In this remarkable memoir, journalist-historian William L. Shirer (1904-1993) describes his Midwest upbringing plus his young newspaper days in Paris and Europe. Writing a half century later, Shirer discusses growing up in Chicago and Cedar Rapids (Iowa) as horse-and-buggies gave way to autos and airplanes. Then it's off to Paris, where with incredible luck he landed a newspaper job during a visit in 1925. Shirer met an incredible number of notables, and here skillfully describes Clarence Darrow, Jack Dempsey, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mahatma Gandhi, Isadora Duncan, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Douglas MacArthur, Grant Wood, etc. Along the way, readers see Shirer's humanely skeptical view of society, flavored by growing taste for wine, women, and song. The author also captures the sights, sounds, and feel of his beloved Paris; this book made a nice travel companion on a recent trip. Readers should enjoy every page, from Shirer's Midwest youth to his bachelor days in 1920's Paris.