James Webb Young was born in Alabama, and received his primary and secondary education in Texas. He attended the University of Mississippi for two years before enlisting in the United States Navy for World War II. He served in the Pacific Theatre, where he took part in many campaigns, including Guadalcanal, Midway, Guam, Leyte Gulf, Okinawa, Iwo Jima, and Peleliu. Upon discharge from the Navy, he completed his college education at the University of Arizona
Following his graduation he immediately returned to Texas where he became an Assistant District Attorney for Presidio County. Mr. Young is a former member of the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate.
We tend to forget that words are, themselves, ideas. They might be called ideas in a state of suspended animation. When the words are mastered the ideas tend to come alive again.James Webb Young
Thus, words being symbols of ideas, we can collect ideas by collecting words. The fellow who said he tried reading the dictionary but couldn't get the hang of the story simply missed the point: namely, that it is a collection of short stories.James Webb Young
