The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-04-06

diet that those who do viii not be dis
appointed.
Then too, there was Boy Woodburn, by
Alfred Ollivant. This book cannot be held
up as exactly overlooked. but considering
the tremendous sale of Bob, Son Of Bat
tie, and considering the fact that Mr..
Ollivant did for horse in Boy Wood
burn what he did for dog in Bob, Son
Of Battle, one could reasonably expect
bigger sale.
1t is harder TO speak of books which
have upset any trade preeedents. Two
of them that occur to us now are AmbGs-
sador Morgenthoa's Story and Cdrdlry Of
the Clouds The former was published
late last fall and many people predicted
that its sale would stop with the signing
of the armistice AS matter Of fact the
vast majority Of its great sale was
achieved after the armistice was signed in
spite of the fact that people we're saying
war books were dead. Simply another in
stance Of what real merit will do.
Cavalry Of the Clouds, by Capt. Alan
Bot, was the first of the aviation books.
A year or so previously We had published
William McConnel's Flying for France
in Il little book; and even considering
McConnell's spectacular death and the in
teresting incidents surrounding his life,
the book was rather slow in getting started
lit eventually sold large amount).
Whether il was for that reason or some
other the trade was rather slow in catch
ing on TO Capt. Bolts story. We told
them that it was going to make sensa-
ton, and they said they hoped so, but
their orders were not large until the pub
lie proved to them that they were wait
ing for just such book on the air ser
vice. Later scores of other aviation books
following along showed the eagerness OF
the public for an authentic story such as
Capt. Bot told. incidentally be is now
IN this country lecturing on his air expe-
riences, which include spectacular es-
cape from turkey after having been shot
down. II. +. MAULE.
Harper & Brothers.
THE biggest seller on our 1918 list
l. was The U. p Tral, by Zane
Grey. Unqueshonably the splendid Amer
ieanism of the book is largely accountable
for its great success. The romance Of
what is perhaps the most striking of all
our amazing industrial enterprises, the
building of the Union Pacific Railroad, IS
made the background for a most stirring
dramatic story. Few of us had given any
thought to the mammoth membranes
that stood in the paths Of the pioneering
engineers who undertook an almost insur-
mountable task. But here is the true story
given with skill and artistry and woven
in among the hardships and the border
skirmishes was a romance that rang as
true as the clang Of the hammers on the
rails. Zane Grey has shown the great
ness of the conception of the idea, the
faith which moved mountains and bridged
chasms in order to bind the East and
West together; the trained imagination
which leaped over all the obstacles to
make plain the way; the epic of labor, the
fights, the wantonness, the spiIing at
night Of gold earned by days Of sweat
the bravery, the corruption, the self-saeri-
flee. No more thoroughly American story
has ever been written.
Answer to question two: The Seren
Purposes, by Margaret Cameron, has
been treated by nearly all reviewers as
merely venture in spiritualism; they
have treated only its personal impliea-
tons. Interesting and popular as this
approach may be, the book is of much
greater importance in its presentation OF
a broad eosmic philosophy, and especially
in its broad references to the great con
Hiet which has followed the war-tht
conflict now visible to every one, between
the "forces Of destruction" represented II
the despotism Of small portion OF tn
proletariat (bolshevism) and the grea
Aconstruetiye forces" of true democracy