In this charming autobiographical essay, Albert Schweitzer tells of his first nineteen years in Upper Alsace and his youthful discoveries of religion, music, and the inspiration of friendship. Even in his boyhood there were traces of what was to become his "reverence for life": as a boy, he writes, he managed to dissuade several companions from going fishing because of the pain he felt the deed gave to both the worm and the fish.

In poignant vignettes, Schweitzer also describes his unhappiness at discovering that he had better food or better clothing than those around him. Memoirs of Childhood and Youth offers wonderful insights on Dr. Schweitzer's childhood journey that eventually led him to dedicate himself to medical service in African colonies. This new translation also has rarely seen photographs of Schweitzer, both as a youth and as an adult.