Book excerpt: David and Jack Meredith grow up in a patriotic suburban Melbourne household during the First World War, and go on to lead lives that could not be more different. Through the story of the two brothers George Johnston created an enduring exploration of two Australian myths: that of the man who loses his soul as he gains worldly success, and that off the tough, honest, Aussie battler, whose greatest ambition is to serve his country during the war. Acknowledged as one of the true Australian classics, MY BROTHER JACK is a deeply satisfying, complex and moving literary masterpiece.