At its most basic, this is a memoir about the time Dobie spent lecturing at Cambridge during the Second World War, but it really has a lot more layers than that. It's a study of place and how it affects selfhood, about homesickness and how you may find out new things about yourself and your home while traveling abroad. It's written in a wry, amusing, occasionally lyrical style and takes his time in England thematically rather than chronologically.

It contains such interesting digressions as: a list of the topics covered in Cambridge's general examinations, information about the political state of British farming, speculations as to why it feels so much colder in English lodgings than out on the lone prairie, excerpts from wills and death notices printed in the Times, a description of the ideal English pub, a screed about the difficulty of finding coffee in Wales, and an impassioned plea against fascism, listing all those things peculiarly English that Dobie felt needed to be protected from the depredations of the Nazis.

As a Texan who has lived in England, I was perhaps particularly interested in this and found many of his observations were still true. But beyond that, it is really a unique, strange, and charming memoir. ( )