Against the Rising Sun

 Against the Rising Sun

Reviewed By  Nan van Dissel       April 26, 2026

 

Author  Jeff Steel

Distributor:      Amazon AU
ISBN:                 9781923514287
Publisher:         Big Sky Publishing
Release Date:   2 March 2026  

Website:    https://www.amazon.com.au/Against-Rising-Sun-Australian-Survival/dp/1923514288 

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An Australian POW’s Survival: From Changi to Nagasaki

Volunteer Australian soldier Don Graham, part of the greatest military disaster in the British Empire’s history, like many returned soldiers, rarely talked about his wartime experience.  It has been left to others like Jeff Steel, successful Australian author of military history to ensure that this important time in Australia’s past is not lost to future generations.

On 22nd March 1941, aged 19 years, Melbourne born Don Graham joined the Australian armed forces; too young to qualify for an overseas posting. Mysteriously, his date of birth was pushed back to 1920, so on the 2nd of November 1941, signalman Don Graham boarded the medium-sized vessel Zealander and headed for Singapore.  He was to fight valiantly as part of the ill-fated Australian 8th Division, firstly in Malaya and then to retreat to Singapore, where he courageously took part in street fighting.

Taken captive, he was marched off initially to the notorious Changi prison and later to Japan, where he became part of the slave labour contingent to work in the Kawasaki shipyard in Kobe. Despite the brutal treatment, lack of food and being surrounded by death, Don with his magical card tricks endeavored to remain brave and to encourage his mates to be positive about their future.  When Kobe was obliterated by an American air raid, he became one of 300 men to be sent of a coalmine at Yoshikuma: a certain death trap.

Readers will find this eye-opening detailed account of Don Graham’s ordeal in World War Two, both inspiring and confronting. Inspiring; despite imaginable horror, the human spirit survived.  Confronting; the details of the atrocities perpetrated by the Japanese on their captives is beyond comprehension.

Definitely a must-read book not only for those with an interest in the war in the Pacific but also for those who want to obtain a greater understanding of Australia’s participation in this war; the excellent ‘Select Bibliography’ will help readers to further their understanding of this period in Australia’s history. 

Documentary, History, Non Fiction