“Fred Smith draws as convincing a picture as we will ever have of the tragedy, hope, oddness and courage of Australia’s Uruzgan enterprise… an astonishingly vibrant piece of reportage from the heart of our longest war.”
Hugh Riminton, Political Editor, Channel 10
The first comprehensive on-the-ground account of Australia’s war in Afghanistan.
Fred Smith has been described as ‘Australia’s secret weapon’ in international diplomacy. As a career diplomat he served for two years in southern Afghanistan, working alongside Australian soldiers in Uruzgan Province.
While there, Fred’s second career as a musician came to the fore. His guitar served as a bridge, not only to the troops, but also to the people and tribal leaders of that war-torn region. His song, ‘Dust of Uruzgan’, captured the hearts of many serving in Afghanistan, and ‘Sapper’s Lullaby’ has become an anthem for soldiers and their families. His acclaimed album Dust of Uruzgan, which serves as the template for this book, earned him comparisons to Eric Bogle, John Schumann and Don Walker.
Part memoir, part history, part eyewitness reportage, Dust of Uruzgan offers a sympathetic explanation of an obscure and impoverished province where tribal leaders conspire against one another in a society devastated by thirty-five years of warfare.
‘We see Afghanistan as a “war”, but of course it’s a society,’ says Fred. ‘People there make decisions for reasons. My job was to understand those reasons. I wrote this book to offer a personal, entertaining and human account of what was going on – why things were the way they were, and what 20,000 Australian troops and a handful of diplomats have been to over there for the last 15 years.’
With remarkable insight and humour, The Dust of Uruzgan recounts the setbacks and successes of a contingent of Australian soldiers, diplomats and aid workers struggling to make a difference in a place where truth and clarity were often buried, and where too many young Australians perished in the dust of Uruzgan.
Look – "Look" Vinyl Limited Edition
$50 AUD
The Sparrows of Kabul Book and CD Combination Pack
$50 AUD
The Sparrows of Kabul
$33 AUD
Look – Look
$25 AUD
Urban Sea Shanties –
Compact disc - Urban Sea Shanties
Fred Smith and the Spooky Men's Chorale
$25 AUD
Texas – CD
$25 AUD
Lovethongs by Frencham Smith –
Compact Disc
Fred Smith and Liz Frencham
$25 AUD
Into My Room by Frencham Smith –
Compact Disc
Fred Smith and Liz Frencham
$25 AUD
Home – Compact Disc
$25 AUD
Dust of Uruzgan – Dust of Uruzgan CD
$25 AUD
Great – CD of the album Great
$25 AUD
Domestic – Domestic CD
$25 AUD
Fred Smith Canberra, Australia
“Fred Smith is simply the best folk/country musician working in this country in 2020. Beyond writing some of the finest songs about Australians at war, he has created a repertoire that is wry, literate, witty, powerfully emotional and insightful.”(Bruce Elder, Sydney Morning Herald). ... more
