This omnibus volume brings 'Battle for Crete', 'Desert Duel' and 'Italian Odyssey' together in one binding - a trilogy that traces the story of the Second New Zealand Division during the Second World War. Their journey took them from Greece and Crete to Egypt, the Western Desert, Libya and Tunisia. And then, with the Eighth Army, they landed in Italy, fighting in the bitter siege of Cassino, but ending their war with a flourish in the race to Trieste, where the New Zealanders were in the first confrontation of the Cold War."Wright is one who has been able to place himself within the culture and sense the history...This new book is a worthy contribution to our understanding..."- Frank Glen, The Southland Times, 14 June 2003."Author Matthew Wright... has brought the Italian campaign alive. The book is as important as it is highly readable - so much better than the standard military histories".- Graeme Hunt, The National Business Review, 17 October 2003.