The Caxton Press, Christchurch, 1989. Very good second-hand condition. Signed copy.

The son of James Lawrence Hay, founder if the well-remembered Hay?s The Friendly Store, the author and his twin brother David first saw the light of day in 1927 at the Limes hospital in Christchurch ? perhaps a portent for the future as this is almost exactly where the Town Hall Auditorium now stands.

Sir Hamish Hay is the longest-serving mayor of Christchurch and this autobiography is is very much the history of Christchurch during the past five decades. In this context history and the man go hand in hand.