Book Notes

Worried that he was going to be consigned to a life of Little Quack and Goodnight Moon, today Cody decided to browse the bookshelf in his room in search of more rewarding material. His face registered happiness at seeing two volumes of Andy Ferguson, but something else caused immense agitation.



By now you've guessed the problem: Martin Gilbert's lifeless Churchill biography is cluttering his bookshelf yet Manchester's masterpiece is missing the third volume. Immediately after this picture was taken, Cody turned to me, his eyes plaintive, yet accusatory, as if to say, Father, what kind of monster are you?

I did not tell him that Manchester died before finishing the third volume. There's only so much disappointment a young boy can endure in a single morning.