Keep Calm — We Are Coming

 

Keep Calm — We Are Coming
The NZSAS in action in Afghanistan, 2009–2021

Ron Crosby

A gripping account of New Zealand’s military elite in action in Afghanistan, told in their own words

This special book takes the reader on a rare tour behind the lines of the New Zealand Special Air Service during its time in Afghanistan, based on extensive interviews and research by author Ron Crosby.

Keep Calm —We Are Coming briefly backgrounds the NZSAS role with Coalition forces supporting the Afghan government, before focusing on four engagements where many lives were at risk.

While primarily training Afghan forces in Kabul, the Kiwis were called upon to respond to a series of ‘spectacular attacks’ by heavily-armed Taliban fighters wearing suicide vests and determined to inflict major casualties on civilians.

In the words of those who were there, Crosby tells how the NZSAS resolved three devastating attacks by terrorists in Kabul between 2009 and 2012 — at the Indian Guesthouse, Intercontinental Hotel and British Council.

The book then relates how the NZSAS returned to help evacuate New Zealanders from the chaos of Kabul Airport in 2021 as the Taliban took over.

This fast-paced book —illustrated with 32 pages of colour photos from the attacks and the airport – reveals how a courageous group of Kiwis saved hundreds of lives in extremely 

dangerous conditions.

Author Ron Crosby at the book's launch in Auckland

Keep Calm — We Are Coming is available in good booksellers nationwide, in time for Anzac Day 2026 commemorations.

The author

Ron Crosby is a well-known author of New Zealand history, including The Musket Wars, The Forgotten Wars, Te Kooti’s Last Foray and NZSAS: The First Fifty Years. He enjoyed a long career as a barrister, and was a member of the Waitangi Tribunal for 13 years. Resident in Blenheim, Ron has intermittently spent many years writing the current book; see www.roncrosby.co.nz.

Publication: 2 April 2026  |  ISBN: 9781990042997  |  RRP $45.00

Paperback with flaps, 240 x 160 mm portrait, 260 pages, 

b&w with 4 x 8-page colour sections

New edition of classic history returns to print ahead of Anzac Day

The Anzac Experience: New Zealand, Australia and Empire in the First World War

Christopher Pugsley

Revised edition of much-praised history examines the Great War experience of New Zealand, Australia and Canada

‘One of the best works of Australasian military history I have ever read.’ 

– Allan Converse, The Journal of Military History

 

One hundred and ten years on from the Gallipoli campaign of 1915, a new era of wars in the eastern Mediterranean obliges us to consider the role of the military in human history. 

 

To understand how New Zealand and Australia first developed their response to global conflicts, The Anzac Experience is an important primer. This gripping book captures the evolution by trial and error of their respective armies, alongside that of Canada, from the Boer War in South Africa to involvement in the First World War. 

 

It tells the story of citizen soldiers becoming professional as they learned the lessons of Gallipoli and applied these to the Western Front — earning them the status of the fighting elite in the British armies in France. 

Richly illustrated with photographs and maps, The Anzac Experience blends social analysis and military history in a compelling combination. In its research and writing, Christopher Pugsley walked every New Zealand battlefield on Gallipoli and the Western Front. 

 

This revised edition features a new cover and updates to the text. 

 

The author

Christopher Pugsley is recognised among the first rank of military historians. A retired Lieutenant Colonel in the New Zealand Army, he was a lecturer in military studies in New Zealand and Australia, and retired in 2012 as a Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Among his recent works are the fifth edition of Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story and Le Quesnoy 1918. He lives with his wife in Waikanae.

Publication: 1 April 2025  |  ISBN: 978-0-947506-00-1 | RRP $49.99

Paperback, 240 x 170 mm portrait, 356 pages, b&w

A monumental history of New Zealand's mounted and armoured forces comes to fruition

Those Who Have the Courage

The History of the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps and predecessor forces

Matthew Wright

Across more than 160 years, the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps and its predecessor forces have served and reflected our evolving nation. 

 

This richly illustrated work, painstakingly compiled by historian Matthew Wright, captures the drama of this key part of our armed forces. 

The book goes on sale on 3 April at good booksellers nationwide.

 

Opening with New Zealand’s turbulent colonial era and its volunteer cavalry, the book progresses through to the Boer War, the professionalisation of the services on the eve of the First World War, and the mounted experience in Gallipoli and Palestine. 

Wright goes on to examine the way New Zealand developed its use of armour during the Second World War, and the battles fought by the new armoured forces in North Africa, Italy and the Pacific. 

 

That leads to an examination of the people and fortunes of the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps itself from 1947, in what has been a roller-coaster ride through the shifting sands of politics and economic constraint, including operations in Bosnia, East Timor and Afghanistan. 

 

Plentiful photographs and detailed maps distinguish this handsome hardback, along with extended appendices.

As Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro writes in the foreword: ‘Those Who Have the Courage will be a valuable resource for anyone who is interested in the military and social history of New Zealand’.

The author

Matthew Wright is the prolific author of over 60 books on a wide range of topics for all ages, principally on New Zealand history. A respected historian, he is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His other works with Oratia are Freyberg, The New Zealand Wars and The New Zealand Experience at Gallipoli and the Western Front. Matthew lives in Wellington (see matthewwright.net).

Publication: 3 April 2024  |  ISBN: 978-1-99-004255-3 | RRP $95.00

Jacketed hardback, 280 x 200 mm portrait, 648 pages, colour and b&w

 

Remembering those whose lives were shaped by war

The approach of Anzac Day signals a time to remember the millions of people who were affected by twentieth-century wars, and those whose lives and lands are still ravaged by invasion and civil conflict. 

Oratia Books has a firm commitment to telling the stories of New Zealanders at war, not to glorify the events but better to understand and learn from the experience. 

Children's books such as When Dad Came Home touchingly retell the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder on returning soldiers, and the role of family love in healing. 

Creating reconciliation and friendship from the shared experienced of Gallipoli is the theme  of our latest children's book, The Water Bottle, a collaboration between Kiwi author Philippa Werry and Turkish illustrator Burak Akbay.

For older readers, the most recent of Christopher Pugsley's masterful works of military history narrates New Zealand's last battle of the First World War as it happens. Le Quesnoy 1918 is an on-the-ground account of this daring capture of the French town of Le Quesnoy, vividly relating the realities of warfare. 

A valuable companion to Pugsley's new edition of Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story, Matthew Wright's The New Zealand Experience at Gallipoli and the Western Front analyses what it was like for New Zealand soldiers at the two main battle fronts where they fought, and frames it with the social effects back home.

We will remember them this 25 April. 

For more reading, check the Oratia Books website.

New edition of standard history of Gallipoli reflects major revision of official numbers

First published in 1984, Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story is a key work in the nation's history.

In the words of the NZ Listener, Christopher Pugsley's first book 'recast our vision of the iconic campaign and simultaneously redefined the art of military-history writing in New Zealand.'

From the initial Hodder & Stoughton publication, editions have followed from Sceptre Paperbacks, Reed Books (NZ) and Penguin Books, before Oratia issued the fifth edition in 2014 in a co-edition with British publisher Frontline Books. 

The book has become a definitive account of New Zealand's role in the disastrous 1915 campaign, when a British-led expeditionary force met the Turkish army in an attempt to wrest control of the Dardanelles. 

 

This sixth edition builds on a revision of New Zealand troop numbers at Gallipoli by scholars including the late Richard Stowers, David Green, John Crawford and Matthew Buck. 

In his preface to the new edition, Pugsley notes the conclusion of this research is 'that some 16,000–17,000 New Zealanders served on the Peninsula in the campaign, doubling the previously used official figure.'

In light of this and other new work, he has made extensive updates to the book, while retaining its engaging style and extensive photos.

Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story takes us to the campaign through the eyes of the soldiers — ordinary Kiwis whose memories speak through their letters and diaries. 

Gallipoli does justice to the reality of this pivotal campaign for New Zealand and provides the background story to Anzac Day.

The national memorial day marks the anniversary of the Gallipoli landings on 25 April 1915 by Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) troops.

'Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story has become the ‘go-to’ text on Gallipoli’ 

— Sir Jerry Mateparae

The Author

A retired Lieutenant-Colonel in the New Zealand Army, Christopher Pugsley was a lecturer in military studies here, in Australia and the UK. Among his many books are four others with Oratia: The Anzac Experience, Te Hokowhitu a Tu, The Camera in the Crowd  and Le Quesnoy 1918. He is historical director of the ‘Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War’ exhibition at Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, which has now been extended to 2025. A frequent visitor and guide to Gallipoli, Chris lives with his wife in Waikanae Beach.

Publication Date: 8 April 2022 |  ISBN: 978-0-947506-07-0 |  RRP $49.99

Paperback, 240 x 170 mm portrait, 400 pages b&w, 60 photos

Book giveaway: Gallipoli (2014)

First published in 1984, Christopher Pugsley’s debut book brilliantly captured New Zealand’s involvement in the 1915 campaign to wrest the Dardanelles from Turkish control. Established as the definitive history of this critical episode in the First World War, it went through three further editions before going out of print.

The impending anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign and the availability of new information and photos made a fifth edition a must. For Oratia, Christopher fully revised the text and brought in new content linked to his work as historical director on the seminal  Gallipoli: The Scale of our War at Te Papa, Wellington.

Published in October 2014 in a co-edition with leading British military publisher Pen & Sword, Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story was enthusiastically received by readers worldwide. It has since reprinted several times.

What sets this history apart is Chris’ ability to tell the story through the eyes of those who were there, drawing not only on letters and diaries but also his experience as a career soldier. It’s a remarkable balance of practical and scholarly history that he has carried on in further books for Oratia, most recently last year’s Le Quesnoy 1918.

Visit our Fb Page  to be in to win a copy of Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story! Prize available to New Zealand residents only. 

Competition closes on Monday 8 July, and winner announced on Tuesday 9 July.