"It should be pointed out here that George was fifteen when he wrote these -- and without a day of formal schooling in his life."
Very interesting point.
To expand on your thought; it is amazing how these days formal education or the lack thereof is in most cases exclusively used as the only measure of one's intelligence, intellect and potential.
I bought this book for my son when he graduated. He was home educated, so he actually read it and made use of it.
:-)