"Since first arriving in Boston in 1980, Peter Johnson was for me an important part of the zeitgeist of the city. His commitment to promoting folk and traditional music was always full on and often quirky. His effort contributed in a very significant way to the creation of a uniquely Boston musical atmosphere that is still enjoyed today. In The Laughing Lesson, Peter perfectly and often hilariously describes the bifurcated world he occupied, juxtaposing often absurd Brahmin formality with his endless variety of colorful characters in a ragamuffin Cambridge. At times, when reading it, I felt I was in the Plough and Stars havinga pint with all of them." -Brian O'Donovan, A Celtic Sojourn, WGBH radio