I: How JUMP started -- 1. A series of fortunate events -- 2. Myths about math -- 3. Copying, counting, and comparing -- 4. The failure of failure -- 5. Breaking the cycle of ignorance -- II: The JUMP method -- 6. Fractions -- 7. Multiplication and division -- 8. Coordinate systems -- 9. Ratios and percents -- 10. Logic and systematic search -- 11. Finite state automata.

In a prolific life of singular literary achievement, Larry McMurtry has succeeded in a variety of genres: in coming-of-age novels like The Last Picture Show; in collections of essays like In a Narrow Grave; and in the reinvention of the Western on a grand scale in his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Lonesome Dove. Now, in Books: A Memoir, McMurtry writes about his endless passion for books: as a boy growing up in a largely "bookless" world; as a young man devouring the vastness of literature with astonishing energy; as a fledgling writer and family man; and above all, as one of America's most prominent bookmen. He takes us on his journey to becoming an astute, adventurous book scout and collector who would eventually open stores of rare and collectible editions in Georgetown, Houston, and finally, in his previously "bookless" hometown of Archer City, Texas--From publisher description.