Dr Brian Garrett

MA, B.Phil, D.Phil
Senior Lecturer
ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences

Biography

Motto: Better to have lunched and lost, than never to have lunched at all.

One of the select few to have served in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan (though the latter was a holiday - can recommend the dips).  Though only 8 years old, he lied about his age to fight in Vietnan and flew HUEYs into Cambodia (and occasionally out too).  His memoir of America's ill-advised involvement in Vietnam - 30 Clicks From Saigon (Black Hand Press, Captain's Flat) - is highly recomended.

Brian is the Inaugural Recipient of the B J Garrett Award for Teaching and Research Excellence 2022/3.  Well done, BJ!

As a former Delta commando, Brian offers a course for exacutives: Unleash Your Inner Warrior.  Once in the bush, you will learn how to stay underwater for 10 minutes, how to run through a burning building, and how to survive a jump from an aircraft with no parachute.  Reports in the press of a high fatality rate are total bunkum.  All our survivors left good reviews.

ANU (and Lincoln College, Oxford) Living Legend.  Currently fielding offers from the private sector, and trying desperately to halt the march through our institutions of a Plague of Wokists.

His recent and highly acclaimed first volume of memoirs - Great Lunch, Couldn't Walk (Upper Aranda Press, Aranda) - was hailed by the (UK) Daily Telegraph as " ... a rollicking tale of '80s excess.  Move over Martin Amis!"  

His second volume - F*** OFF, Mr Chips (Tricep Press, Upper Cook) - is a celebration of his years teaching in the Colonies.  It was lauded by the (UK) Independent as " ... a wry yet savage indictment of the current state of higher education.  If you want to know why it all went wrong for our Universities, read this."

 


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Updated:  23 September 2023 / Responsible Officer:  Director (Research Services Division) / Page Contact:  Researchers