His Story by Hans B. Grueber

Hans B. Grueber has lived an extraordinary life, the first half in Germany and the second half in New Zealand (and he has also lived in France and the USA). This is so much more than a personal family history, as he shares a compelling account of European history, the legal profession, politics and thoughts on the future, hence the well-chosen title ‘His Story’: his personal account and also ‘History’: the times he has lived through.

His earliest childhood memories are of playing in the rubble of his badly bombed German town, after the city centre was incinerated by Allied forces in World War II. In high school, he describes the visceral upset at sitting through a documentary about the liberation of the concentration camps.

Always interested in the wider world around him, Hans smuggled banned books to his friends in East Berlin as a university student. He has fled from police during student revolts in Paris, and seen anti-Vietnam War demonstrators being tear-gassed by National Guard helicopters while studying at UC Berkley. As a young lawyer, he describes some of the cases he worked.

Moving to New Zealand was a new chapter for Hans, full of highs and lows. He was a key player in introducing MMP to New Zealand, but he shares a painful episode when his first marriage broke down, and the international custody case of his children that followed, which made news headlines. Thankfully, he found love and happiness with his second wife, Rosemary, and they raised a blended family together.

Hans has an easy, relaxed writing style, with just the right mix of humour, honesty and insight. Anyone interested in people’s personal stories, history, law, politics and societal issues will enjoy this engaging book.

Reviewer: Karen McMillan

Writes Hill Press