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.
‘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.
- Ryan, Peter, 1923-2015
- World War, 1939-1945 — Personal narratives, Australian
- World War, 1939-1945 — Campaigns — New Guinea
- World War, 1939-1945 — Jungle warfare
- Autobiography: historical, political & military
- Biography & Autobiography – Military
- History – Australia & Oceania
- History – Military – World War Ii
- Memoirs
- Australian
First published: Sydney : Angus & Robertson, 1959.
Ryan, Peter, 1923-2015. | World War, 1939-1945 — Campaigns — New Guinea. | World War, 1939-1945 — Personal narratives, Australian.
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