are among those who lost their lives fighting against the Kaiser's Juggernaut. The characters of the soldiers come to life and even in death, their spirits are revived in the telling.

The courage of our soldiers and their betrayal by British Generals moves the reader to sorrow and to anger as we witness not only the terrible personal suffering of the soldiers, but also the long-term effects upon families left behind.

Garry Willmott will donate ten per cent of all royalties from the sales of both the paperback and e-book to an appropriate charity supporting dementia research. Donations will be distributed to the country where the sales originated from.

 

This story brings life the anguish of those people, young and old, suffering the consequences of Alzheimer's disease. It is a story that illuminates many factual aspects of the nature of this illness while fictionally bringing us into the lives of those transformed by its devastating effects.

The author has created sympathetic and credible characters whose plights we share as they confront the ways in which this tragic illness affects not only those directly stricken but also their close relatives and friends.

The carefully constructed narrative shows vividly how the disease can strike anyone: Rob, a successful young medical researcher with a promising career; his mother, a respected lawyer with a life of achievement, and all those within their immediate orbit are changed utterly by the onset of this disease.

There are many subsidiary contemporary elements introduced by the engaging narrative. Gay relationships, for example, are represented positively and respectfully so that we see gay couples living faithful, loving and socially acceptable lives.

The author also implies some of the dangers inherent in placing too much faith in the contemporary (and often exploitative) trent to online relationships.

There are tragedies and triumphs in this tight and suspenseful narrative. It is an 'emotional roller-coaster', both poignant and uplifting. It is also a compelling read.

 

Two gentlemen were sharing a house together after both their wives had died; both suffered dementia. One of them, Harry, asked his housemate Frank if he wanted anything up at the shops.

"Why would I bother Harry? You'll forget by the time you get out the back door."

"No, don't be silly, of course I'll remember. I'm feeling good today."

"Ok, do you know those ice-creams that have a chocolate flake sticking out of it?"

"Yeah!"

"Well I want one of them."

"Ok, done."

"What did I ask for?"

"You want one of those ice-creams that have a chocolate flake sticking out of it."

"Seeing you remembered that, I want hundreds and thousands sprinkled over the whole lot. Oh forget it, you'll never remember."

"I will, I promise."

Harry left the house to walk the one kilometre to the shops; three hours later he returned and plonked a brown paper bag down on the kitchen table.

"There's your pie."

Frank looked inside the bag.

"For god's sake, you forgot the sauce!"