David Jenkins (4) (1942–)

This book had the feel of museum merchandising. It is about the Japanese attack on Sydney in 1942, before I was born, but I have a clear memory of one of the unexploded shells being uncovered in Cross St. Double Bay where I grew up and I have always been fascinated by the story of the attack. This discovery in Cross St is not mentioned and the book was written before the discovery of Matuo’s midget submarine off Long Reef.

The book’s lay-out is frustrating. It seems to have been designed as a picture book rather than as a coherent narrative. Like the front page of a newspaper, the text is constantly interrupted by separate pieces and then continued without reference to where it began. The style reminds me of the breathless reporting in a Movietone news bulletin.

Many of the maps and infographics could be used by visual display expert, Edward Tufte, as examples of poor practice, not just because of their poor choice of competing colours but of the misleading information. For example, on page 73 the graphic showing the impact of 9 out of the 10 shells fired shows them all exploding when, in fact, only one exploded.

The text is strongest at the beginning when it outlines the context of the attack. Overlooked, but hinted at, is the lack of preparedness for the attack, the failure of communications, the debacle arising from the uncertainty of who was in command (Army or Navy) and the chaos in the streets during the attack. For example, when an American panicked and opened fire with a machine gun on passing city traffic.

Rightly, the bravery of Susumo Ito, the pilot of the 2nd reconnaissance plane to fly over Sydney is acknowledged. But the fact that his flight low over Sydney went unchallenged is not really questioned.… (más)