New-York tribune., 1921-03-14
Books

One Of the most attractive features
of The Art of Letters (Scribner's), j.,
by Robert Lynd, is It's warm defense of
quota tional reviews" 1T is the Gus.
tom,' he writes, "to despise the quo
rational review--to dismiss it as mere
cutting. AS consequence, it is gen.
orally very badly done. 1t is done as
II under the impression that it does
not matter what quotations one gives
so long as one fills. the space. One
great paper lends support to this con-
temptuous attitude toward educational
criticism by refusing to pay it's con-
trloutor3 TOR space taken up by quo
tatons. A London evening newspaper
was once guilty of the same folly. A
reviewer on the staff Of the latter con-
fesscd to me that to TIE present day
tort, to make quotations in review,
because Of the memory of those days
when to quote was to add to ones pow
crty. Despised work is seldom done
we'll, and it is not surprising that it is
almost more seldom that one finds a
educational review we'll done than any
other sort. Yet how critically illumi-
mating quotation may be. There are
many books in regard to which quota :
ton is the only criticism necessary"
Here then is our review Of The Wolf
of Purple Canyon, by Charles Kenmore
Ulrch:
sit had been day Of encrvating
heat. Not until the declining sun, an
enormous disc of molten copper, was
gliding the tor of the scraggy buttes
that guarded the western boundaries
of the shimmerng desert did the town
of Purple Canyon begin to display
spasmodic signs of life. From several
OF the threescore or more Of frame
structures that lined both sides of the
dusty roadway which some one with
an urapprcciated sense of humor had
christened Broadway there emerged
at intervals nondescript types of men.
Many Of them were Of the desert rat
variety. All were evidently seeking
recreation and liquor in the only two
story skyscrapcr the town afforded
Faro Jenn's Red Eye saloon, dance and
gambling nall"
If this quotation from page I seems
an Inadequate treatment of The Wolf
of Purple Canyon we .llink we might
supplement our review OF the book
by turning to the last page and adding:
"She hid her beaming face on his
broad shoulder. Their lips met in a
lingering kiss and presently they
walked hand in hand down the path to
where the automobile was awaiting
them, their hearts filled with lovc and
contentmcnt."
Next we turn to a book of a differ
cnt type called Religion and Health, by
James J. Walsh
"The greatest safeguard of purity,
with all that it means for the preser
vation of health and strength, is the
practice OF self-denial With regard to
The luxuries of life. No element in life
has emphasized that and encouraged its
practice so much or so constantly, and
SO perslstently tried to train her chill
dren in it from youth IS religion. 1t
is almost impossible, for young people
partic ularly, to keep right in this mat
ter if they inGulge in luxuries. The
very word luxury has come 20 be de-
fined as lust and lasciviousness and in
diligence in lust because there is such
an almost inevitable connection be-
tween the exuherance of animal spir-
its which develops in connection with
indulgence in luxuries of various kinds
that the two words have almost nee
| essarily come to have an intimate asso-
cation."
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