The theme of this book is the transformation of a child through infancy, boarding schools and university, from the home to the wider society. By combining photographs and scans of documents, Alan Macfarlane presents an account of his 'education' from his birth in Assam, India, in 1941 through to the end of his undergraduate degree at Oxford University in 1963. This is part of a wider study of comparative education between China and the West.