BOOK REVIEW

“GOING UPHILL BACKWARDS’’

by Will Foote. Philip Garside Publishing, 2002. $24.95, 128 pages

- Robyn Dann

Will Foote, who is now in his 80s, is a lifelong peace activist (he has previously written about his years of incarceration as a pacifist in WW2) and a veteran ABC member, who has been attending protests at the Waihopai spybase since the outset of our campaign. Peace Researcher has previously published reviews of other books by him. Ed.

This book is a great read especially for those of us, myself included, who do not usually enjoy reading biographies, as we soon become bored by long and minute details, “in which the worthlessness of lords and attorneys might be set forth, and conversations which had passed twenty years before be minutely repeated” (“Northanger Abbey”, Jane Austen).

This book however is just the highlights and the important bits, from his family’s origins through to the present day and all told with a great sense of humour and compassion for those he writes about. I particularly enjoyed these chapters - “The Wonders of Science”, “Another Great Day In NZ Cricket”, and “A Thunderbolt from Heaven” - from his early years.

I also found his experiences as a teacher very insightful as I am currently employed as a school librarian at a poor primary school in Woolston (Christchurch) and, unfortunately for children from poor homes in our society today, many of the problems with which Will was dealing in the 1930s and 40s have not changed, nor has the level of conversation in the staff room.

The later part of the book covers his personal beliefs, namely why he became a conscientious objector during WW2 and his protests against nuclear weapons and the Waihopai spybase, as well as the three loves of his life: his family, teaching, and cricket.

A thoroughly enjoyable read, I highly recommend it.

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