In this detailed and riveting new book, Wes Olson has made extensive use of a wealth of first-hand accounts from letters, diaries, memoirs and German survivor statements to produce a detailed reconstruction of the battle at Cocos. By breaking the one-and-a-half-hour action down into ten-minute blocks an accurate, chronological and credible picture has been created, and the extensive use of quotations gives the story a unique vividness.
But the book is much more than the account of one naval battle. _The Emden_'s activities as a raider at the beginning of the war are outlined; the significance of the departure of the first ANZAC troop convoy, and _Sydney's_ involvement explained. The Cocos raid and the landing of von Mucke's party and the dispatch of _Sydney_ to investigate are covered, and Captain Glossop's controversial decision to open fire on the wreck of the _Emden_ is analysed. And drawing on the reports produced by Sydney's surgeons, the book presents a facet of naval action often overlooked-namely the effect of high explosive shells on the human body.
Employing the wealth of archival and photographic material, as well as the numerous first-hand accounts of the German, British and Australian participants, the author has written a work that takes the reader right to the centre of the action and brings alive the immediacy and horror of naval warfare for those who took part.


