The Day Gone by

In an apparently artless, effortless fashion, Adams ( Watership Down ) guides readers on a journey back to his early years in this wonderfully detailed memoir. Born in 1920, the author grew up in pastoral England, blessed in his boyhood with a loving, stable family and the surrounding natural world which he roamed freely, usually with his father, before he was sent to boarding school. That was a vast, discomforting change from his tranquil home, but Adams adjusted, making friends, good marks and mischief. His education was interrupted by the outbreak of WW II, during which he served in virtually every theater in Europe and Asia. This affectionate evocation of ``the day gone by'' closes with the author home again in Newbury and meeting his future wife, Elizabeth. It's a safe bet that readers will clamor for a follow-up to the humorous, poignant and sometimes grim adventures of the early part of a singular life. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)