Find Books

This only searches the 12,000+ titles on this website, not the 400,000+ books in our shops!

Fear Drive My Feet: The Classic Memoir of an Australian Behind the Lines in New Guinea

Ryan, Peter, 1923-2015 ; Peter Pierce
ISBN: 9781875989874 Category:

$18.00

1 in stock

Fear Drive My Feet is Peter Ryan’s enduring account of his time patrolling isolated regions of New Guinea during World War II.

Far from his fellow Australians and with Japanese forces closing in around him, the eighteen-year-old Ryan endures the hardships of the jungle, overcoming loneliness, fatigue and fear with quiet courage. He finds beauty in the rugged mountain landscapes of New Guinea, and admires the charm and resourcefulness of its people.

Rarely out of print in the past four decades, Fear Drive My Feet is a classic memoir of the war in the Pacific, a major work of Australian war literature. For the work he describes in this book, Peter Ryan was awarded the Military Medal and mentioned in dispatches.

The Classic Memoir of an Australian Behind the Lines in New Guinea.

‘Despatching an 18-year-old on a job such as mine was heartless and irresponsible. And yet it was the best thing that ever happened to me: I got the chance to discover what I could do, and I am grateful.’

Some of the least known heroes of the New Guinea campaign in World War II were the Australians who patrolled sparsely inhabited and little known areas of the territory in order to maintain friendly relations with the natives in isolated villages and to watch the movements of the Japanese. In 1942 and 1943, Peter Ryan was one of those men.

‘Fear Drive My Feet’ is an impressive story of endurance and quiet courage. It is the story of an innocent young man, caught up in an extraordinary situation, and his ability to respond powerfully to it.

First published: Sydney : Angus & Robertson, 1959.
Ryan, Peter, 1923-2015. | World War, 1939-1945 — Campaigns — New Guinea. | World War, 1939-1945 — Personal narratives, Australian.

#260224R (Light age tanning)

Additional Information

AuthorRyan, Peter, 1923-2015 ; Peter Pierce
Number of pages301
PublisherDuffy & Snellgrove, Sydney
Year Published2005 reprint
Binding Type

Softcover

Book Condition

Very Good +

Elizabeth’s Bookshops have been one of Australia’s premier independent book dealers since 1973. Elizabeth’s family-owned business operates four branches in Perth CBD, Fremantle (WA), and Newtown (NSW). All orders are dispatched within 24 hours from our Fremantle Warehouse.

All items can be viewed at Elizabeth’s Bookshop Warehouse, 23 Queen Victoria Street, Fremantle WA.
Click & Collect (no postage cost!) is available at all branches.