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Hugh Edwards (1) (1933–)

Author of Islands of Angry Ghosts

For other authors named Hugh Edwards, see the disambiguation page.

23 Works 278 Members 4 Reviews

About the Author

Hugh Edwards is an award-winning writer and marine photographer from Perth, Western Australia

Works by Hugh Edwards

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Looks good and has an interesting cover of a junk in full sail.

interesting read with pirates , treasure , seaman's tales etc. A bit of history of the Chinese porcelain/pottery industry and Cambodia's killing fields, with a bit of the Vietnam war included.

It seems there is a lot of duplication , a story about something on a page then two pages later the same story again.

There are a lot of claims that a little research would have verified, for instance the claim about Mikes father having a Military Medal (M.M.) because " this prestigious award is for conspicuous bravery under fire and is more often given to officers than enlisted men ". That is wrong as the officers had their own version which was the Military Cross (M.C.). No Officer was ever awarded a M.M..

Another is that when referring to Mikes early life in care homes "followed by Clone in Auchterader in Yorkshire " and references to "the Bridge o'Earn Hospital " when admitted with a broken leg according to a " Clone report." Both places are in Perthshire , Scotland.

A mention about the B52 bombing Cambodia during the Vietnam war with 7 ton (14,000+ lbs.) missiles is dubious, seeing the max bomb weight in the USAF arsenal is the " Bunker Buster " or "MOP " and they would not have been dropped on Cambodia, as there wouldn't have had 76,000 of them to drop in the 70s. Perhaps a misprint .?

In chapter 10 " a Twenty Million Dollar Sale", the Ritz had bought a 20 piece Dinner Service for guests to use, it says Michael Hatcher himself had used it. But when Mike went to the Ritz hotel in London he decided against eating there as it required a tie, even when offered one he declined and went elsewhere.

It makes you wonder if all the later actions described are true or have been embellished slightly.
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ererc | Apr 5, 2020 |
To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this book but I was hopeful of an entertaining read. A key reason for my low expectations was the titles in the author's back catalog, such as 'Crocodile Attack in Australia'. The sort of title you might expect to see in a bookstore closing down sale.

However, much to my surprise the story of the author's life is a thoroughly entertaining read. It's well structured and very well written. As it turns out, the author is a prize-winning journalist and has spent most of his life as a professional author. His life and contribution to Australia's maritime history should be celebrated. Included in his discoveries was the Batavia wreck, which is well known to most maritime history buffs. Along with this discovery, he has also found other notable wrecks from Dutch East India.… (more)
 
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kenno82 | Jun 17, 2013 |
Nature is a greedy two year-old with big fucking choppers, that's what! -- Shark Fear
 
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KidSisyphus | Apr 5, 2013 |
Hugh Edwards was the leader of the team that conducted to first exploration of the Batavia, a Dutch VOC ship enroute to Indonesia in the 1629 that was shipwrecked on a small sand island just off the Western Australian coast .

This book tells firstly of the events surrounding the shipwreck, and the terrible events that followed. Although the story is well-known, it's the best telling of a maritime related disaster that I have read. A small group of the officers, aided by some of the crew, brutally murdered over 100 of the passengers after the commander had sailed off north to get help. Heroics by some of the soldiers who had been tricked to go to one of the other small islands saved more horror. A footnote to this part of the story is that two of those found guilty and left on the mainland to fend for themselves as the survivors and rescuers sailed back to Indonesia may have been the first settlers of Australia.

In the second part, Edwards -a journalist with a passion for diving- tells of the events surrounding the re-discovery of the wreck in the early 1960s. This section is not as gruesome and perhaps not as interesting, but tells of another adventure story, of the excitement in exploration in the wild.

Well worth reading, and should inspire a visit to the Western Australian Maritime Museum where many of these artifacts, including a part of the hull of the Batavia, are now on display.
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½
1 vote
Flagged
robeik | Jan 28, 2011 |

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Works
23
Members
278
Popularity
#83,543
Rating
½ 3.7
Reviews
4
ISBNs
54
Languages
3

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