When John Gould was young, a boy learned about the sea--and arithmetic and knots and geography and life--from the old deep-water men living out their lives in snug harbors. He grew up knowing the woods; the way a church supper smells; the way the Ladies Aid bargained together before a food sale. The friendly, close-knit community life and the deep family affection gave him a foundation of sound sense to last through the years ahead.

This is a book to read and reread. You will be glad to know that once, in Maine, a boy could have this kind of childhood; and you might be envious because you did not.