Evening star., 1921-05-15
Reviews of New Books
THE VOICE OF JERUSALEM.


Israel Zangwill. author of Dream
ers Of the Ghetto" etc. New York:
The Macmillan Company.
TIESE essays come together in
a body of protest against Ger.
tain notions and beliefs of
long standing that have pre-
vailed in the world at large concern
ing the racial content and purpose
Of the Jewish people. Various points
of provocation have given rise to
these discussions-some savant'S pub
lication, some laymans impression,
the Jews reaction to the war, the
wars reaction to the Jew, the Jew
as patriot. humanitarian. original
proponent of an ultimate world peace
and universal brotherhood. Mr..
Zangwill, in the main, backs his ar
gument and rebuttalS by the history
of the Jews as this is set forth in
the Bible epic of the race. This is
the source from which he draws the
fundamentals of Hebraic outlook and
aim, fundamentals that are quite 9TH
erWiSe than the common conception
of them, and ones which the author
maintains have not fallen away from
this people with the passage of time.
Expert in this field of investigation.
MT. Gang III UldheS Ills dI VI
the convincing stripe. Moreover, he
succeeds in convincing one that the
average reader. while opening his
mind In the study of other sources OF
information, shuts it off in the study
of the Bible and turns on. instead,
hypnotiZing religious emotions and
fervors. 1t is this-this historical.
living contemporaneous character of
the Bible. in the hands of the author.
that constitutes one of the chief val
ueS of this volume. and its striking
appeal as well. To be sure. the study
is filled with eloquence and passion
and general learning. One expects
these from this quarter. 1t is big
and sonorous book. besides, reading
like the psalms themselves when one
breaks out, as he often does, TO near
the majestic march of these passages
of vindication and reinterpretation.
MYSTIC ISLES OF THE SOUTH
SEAS. BY Frederick O'Brien, au-
thor of white Shadows in the
South Seas" etc. New York: The
Century Company.
See Tahiti and die-or something
like that-says the brood of modern
writer's and painters-Gauguin. Maug-
ham, Rupert Brooke, Safroni-Mlddle-
ton, Frederick O'Brien and host of
others. Who started this exodus 10
the south seas, one does not know.
but he does know that out of the
movement, stories and sketches.
poems and pictures, have tumb bled
lavishly into the open hands OF
world of waiting stay-at-homes. Ihe
book in hand-a handsome and rlch-
ly illustrated books Frederick
O'Brien's first record of the register
ings of that happy isle upon his eager
mind So. this is a fresh book, teem-
ing with new impressions. keenly
alive to the strange and beautiful ma
tives, captivated by the physical love-
illness of the island itself. The au-
thor's record tallies with his daily eX-
periences, so. just like life. one gets
in a single chapter little bit OF
many things-a glimpse of the sea. a
touch OF the landscape. a taste OF the
fruits, visit with Lovaina- the fas-
cinating hostess of the Tiare Hotel
by the way, Lovaina is ones chief re-
gret at the distance and the lack of
personal participation in this great
adventure hint of history.
sketch of some captivating stranded
and all of these handed over in the
bright colors of the writer's own ar
dor. These young artists are bring
ing Tahiti pretty close. to the de-
light of travellers who have TO stay
at home.
TALES OF A VANISHING RIVER. By
Earl H Reed, author of The Dune
Country" etc. illustrated by the
author. New York: John Lane
Company.
The dune lands of Lake .,ichigan
are the favorite stamping ground of
this artist and author. More than
one book drawn from this source is
the evidence thereof The one in
hand covers the particular stretch
of country through which the Kan
kakee river used TO rneander. before
the modern day, when il was driven
into the uses of a carrier Of COM
merce. In the opening chapter Mr..
Reed reconstructs the kankakee as
a network of streams and marshy
wild life. birds and others of the
lesser wild folks of stream and bog.
From this beginning the tales widen
out into legends of the region.
legends that go back to Indian ori-
gins. To these are added many a
character sketch holding to some
degree of permamency this or that
habitant of the older days in the
dune land. Mr.. Reed builds these
book people to the life. lifting them
ing oddities full upon them. Many
of them have sat" to this artist
for their pictures. and here We not
only hear them talk. but we see
them. also swan Peterson Musk
rat Hyatt" bill Styles" and many
another A delightful book, by vir-
tue of it's sympathetic spirit and fine
workmanship. worthwhile book,
since it serves to preserve the form
and essence of region that is NOV
ing on and out Of ones reach.
TAMARIsK TOWN. By Sheila Kaye
Smith. author of Sussex Gorse,
etc. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co.
This is the story Of a man who fell
in love with a dream. No. IL was not
the dreS- of woman. but OF town
instead. On the edge o. the sea,
where the tamarisks stood, he saw a
new Marlingate town-white, chaste,
beautiful And Edward Monypenny
turned his life to the building Of this
dream into a fact And after years
lovely Marlingate stood by the sea as
he had seen it in the clouds. And by
this time Edward Monypenny was
Marlingate and Marlingate was Ed
ward Monypenny. Then woman
choice. Curiously enough. it was the
woman who lost to her rival. 1.-THE
town. After more years the dream
and the town both fell away-noth-
ing. And the man set about cheap
ening the thing that to his later con-
clusion, had ruined his life. shutting
II out from sweet and honey solace-
ments. An odd theme for story Just
the dramatization of one of those
curious elections that the human
mind can never be trusted to resist.
The work on this theme is mastery.
1t is big story. big by virtue of the
consistent artistry that has gone into
IT. Not popular story-never that
One. besides. that the reader grows
impatient with since this man is so
consistently himself in his obsession
Yet. impatient though he may be- the
reader who likes work of distinction
and power will hold to this story OF
a dream in kind'of fascination over