The books which we read early in life are those which influence us most.

When Garfield was working for a neighbor he read "Sinbad the Sailor" and the "Pirate's Own Book." These books revealed a new world to him, and his mother with difficulty kept him from going to sea.

He was fascinated with the sea life which these books pictured to his young imagination.

The "Voyages of Captain Cook" led William Carey to go on a mission to the heathen.

"The Imitation of Christ" and Taylor's "Holy Living and Dying" determined the character of John Wesley.