The autobiography provides a detailed account of Du Mond's family background. He was born in Paris and moved to the U. S. at age seven to live with his grandparents. He spent his college years at the California Institute of Technology, receiving his Ph.D. in physics in 1921; he became a U. S. citizen in 1944. Subjects discussed include: studies with H. A. Kirkpatrick in x-ray research and his many inventions and designs, comments on and interactions with other scientists, academic life and travels, his tenure on the physics faculty at the California Institute of Technology, his committee work, and work at the National Bureau of Standards and National Research Council..