Frederick E. Smith was born with a caul over his face, to which heattributes many miraculous escapes from death throughout his life. Hisextraordinary early days and his many bizarre experiences in the Royal AirForce, his hatred of bullies--from the playground to despots like Hitler,helped to shape his beliefs.

During those years he managed to survive a vitriolic, scheminggrandmother who sent his parents into bankruptcy; a potentially fatal blackmamba bite; dangling out of an aircraft without a parachute at 6,000 feet bya thin wire caught around his ankle; a close encounter with the legendaryGreat Dane, Nuisance, the Cape Town dog whom Smith describes as more humanthan human; jealous enemies; and death - escaping in the most ironic waypossible when going out to the Far East by ship. And that's just forstarters. This man's astonishing life has to be read to be imagined. Awonderful, page-turning autobiography full of emotional turmoil.