Chapter 1 Summary and Analysis

The chapter opens as Prescott Bush is a troublesome thirteen year old boy. His mother, Flora Sheldon Bush, is nervous about his habit of playing practical jokes. She hopes that sending him off to boarding school in Rhode Island will help. The year is 1908 and that fall young Prescott leaves his home in Ohio to take up residence in Rhode Island at St. George's School. He leaves behind his family who own a steel manufacturing plant.

St. George's school is very exclusive and Prescott Bush thrives there. He becomes the leader of several clubs and distinguishes himself in many sports. During his senior year, he is elected head prefect, the highest honor in the school. The following year he heads off to Yale University, the place he will feel a strong connection to for the rest of his life. His time...