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 to it, and write powerfully about it.