B. Gingrich: Oh, definitely. He was precocious. He was very apt. He seemed to learn faster than his equals. And he was a little bratty too at the time, because he had been living with his mother and the grandmother, who was a doting grandmother. But he was not a brat. He was precocious.

Q: Within the context of the family, how did you see your job with Newt?

B. Gingrich: Well, to provide whatever guidance I could. I didn't come in to be the punisher or the disciplinarian. That was not my intent. A happy coexistence is what I wanted. Well, not coexistence -- that sounds like Russia and the United States. But, a happy relationship.

Q: Describe for me what you think your image was to a young Newt growing up. Do you think he saw you as a disciplinarian? You were a military guy...

B. Gingrich: Well, at that time I wasn't. See that's the thing. I was in '45 and '46 and I got out. We got married in '46. I went back in the Army again after I finished college in '51. So at that time, I was not military. He might have seen me in uniform when I came home before I got out. But that period was civilian clothes all the way. Now, how he saw me, I don't know. He may have been merely tolerating me and never said anything. But, it's a tough answer, and I don't know how to answer it.

Q: You got Newt the famous encyclopedia. Tell me about that.

B. Gingrich: Well, it wasn't for Newt alone, it was for the two girls also. It was just one of these guys came around to the door sellin' encyclopedias. And I had always wanted a set myself, when I was younger. But I could see that there'd be a definite advantage, and through school and in later life. So, we bought them. At so many dollars a week till they were paid off. It was no great sacrifice. We didn't go hungry because of it or anything like that.

Q: And he read it too, didn't he?

B. Gingrich: Oh, he used every one of them.