Pulitzer Prize-winning author Horton Foote has chronicled the experiences of American life in both his internationally acclaimed plays and his Academy Award-winning screenplays <I>To Kill a Mockingbird</I> and <I>Tender Mercies.</I> Now, in this poignant and delightful memoir, he tells the story of how he discovered his own vocation. <P> Horton Foote recalls his youthful aspirations, leaving his Depression-era Texas home to become an actor at age sixteen. He lands in New York City to search for work -- and to study with some of the great Russian and American drama teachers of the 1930s. But after mixed results on the stage, he finally recognizes his true passion: the written word. <P> Collaborating with such legendary talents as Tennessee Williams, Agnes de Mille, and Lillian Gish, Foote thrived in a world of artistic commitment and creative passion. Yet through it all, Horton maintained his genuine Southern charm, often returning home to Wharton, the town that nurtured and inspired him as a storyteller. <P> From one of the most moving and distinctive voices of our time, <I>Beginnings</I> is a rare, personal look at a fascinating era in American life and at the making of an American literary icon.