Book excerpt: A delightful selection of articles by the ever-popular A. A. Milne, many of which haven't been in print for decades. Introduced by the prize-winning children's author Frank Cottrell Boyce, this volume brings Milne's brilliant non-fiction back to the spotlight. A. A. Milne was a successful writer long before the classic Winnie-the-Pooh stories made him famous. Milne had a talent for regularly turning out a thousand whimsical words on lost hats and umbrellas, golf, married life, cheap cigars, and any amount of life’s little difficulties. This anthology, spanning four decades of Milne’s life, includes his fiercely argued writings on pacifism. Happy Half-Hours features the very best of A. A. Milne in one delightful volume. “Milne’s gift to write amusingly about the most trivial things is a kind of blessing. The kind that can put you back together again when all else fails.” —Frank Cottrell-Boyce, from his introduction