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life-long feud developed between a columnist named Leonard Lyons and myself. I think I've told you why. Lyons got hold of Max Schuster and complained to him that a lot of my stories belonged to him. I told you that they were in reality stories that both of us heard from the same people. A handful of the stories I admitted in my introduction I had read first in his columns and gave him full credit, therefor, but Lyons kept complaining. Then Max Schuster came to me and said, “Don't you think we should make some kind of a settlement with Leonard Lyons? Why don't you offer him something and end this feud?" This to me was an outrage. I said that not only would I make no settlement, but beseeched him to go to court. I said that we would call all of these people whose stories he said that I took and say to the likes of Kaufman and Mr. Hart, “Did you tell these stories just to give Leonard Lyons a copyright on them?" As expected, Lyons did nothing, but for me, Simon and Schuster was finished. I told Dick Simon, “I wouldn't let you publish anything more of mine if you gave me fifty per cent royalties.” Dick said, “What can I do? You know Max.” I said, “I certainly do.”

So I went to Doubleday, and Doubleday has done my books ever since, save every once in a while when I turn to Harper's. Harper did Reading for Pleasure, which is one of my favorite books. The Encyclopedia of Humor and Reading for Pleasure are two books that I did not write. I edited them. Reading for Pleasure consists of the stories that I