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of the manuscript. I'd sent some of the manuscript to George, and he'd liked it. But George is not a critical person. He doesn't write the author's book for him, you know. He's not critical even. He's just fine. He encourages you--“You're wonderful, you keep on, keep the pace.” He just hands out flattery for all it's worth, to keep you going.

I said to him, “I am discouraged, and I think I'm in a jam, and I don't think this is going to go at all, and I'll tell you what it is: there's too much of it. There's just too much of it. At first I didn't think I could write anything; now I can't stop myself. And it's terrific--there's so much of it, and it's redundant, and it's overlapping, and it's repetitive. I can't clean it out. I can't look at it. I haven't got that kind of a mind. I can't look at it and remember that I said that in chapter 2. Is there anything you can suggest?”

We talked a long time on the talephone, and he said finally, “You know what I think you need? I think you need an editor. What you need is an editor, and I think I know the man that I'll get for you. He's an experienced editor. He's been a newspaper man. He's been a specialist in newspaper work.”

I said, “Oh, I don't want journalese.”

“No, he's not that kind. He's a critic. But he has done regular legwork and now he's an editor, and he's just back