Runaway Summary and Analysis

Warren had to return to Washington after his 8th grade year, as his parents had moved into a new home in Washington proper, one they felt would not trigger his "allergies." Other than accumulating money as a Washington Post paper boy, he was miserable. After a failed runaway attempt with two other boys, Warren settled into Washington by expanding his paper route to include the rival morning paper, adding four more routes, handling them all before and after school and netting $175.00 a month, saving every bit of it. In 1945, at age 14, he took $1,200 and bought forty acres of Nebraska farmland, leasing it out to a tenant farmer. He was faring better in school as well, making a few friends and improving his grades. In his spare time, he avidly read any business books he could find.

During his senior year, a...