He had grown up in a fashionable suburb of a large American city, a cosmopolitan area of considerable size and sophistication. He was a winner from the time he was born; you know, one of those babies that comes into the world with a smile and a confident air that life is friendly and meant for success. Oh, yes, he did his share of crying, and as an infant and pre-schooler, he had his share of sickness. But all in all, he was the kind of boy you would expect to see in a prize-winning television commercial.

In elementary school he was always liked by his teachers, although with his healthy, all boy personality, he steadfastly avoided giving any appearance of being a teacher's pet. He knew the turbulence of the teenage years, but that didn't stop him from excellence in that rare combination …