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Sir Charles Kingsford Smith is one of Australia's most beloved heroes.
In an action-packed life, the indomitable 'Smithy' went from fighting as a soldier among the carnage of Gallipoli and the Western Front, to taking to the skies against the likes of the Red Baron - for which he won the Military Cross for gallantry - before becoming the greatest peacetime aviator of his generation.
Along with Charles Ulm, he was the first man to conquer the Pacific by air, the first to fly across the Tasman Sea, the fastest man to fly from England to Australia, and the first pilot to circumnavigate the globe by crossing the equator.
With typical flair, FitzSimons also tells the story of the several breakthroughs, some of which were discovered in Australia, which laid the foundation for the Wright brothers' success in 1903; the first flight across the Channel in 1908; Germany's Red Baron terrorising the Allies in 1917-18, before being shot down by an Australian; Ross and Keith Smith's breakthrough first flight from England to Australia in 1919; the formation of Qantas in 1921; Lindbergh's stunning vault between America and Europe in 1927; the Great Centenary Air Race, the loss of the Southern Cloud; the saga of Bert Hinkler and much, much, more . . .
RRP: $35.00
| ISBN 13: | 9780732288198 |
| ISBN 10: | 0732288193 |
| Binding: | Paperback |
| Pages: | 704 |
| Dimensions: | 234 x 153mm |
| Released: | 02/08/2010 |
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Peter FitzSimons, born in Peats Ridge, New South Wales, 29 June, 1961, is a former Wallabies rugby union player. He now works as a journalist, author and radio presenter. He has the distinction of being the only Wallaby ever sent from the field against the All Blacks. Following his international career he played with CA Brive in France for 4 seasons, becoming the clubs first ever foreign player.
Based in Sydney, Peter FitzSimons is a sports columnist and writer for The Sydney Morning Herald. FitzSimons also regularly appears on the Australian Foxtel programme, The Back Page, hosted by rugby league journalist Mike Gibson. For the Saturday edition of the Sydney Morning Herald, FitzSimons writes a column titled "The Fitz Files" which looks at all the happenings over the past seven days in sport. He also writes a more general version of the "The Fitz Files" on page two of the Sun-Herald on Sundays, focusing on community activities and events in Sydney.
In 2006 he began co-hosting a breakfast radio program with Mike Carlton on Sydney radio station 2UE. He was brought onto the 2UE breakfast show by management in January 2006 in an attempt to boost the program's dwindling ratings. Mike Carlton was vocal in his opposition to having an on-air partner, but the move immediately paid dividends with an immediate audience increase. However, the "Mike and Fitz" breakfast show still trails a long way behind the current number one program on 2GB, hosted by Alan Jones who coincidentally coached FitzSimons at the Manly rugby club and when he was a Wallaby.[citation needed] FitzSimons was often joined on air by his wife, Nine Network Today Show presenter Lisa Wilkinson.
After two years on Breakfast with Mike and Fitz, Peter FitzSimons hung up the headphones to become a stay at home Dad and focus on his writing. Mike Carlton has thanked Fitz for the "most fun" he's ever had on the radio.
FitzSimons is an established author with such books as Kokoda, which recounts the numerous battles between Australian and Japanese Troops on the Kokoda track during World War II, and biographies of former Australian Labor Party leader Kim Beazley, Nick Farr-Jones, John Eales, Nancy Wake and Steve Waugh. His latest book is Tobruk, which recounts the story of the Rats of Tobruk as they fought during World War II against Italian, then later the Afrika Korps as they were led by then-General Erwin Rommell.
He is married to Today host Lisa Wilkinson, with whom he has three children. He is a former student of Knox Grammar School at Wahroonga, Sydney. His sons Jake and Louis FitzSimons also attend Knox Grammar School.
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