"Swinging one man up behind him and with two others suspended on each stirrup, they carried the men 5 kilometres across the hot desert sands to safety."

Popular big band leader Glenn Miller lost his life during World War II, but the exact cause of the crash and his final resting place, remained a mystery.

"I lay face down on the examination table as the doctor applied a pinch test around both Achilles and marked the extent of my pain reaction."

"People were pulled in for questioning and the hard yards begun in an endeavour to establish the who and the why of the horrendous crime."

"Our farm was exposed. Bitter cold used to sweep over the hills, the south-westerlies "howling like a dog with sore nuts", Grandfather would say."

"He proposed here, so formal, on bended knee, intent on doing it right."

"It was with great shock we awakened on November 18, 2011 to the news of several premature deaths in an overnight fire at a nursing home in suburban Sydney."

If you are overcome by the number and diversity of books available on the shelves of your bookstore or library, John Reid has some awesome recommendations.