'Boredom is the Enemy'
The Intellectual and Imaginative Lives of Australian Soldiers in the Great War and Beyond

Suitable for those seeking an understanding of what makes soldiers endure war, and how they cope with prolonged periods of inaction, this title explores the issue of military boredom and investigates how soldiers spent their time when not engaged in battle, work or training through a study of their creative, imaginative and intellectual lives.

This focus on a single national group allows questions to be raised about what might (or might not) be exceptional about the experiences of a particular national group, and the ways national identity can shape an individual's relationship and engagement with education and entertainment. It can also suggest the continuities and changes in these experiences through the course of three wars. The story of Australians at war illuminates a much broader story of the experience of war and people's responses to war in the twentieth century.

Introduction
Part 1 World War I: Books and reading at war
Soldiers as readers
Soldiers as entertainers and audiences
POWs and demobilization.
Part 2 World War II: Mobilizing education and entertainment
Cultural worlds
The imaginative and intellectual lives of POWs.
Part 3 The Vietnam War: Education and entertainment
Bibliography
Index.