My name is Greg Brown; I am avid Johnson admirer living in Petaluma California (about 40 miles north of San Francisco). It was my good fortune to run across your Web Page on the Internet. I struck up a correspondence with Bryan Reid and the rest, as they say, is history.

What a pleasure to meet fellow travellers who share the same love of Johnson and his convivial circle. To my knowledge, not many people in my neck of the woods know about Johnson; consequently, I have been somewhat of a closet admirer for years.

I was first introduced to Boswell's Life of Johnson about 10 years ago. I was working in Yosemite National Park, during summer vacation from college, as a busboy in an isolated hotel restaurant. My mornings were free, and I had not met a soul. I would get up every morning from my tent and go walking through the woods.

I happened to have randomly picked up a copy of Johnson which I brought along with me. What a find! The beauty of my physical surroundings were equalled and complemented by the pure pleasures of Johnson's wit and the force of his genius.

The barbed yet (usually) friendly repartee, the moral lessons, the introduction to 18th Century London, the intimate portrait of a friendship, the writing style, the respectful and sincere tone, all created an instant fan.

I have always enjoyed a friendly philosophical argument, and here it was in its purest and most impressive form. I have read the Life of Johnson many times since and always find something new and interesting in it.