The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-01-01
AMERICAN ARMY
GREAT READERS
Rudyard Kipling Is the Most Popular
Writer, with Robert w. Service
Second: H. G.. Wells Is Third.

Writer, with Robert w. Service
Second; H. G. Wells Is Third.
The American army in France is 9
reading army, according to Alfred Nj
Brace, supervisor of journalism at the
State University of South Dakota, in an
article on Libraries for Americans in
France
Rudyard kipling is the most popular
writer among the expeditionary forces
Robert w. Service is second. II, G. Wells
is third, with Robert Louis Stevenson a
close fourth A tally OF the call for spe-
cial books has been kept by workers in
| the Y. NJ. c. A. libraries, and this state
ment is based on their figures.
Though the great call is for fiction,
'highbrow' books are also in great de-
mand. Works on French history and
life and technical books are especially
sought after In writing of these libraries
Mr.. Brace says:
"The book stores of France and Eng
land are being ransacked to supply the
American soldiers in France with read
ing material for the winter. Twenty
thousand books OF fiction and general in
terest have recently been purchased in
England by the American Y. NJ. c. A.
to help meet the persistent demand from
the soldiers at the American bases and
are to be distributed by the library de
partment of the Y. NJ G. A. through the
red triangle huts.
MIR. w. b. Briggs, assistant librarian
of Harvard university and representative
in vrance of the American Library as
soaation, is in charge of the problem OF
distribution and is making large plans to
supply the literature that the soldiers
are calling for.
Owing to the fact that the supply OF
English books in France is small, ar
rangements are being made by the Y. Nj.
C. A. to meet the growing needs by Sc
curing the supplies from England--when
emergency orders are required, and from
America for a steady stream of books
through the American Library associa-
ton.
"The varied demands from the Ameri-
can base camps for reading material
ton and very pronounced desire on
the part of the soldiers to improve their |
minds while in France. A section of the |
American ambulance men serving the |
French army have requested Greek and |
Latin grammars and Caesars common
taries. They propose to form a class to |
study the Roman campaigns in Gaul, !
where the larger campaigns OF the pres
ent war are being fought.
Books on the different branches of
the military service are being frequently
asked for by enlisted men who desire to
study i'll preparation for examinations
for advancement in the army. There has
been large CALL as well, for elementary
nigh school textbooks, algebras English
Irammars, arithmeties, geometries, die
.ionaries, and histories. A letter was
'eeentlv received at the Paris headquar
ers from red triangle secretary Some
where in France 1t read, we have LOO
men and no books Send US an algebra
md trigonometry.
1.-The American soldiers from the day
hey landed Oh French soil have shown a
-een interest in everything French. The
argest number of requests for books has
'een for those dealing with French his
ory and things French. From every
vailable source French grammars, easy
essons in French, and French English
have been sought out to pro-
de the soldiers with means to study
he French language, and the supply does
ot keep pace with the demand. French
istory and biography and descriptive
ooks in modern France are also in large
emand j.,
"The American soldiers crowd around /.
he maps of France on the walls and will !:
DON wear and rub them out of all recog
ition. The library department of the
=. NJ. c. A. has placed an order for ten (.
thousand copies of handy edition of /:
ooks of maps of the western front and !:
,r ten thousand pocket Biographies of I.
urope. A large number of outline maps I,
ave also been ordered and will be used (.
/ modern war geography classes in the !,
uts this winter.
Books ON the war, on European his Z:
lry, ON aviation and submarine war :.
ire, technical books, history, astronomy I:
nd psychology are being called for in Z:
rye numbers. Fiction, especially short !:
ories, and humorous books are in de !:
and. I:
"The largest number of requests for Z:
ngle author thus far have been those Z:
II the works of Rudyard kipling. Other Z:
riters whom the requests show to be Z:
ost popular with the men are Robert ::