From Simpson’s donkey and the Emu War to Vietnam and Ben Roberts-Smith, Australian military history is full of events that didn’t happen the way most people think they did. In his inimitable style, award-winning author Mark Dapin sets the record straight.

Australia’s war tales could be said to be the closest thing we have to sacred stories: ANZAC, Simpson and his donkey, Changi, the wronged diggers in Vietnam, Ben Roberts-Smith. Millions of dollars are spent enshrining these stories in the War Memorial in Canberra and the Australian National Memorial in France, amongst others.

But did what we’re celebrating actually happen?

In this book, award-winning author and historian Mark Dapin shows that often the reality was completely different from the myth—and that by celebrating the wrong people, we often forget about the real heroes. With deep research and a sharp wit, Lest reclaims the truth about our military history.