"When I lived in England, I had nothing in my head but cabbage. But after I went to America, I developed a brain." Self-made millionaire shares his life story, from his early years surviving the Blitz in England to his "fake it til you make it" approach to life in his newfound home in Marin County, California. It's an intriguing read of one immigrant's determination and success.

"I may have been born in Britain; I may have been raised there. I may have served with pride in Her Majesty's armed forces. Nevertheless, I refused to accept that my fate and fortune were dependent on who I was related to, or what part of the country I lived in, what schools I attended, or what I did for a living. That is the main reason why, by the time my path crossed theirs, I was an American—and damn proud of it."