You Don't Turn Out As Many Books

I Grew Up In Rhodesia On My Father's Ranch And Every Year He Used To Take Us On Safari In Some Remote Area Of The Wilderness.

Failure Makes Success So Much Sweeter, And Allows You To Thumb Your Nose At The Crowds.

I Am A Closet Birdwatcher. I Can Identify Southern African Species, But It Irks Me I Can Barely Tell A Jay From A Blackbird In The U.k.

Herbert, My Father, Was Born In Britain But Went Out To Africa In His Teens To Join His Father And Built Up An 18,000-acre Ranch In What Was Then Northern Rhodesia, Providing Work For The Locals. He Was My Hero When I Was A Boy.

Usually Halfway Through A Book I Have A Serious Depression, So I Go On Safari On My Ranch In South Africa, Or Fishing Off My Island In The Seychelles. When I Come Back And Re-read It, I Think: 'what Was All That About, Smith? It's Fine, Just Get On With It.'