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Interview with Michael C. Madden, author of “The Victoria Cross: Australia Remembers”. |
Hard Jacka is a novel about the exploits of Albert Jacka, VC, Australia’s first Victoria Cross winner during the Great War, and the men of the 14th Battalion, First AIF.
Michael Lawriwsky’s insightful Hard Jacka breathes life into the real man behind the legend – ‘Jacka’ to his superiors, ‘Bert’ to his mates, ‘our Albert’ to his proud mother.
Michael Lawriwsky has written a superb account of the man whose acts of selfless heroism at Gallipoli would win him a VC, and whose bravery in the battlefields of France would win him the unswerving loyalty of his mates. Hard Jacka is a rich and fascinating story about Albert Jacka and the Great War, its heroes and anti-heroes, their sacrifice, determination and larrikin humour. It’s a compelling tale about the deep bonds that life in the trenches developed between men – the quintessential Aussie mateship.
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 "With some historical figures, it is enough to know their deeds, and read a detached analysis of their character and emotions. Others, though, by their very humanity, cry out to breathe from the pages, to take on, in our imaginations, the flesh and blood of their famous lives. Albert Jacka, Australian warrior, is one of the latter." General Peter Cosgrove - AC, MC (Retd) Read the Foreword here |
