The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-30
THE CONQUEST Y

THE CONQUEST" ."- | By Sidney L. Nyburg. J. B. Lippin-
 colt Co.,, publishers, Philadelphia American novels, the usual run ot
 them, are not celebrated for tEeir power to make you think In that regard
 their capacity is about equal to q glass | of pink lemonade or a plate of fresh strawberry ice cream. The French, Rus sians and English have shown that great fiction is prime critic of life. in Amer ica we have refused to acknowledge it as such. The work of 8 few men is the exception to the rul ls--Sidney Nyburg is one of these men. i1is new novel 'trhe Conquest" is book for the men and
 women who desire fiction as a stimu- Jus to thought not as an excuse for it's suspension.
 Most men go through doubting periods when they wonder whether all they have worked for. all the ideals for which they have strived are not, after all, built upon false foundations. Such periods of doubt with the normal man do not last very long, there are so many distrac- tions that he finds but little time to crit icise the fundamental basis of his &C., tions When you have nothing to do but to look at yourself, there is liable to be terrific disappointment. John Howard found it so.
 We first know him as d young lawyer success teoric. From the bar to the promoter s office, to the banking house he rises with the prosperity of the erd of OUT nine- teenth and the beginning of our twenti- eth century. Real estate, railroads, pub lie utilities. hotels, newspapers are in his hand His ideals had been self-de- nia!, hard work and the creation of "bigness." He had never criticised them, they were the ideals of his period and a Ia tn,a+ had made "The Conquest" of his city. At the top of his career-perfectiy happy with the power he controls-the doctor suddenly sentences hin--on this green footstool he had @ feU months to live. Angina Pectoris was the cause.
 The words of the Christ, What doth man profit rang in his ears. For the first time he examined the be sis upon which he had founded his life, he locked from the windows of his office over the roofs of the city that he had well-1.igh built and he knew in his heart that when dying he could never say to himself
 well done, thou good and faithful ser vant.''
 There is a love story tha. runs through the whole. As Howard is a typical type of our modern American manhood, the woman offers the tremen- dous sentiment of American woman,
 
 happiness in spite of his wife, his worK, or his deserts. This author has made his mark. It is great book, and one that will make all intelligent novel read- CTS sit up and think. More or our mod ern problems are presented in it than in any other novel of our day. OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED (REvIEwS LATER).
 RAILROAD VALUATIONS AND RATES" By Mark Wymond. Wynond & Clark, publishers, the Rand McNally Bldg, Chicago.
 SELECTIONS FROM SIDNEY LA NIER." (PROSE AND VERSE). With an introduction and notes. Edited by Henry w. Lanier. Charles Scribner' S Sons, publishers, New York. "HOLLYHOCK HOUSE." GA STORY FOR GIRIl9. By Marion Ames Tag gart. Illustrated by Frances Rogers. Doubleday Page &s Co.,, publishers, Gar den City, New York
 TIDES OF COMMERCE" SCHOOL AND COLLEGE vERSE.) By Will liam Carey Sanger, Jr. The Country Life Press, publishers, New York