My Golden Books

As I look back, I find that, for me, as for many old men, the book of greatest influence is the Book of Life; and as one who has been extraordinarily lucky in friendships I know that close contact with other minds has been of superlative value. From quite early boyhood I had friends of intellectual quality, and as I grew up I benefited from close association with such men as Arnold Bennett, H. G. Wells, A. G. Gardiner, and others, all my seniors, and all shrewd observers of history and the current scene. Nevertheless the love of books, and the constant reading of books, have partially made up for almost total lack of schooling.