Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-02
nY w. pR..---sr blake.

less message of cheer in "HindranceS
of Life" translated from the German
, Of Johannes Muller by f. F. Strecker.
; For the mass of folk who take life
lightly its worth is perhaps question
able. The "hindrances" to which sep
n arate chapters are devoted include
grief. fear, worry, lack of assurance
and doubt. There is n final and a
thoughtful chapter on THE Other Self
in U.s. which sums up the authors
philosophy. The most striking thing
about his "Hindrances' is that they
seem to hinder him from annihilating
them. He grieves with due restraint
over grief and it is plain to see that
he fears fear. Worry worries him no
less than lack of assurance. lie
doubts nobly the utility of doubt but
| he fails to face doubt. Practice beueS
precept and the temper of the writers
mind obScures the optimism OF his IN
tention.
AS to the habitual practice OF the
qualities he stgmatizes, the common
sense of mankind is quite at one Wlth
him. But one cannot ignore the Stub
born fact that the man who rs per
netuallv cheerful, bold, free hearted
assured and confident is often IRE
mendous bore. however satisfactory TO
a geometrical mind. The author rams
to allow for the elusive unreaSoh anu
the fascinating caprice of mankind. ne
| is too much man to allow Tor mo
ment that there is such a thing as lhe
! eternal feminine. ,.
! Hindrances of Life. BY Johannes
! Muller. New York; Mitchell kenner-
| ley.
The interesting thing about George
Forbes History of Astronomy Is that
! it is really history, and not IN. leNt
hook despite the tidy brown cover
| which suggests that heroic science SO
weu known to the student as "bonlng.
From a cursory glance through lts
! contents one would cordially recon-
mend It as an agreeable holiday recle
otion for the worker in laboratory OF
| observatory. The facts which 1t sets
down have scarcely the qualty u
newspaper novelty, but their uisSsC
| and treatment are in the spirit ~ liio
nreface which leads one to read as
| low rather than duty. To the scrol
oyiv reader the book will also appear
! For its careful statement ana "lue
scope in small compass Cooroo
history of Astronomy. BY George
FORBES. New York and London u T.
Putnam's Sons:
kinder philosophy than that OF 10
names
I'oveman. whose virile and melodlous
| 17oems are collated in a little volume
| entitled "The Blushful South ana f1lp
! nocrene." The poet has merrlly iolc
tte curtest words in our rough old
savon sneech to dance to his rare ana
haunting rhythms. But the real po-
| etrv is in his ideas, Whlch eNlhCS "
| true if limited, creative lmag l'lallol, 'Ii
| THE themes are principally OF loNe anu
irit might he ReIl-
| erallv described as Gothlc-Celtic'
| tboroughlv modern in it's attitude To-
TI,ard life Tucked away at the pack
of the hook is a scathing arralgnmeht
% chiId labor which should be at least
oe effective as many prosaic resolu-
Hons ON this crying evil. This oook
90 we'll worth the reading OF any one
not hopelessly quarantined TO the
muse of song. 1I,vno
"The Blushful South and Hippo
creme" BY Robert Loveman. Fhlla
dnInbia and London: ]. b. Lippincott
company
"Tales of Travel by Horace A. Tay-
lor is the frank and breezy narraIiNe
Of a Journey around the world WhiCH
the author took, in company WIN ms
wife. to whom he dedicates the NoluIlle,
Mr. Tavlor resigned his position as
assistant S6CICloIg VI -
1oos 10 make his tour He embarked
at Staten island and tells of the I'M
nressions gained during his circuit
| from Japan, Hawaii, China, india Al
rica. the Holy Land, and later the cap
| itals and great cities of Europe. IL
| is interesting reading, and mas the
| added value of a pleasing cohVersd-
| tional style. ,,,,
Tales of Travel. BY Horace A. Tay-
! lor, New York and Washington Inc
NeaIe publishing company
! Judge Charles F. Moore, formerly Oh
| Virginia. now of New York city, IS the
| author of a "History of the States
| Tinted and otherwise" which presum-
| ably aims to be a satire. There may
be doubt on that point, unless one IAN
cies a slapdash, hit or miss view anu
! style which seem to fnd llttle 10 "i-
nire or respect in this nations career
either early or recent. A history in any
real sense the book is not, ami II
| should not sail under false colOf5.
| Judge Moore is said to be one OF the
best known of the public speakers Oh
the south. That appears to eXp'aM
it. The volume must be SIMPLY one
of the amiable jurists after dinlet
speeches, slightly prolonged. IL me
| dinner were only served with ii, the
reader would doubtless approach .hs
,historica" aftermath with m re be-
coming resignation.
Moore's History of the States. BY
| Charles F. Moore. New York ana
washington: The Neale Publishing
company. ,.,.,
Biographical addresses on Lincoln
Lee. Grant, Oglethorpe, Hamilton, Mar
shall. Erskine and Joseph Emerson
Brown compose a book by Judge EN-
orv Speer which makes its appeal prlll-
| cinalIv tn members of the legal pro-
session. An introduction by Charles
/ Raw Palmer explains the purpose ana
content of the volume.
Lincoln, Lee, Grant and Other BIO
graphical Addresses. By Emory spec
New York and Washington: The Neale
Publishing company.
Much Type Boiled Down
'Rum and Ruin" by Edward Il.
l Roe, is a temperance novel which is
rather more sanely written than many
of it's kind. 1t paints the results OF
I CVerindulgence without stint or pallla-
ton. but in the main in hopeful and
encouraging spirit. Laird & Lee, Chi
cago, publish it.
Francis Augustus MacNutts Fer
; nando Cortes and the Conquest OF
Mexico" discusses in easy, interesting
: style a period of history of keen in
terest to Californians and those of
sister states Excellent reproductions
Of old engravings illustrate it, as well
as several useful maps. 1t is pub
lished by G.. p. Putnam's Sons, New
York and London.
THE Matter with Nervousness eX-