Positivity

Harry Edelson is the son of an illiterate Russian immigrant whose husband left the family when Harry was an infant. He begins his book this way: "I grew up in the poorest neighborhoodin Brooklyn, which was the poorest neighborhood in New York City, and I was the poorest of the poor."

But Mr. Edelson has no intention of wasting his life or our time by lamenting his childhood or anything else. He tells us, "I consider myself to be very lucky. I have been happy all my life even though I starte...