Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 I began as I would go on, reading. By the time I was four, my grandfather had shown me how to do it, mostly by having me follow along as he read to me. I loved dogs, and read many books about them.

#2 I grew up reading the classic children's books, as well as the more recent ones. The key books of my childhood were the twelve novels by Arthur Ransome, beginning with Swallows and Amazons, published in 1930.

#3 I was a sickly child, so I was home from school a lot. I spent my time reading and listening to radio soap operas. When I returned to school in 1950, everything had changed: Alcoholism, abortion, and adultery had barged in, and the soaps were migrating to TV.

#4 My family didn't have a lot of money, but we had a sweet popular culture. I loved listening to the radio, and I was obsessed with comic books and television shows.