{"title":"Ian W. Shaw","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIan W. Shaw\u003c\/strong\u003e crafts gripping narratives that blend the intensity of \u003cem\u003ecrime and thriller\u003c\/em\u003e with vivid historical and military contexts. His works often explore complex characters and shadowy events, taking readers through mystery, suspense, and wartime drama.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect a rich tapestry of stories that delve into real and imagined moments from history, intertwined with personal accounts and memoir-style insights. Shaw’s writing invites reflection on both human resilience and the darker facets of conflict and intrigue.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-golden-gang-by-ian-w-shaw-9781761424724","title":"The Golden Gang","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe first comprehensive biography of the godfather of Australian bushranging – Frank Gardiner – leader of the Lachlan gang and mastermind of the largest gold heist in Australian history.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAtop the hierarchy of Australian bushrangers sits Ned Kelly – the ultimate outlaw – and just below him, the tragic figure of Ben Hall, who joined a gang led by a man whose name today is less well known, but in his time was much more famous than any other: Frank Gardiner. Mastermind of the largest gold robbery in Australia’s history, Gardiner led an extraordinary life, the full telling of which is long overdue.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn a tough country and among a group of tough men, Gardiner was the toughest of them all. But while he engaged in gunfights with police to evade capture, he was always courteous and could lay claim to never killing anyone, and never stole from those who couldn't afford to be robbed. He went by three different surnames in his lifetime and spent almost half of it behind bars, including at some of the colonies' most notorious penal institutions: the Pentridge Stockade, Cockatoo Island and Darlinghurst Gaol.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut if Gardiner was never quite the Robin Hood he sometimes imagined himself to be, he was nevertheless a natural leader, and a man capable of inspiring a motley bunch of stockmen and drifters to become the most effective and successful bushranging gang in the country’s history. His Lachlan gang operated with a clockwork efficiency that culminated in the robbery of the Gold Escort at Eugowra Rocks, and from 1861 to 1863 it held reign over the roads of the Western Plains of New South Wales.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichly detailed, \u003ci\u003eThe Golden Gang\u003c\/i\u003e shines a new light onto Gardiner's remarkable life – one that ended in shocking tragedy – and reinstates him in the pantheon of Australian outlaw heroes.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46628360093932,"sku":"9781761424724","price":36.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/3548393482815.jpg?v=1751911837"},{"product_id":"missing-by-ian-w-shaw-9781922896308","title":"Missing","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMissing\u003c\/em\u003e is the tragic and carefully researched story of a WWII fighter pilot’s brutal sacrifice and the painstaking search for the truth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNot all casualties in wartime occur on the frontline; when a loved one is posted \"Missing,\" hope and fear bloom in the hearts of those who wait for news. Lives can fray when that wait extends to years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSquadron Leader Daryl Sproule was a hero. The young and dashing Hobart lawyer was a fighter pilot, a survivor of the carnage in the skies over Singapore, a champion sportsman, and the touchstone in the life of his single mother. When his aircraft was shot down over New Britain in August 1943, his wingmen saw him land it close to a beach, wade ashore, and disappear into the jungle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn Hobart, Irene Sproule was informed that her son was \"Missing.\" Two years later, Daryl was still missing, his fate unknown. It would take another two years for the full, deplorable story to be unravelled and the consequences of a wartime atrocity to be played out to a conclusion. In those years, a mother and a brother would have their lives changed brutally, and forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMissing\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of the nightmare that haunts all those who have farewelled their loved ones as they leave for war.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46655432884460,"sku":"9781922896308","price":35.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/17374203482872.jpg?v=1752469130"},{"product_id":"the-dark-prince-of-melbourne-by-ian-w-shaw-9780733344299","title":"The Dark Prince of Melbourne","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBad boys, bright lights and sorry ends: the story of a gangster.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJoseph Leslie 'Squizzy' Taylor was many things to many people: a kind and caring husband, father and stepfather, a reliable son and brother, a generous and considerate neighbour and patron. He was also a criminal willing to consider any type of crime, provided it supported his lifestyle and his ego.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSquizzy graduated from teenage pickpocket to adult murderer, from organising smash-and-grab raids on jewellers to corrupting juries and suborning witnesses. And he was nothing if not newsworthy. Whether appearing at the opening night of a new show at the top end of Bourke Street or climbing the steps en route to an appearance in the Supreme Court, Squizzy was news.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor more than a decade, Victoria's best detectives were unable to pin any one of a dozen major crimes he organised on him. Yet he met his match when street punk turned gunman Snowy Cutmore materialised in a darkened bedroom in a boarding house in Carlton.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this first detailed biography of arguably Australia's most well-known standover man, Ian W. Shaw traces the life of the criminal who set the trend in city gangster life in not just Melbourne but Australia in \u003cem\u003eThe Dark Prince of Melbourne\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46813160505580,"sku":"9780733344299","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9219c38f0c62984ab1ce71785333434e.jpg?v=1757757303"},{"product_id":"operation-babylift-by-ian-w-shaw-9780733642241","title":"Operation Babylift","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn late March 1975, as the Vietnam War raged, an Australian voluntary aid worker named Rosemary Taylor approached the Australian Embassy seeking assistance to fly 600 orphans out of Saigon to safety.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRosemary and Margaret Moses, two former nuns from Adelaide, had spent eight years in Vietnam during the war, building up a complex of nurseries to house war orphans and street waifs as the organisation that built up around them facilitated international adoptions for the children. As the North Vietnamese forces closed in on their nurseries, they needed a plan to evacuate the children, or all their work might count for little...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBased on extensive archival and historical research, and interviews of some of those directly involved in the events described, \u003ci\u003eOperation Babylift\u003c\/i\u003e details the last month of the Vietnam War from the perspective of the most vulnerable victims of that war: the orphans it created. Through the story of the attempt to save 600 children, we see how a small group of determined women refused to play political games as they tried to remake the lives of a forgotten generation, one child at a time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46849640530156,"sku":"9780733642241","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/5122703482449.jpg?v=1759057050"},{"product_id":"murder-at-dusk-by-ian-w-shaw-9780733640452","title":"Murder at Dusk","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFar away from any World War II battlefront, the citizens of Melbourne lived in fear of a serial killer - the Brownout Strangler.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMay 1942: Melbourne was torn between fearing Japanese invasion and revelling in the carnival atmosphere brought by the influx of 15,000 cashed-up American servicemen. But those US forces didn't guarantee safety. Not long after their arrival, the city would be gripped by panic when the body of a woman was found strangled, partially naked and brutally beaten. Six days later, another woman was found dead, and her body told the same horrific story. A murderer was stalking the streets.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs women were warned not to travel alone, an intense manhunt ensued. Not long after a third woman was murdered, American soldier Eddie Leonski was arrested. A calculating psychopath, he had a twisted fascination with female voices, especially when they were singing. Acclaimed author Ian W. Shaw brings World War II Melbourne to life and takes us into the mind of the Brownout Strangler, and a very different kind of terror.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'enthralling . . . makes for a fascinating read.' \u003cem\u003eCanberra Times\u003c\/em\u003e on Ian W. Shaw's \u003cem\u003eThe Rag Tag Fleet\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47072626409708,"sku":"9780733640452","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/5104813482449.jpg?v=1765120611"},{"product_id":"the-ghosts-of-roebuck-bay-by-ian-w-shaw-9781742612362","title":"The Ghosts of Roebuck Bay","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Japanese attack on Broome is the second most deadly air raid on Australian soil in our history, and yet it's almost entirely overlooked. On 3 March 1942, nine Japanese Zero planes strafed the small town, planning to destroy the aerodrome and American planes. With no notice, the townsfolk could only put up minimal opposition, and in an attack that lasted only an hour, almost one hundred men, women and children lost their lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNot a single operational aircraft remained in Broome, but the shocking loss of human life can never be truly calculated. \u003cem\u003eThe Ghosts of Roebuck Bay\u003c\/em\u003e tells the story of this tragedy, shining light on a story that has slipped through the cracks of history. A captivating tale of refugees and soldiers, of reputations made and lost, of survival and spirit that resonates to today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Macmillan Publishers New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48244574355692,"sku":"9781742612362","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781742612362-the-ghosts-of-roebuck-bay-1.jpg?v=1788002760"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/ian-w-shaw.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}