Includes index. When Clarrie James went off to war with a thousand mates of 53 Battalion, little did he know how many of the coming days would be spent alone. The battalion spent most of its time in Port Moresby but before the Japanese landed in Papua, the author transferred to Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU). He ended up in the highlands of New Guinea - a lone white man administering 'one man law'. This fine book describes the transition of one young man from ordinary soldiering to a life of self-reliance and making his own - sometimes vital and life-saving decisions.