First Impressions

This week's competition, in which you have to identify a book from its opening sentence, is from a work that surveys the creation of a new political system in a new country:

"On pleasant evenings in the middle of the 1830s, Noah Webster, nearing his eighties, would return home from his daily walk around New Haven, sit in his front-porch rocker, pick up his newspaper, and moan."

* Entries, including postal address, should be sent to First Impressions, The Times Higher , Admiral House, 66-68 East Smithfield, London E1W 1BX, faxed to 020 7782 3300 or e-mailed to theschat@thes.co.uk

The winner receives a £25 book voucher. The closing date is February 19.

The winner of last week's competition, who identified John Kenneth Galbraith's The Affluent Society , was Annette Thomas, Lakenham, Norfolk.

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