1st Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment 1957-2007 commemorates the service of the Battalion both nationally and internationally and reflects upon the excellent leadership, training systems and innate soldiering abilities which have earned New Zealand's Army an international reputation for producing extraordinary light infantry personnel.

WOW! What a book. Over five hundred pages of action-packed history, supported by over one thousand thumbnail sketches of some of those individuals who have made their mark in the long history of the Auckland Infantry. And there is more. About seven hundred photographs some that have never been seen before, plus a sprinkling of easy-to-read maps and even the odd topical cartoon, makes this excellent publication, researched by some very passionate researchers and written by three outstanding and eminent authors, namely Peter Cooke, John Gray and Ken Stead such an exciting inclusion to our military history treasure trove.

This book is the story of the 2400 Australian volunteers recruited from a population base in 1863 of 1.5 million settlers. This was a contribution with unique military, societal, political and commercial outcomes, both for the individual colonies and their later military development. This account is specifically confined to the period of Australia's greatest contribution of men and munitions, beginning in 1860, until the disbanding of the majority of Australian-recruited Military Settler Regiments in October 1867.

The artillery battle at Minqar Qaim on 27 June and subsequent breakout during the very early morning of 28 June 1942, is regarded as one of the New Zealand Division's best actions in World War II. Minqar Qaim Day, 27 June, is now also the defining moment, the anniversary date for 2 Canterbury, Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast Regiment.