AustLit

Peter Ryan joined the Australian Army aged 18. He undertook special intelligence work in Papua New Guinea during World War II (the source of his book, Fear Drive My Feet, written when he was 21), for which he was awarded the Military Medal in 1943.

Returning to Melbourne, he graduated from the University of Melbourne with Honours in History in 1948. His connection to the university continued in later life: in 1962, he 'inherited' control of Melbourne University Press, which he ran for the following 26 years.

A freelance writer, he published in such periodicals as Quadrant, for which he wrote his best-known essay, a scathing review of Manning Clarke's History of Australia.

See also:

'Man of Letters Peter Ryan Survived both War and Attacks by Critics', The Australian, 14 December 2015.