Evening star., 1924-03-09


"HE hero OF this tale, cow
ard. A draft-dodger, there
fore a fugitive. Finally, a
beachcomber on one of those
islands of the Pacific where a man
may live and yet be dead. At the
moment of our coming upon this hero,
Coates Blanding, he is tanning out
deck of cards in mountebank tricks,
to the delight of a boatload of Japs,
just landing. And he follows his
cheap performance with the beggar's
gesture of the open hand. Obviously
Mr.. Ritchie has something to do IL he
expects to make a hero out of such
material. He does expect 10 turn this
trick. Moreover, he does il by way
of as fine a story as one may read in
many a long day. 1t is. when 1t gets
its start, a story of Hawaii, to which
island Banding and kimo, the Ha-
waiian youth, go almost at once. One
wants to stay by that boy Kimo
whom Blanding once defended. Gu
riously enough, since defense is clear
ly not his long suit. A beautiful
creature of whose making any author
the attitude of Kimo toward the
wastrel Blanding. Blanding's rebirth
takes place slowly on the islands,
where the story becomes that of the
peaceful invasion of the Japanese, of
their patient and passive, resistance
to the culture of the west, which the
| islands, as part of the United States.
impose in matters of education, of
labor, of loyalty to America. A rich
! planter from the states and his
daughter Lyell stand for the Ameri-
can order-they and their American
associates. Against them are the in
sidious measures of the orientals. A
remarkably fine story in its clean-cur
hostile elements. Pure story. too,
with no shade of preachment about it
Just clean-cut drama of tremendous
interest. The island itself is a dream
of beauty The love story that devel-
ops along with the growth of the new
Coates Blanding is very fine and
pleasing one-pleasing to the reader
as well as to the other two. The
these the author has built compe-
tently and artistically. The effect is
that of most picturesque and de-
lightful romance, we'll worth any
readers attention.
WHAT BOOKS CAN DO FOR YoC. By
Jesse Lee Bennett, author of
"a Liberal Education etc. New
York: George II. Doran Company.
Books cannot take the place of ex-
achieve more than a hand-breadth of
experience in the worldwide scope of
events. The primary purpose of this
study is to so place one in the world
as center, body of knowledge so
vivid, so organic in content and re-
action, so clearly understood, SO eff
cfent in service, as to make, in effect,
the nearest possible approach to ex-
perience itself. And, even SO, no one
nPrSOn l.
edge. Nor is there common center
for all. Instead, each has his own
center, established by inherited trend,
acquired taste, association; some ac-
cidental spark firing a new interest
established by this or that. Beyond
|. such points as these the author has
much that is awakening to say about
book and the part they may take in
definite work of self-education.
Then when one has become quite
thoroughly stirred over the possi-
bilities in this direction that he pre-
sents he makes practical applica-
ton of the discussion by giving lists
of books. a dozen or more, each pre-
senting an orderly and comprehensive
outlook upon some special field of
owledge-history, science, art, lit
erature, and SO on, and so on. The
point of the whole is that these lists
are not merely to aid one in piling
up knowledge, but that they offer one
as well a means of so selecting as to
feed his own nature for its special
growth and Development A helpful
book. you will say as you follow this
thoughtful man. informed from the
modern outlook.
SOME MEMORIES OF THE CIVIL
WAR. By George Haven Putnam,
Lift. D., author of Abraham Lin
coln." etc. New York: G. P. Put
MANS Sons.
Every American possesses at least
.
civil war He knows it's most COM
| monty accepted causes, its general
| course. its conclusion, and in SO far
/ as these have reached maturity, some
| Of its most obvious effects; From
!, the close of the war up to the pres
! ent innumerable writer's have con-
{ trbuted to a more complete knowl-
| edge OF this event and of it's in
! iuence on American life. Studies of
: many sorts have grown up around it
! Geographic sketches of war leaders.
! narrative reports, examinations into
national and race psychology, re-
| search among the economic, social,
4 political sequences of the war The
| book in hand is none of these-ex-
| cept that in certain brief points of
! contact it touches, in a way, upon all
! OF these themes though not under
| sonaI story, with the war as it's i'm
| m ediate field of experience, with some
/ CT the great war figures within the
| range of the writer's sight. The
] story is a series of sketches which
/ q memory, sixty years fresh, sets
| down here out of the zone of war
! itself with a vividness that gives the
reader partaking sense in the great
j matters then to the fore. Sixty years
| ago the writer was a soldier, an
| range he saw many a figure that is
| today dimmed, or would be were lit
| not for "reminiscences of this kind
to keep them alive to the succeeding
years. We see Lincoln. We see
Jefferson Davis. We. see Grant. We
! inside, where this young officer
spent time. Immediate and strik-
! ing effects here, whose outstand-
! ing characteristic is that while the
! incidents are as of yesterday they are,
| nevertheless. turned over to US in the
| softening corrective light of a sixty
year perspective. That is the highly
interesting and useful point of the
| memories of this Union soldier of the
| civil war.
WASHINGTON AND ITS ROMANCE,
By Thomas Nelson Page, author OF
THE Coast of Bohemia" etc H.
lustrated by Walter o. and Emily
Shaw Reese. New York: Double
day, Page & Co.
One reading here regrets deeply
| that Mr.. Page did not have time tc
| picture the beauty and romance OF
both the new and the old Washing.
ton, as he had intended to do. 1t would
have been an unforgettable expert
ence to go over the present Washing.
ton under the guidance of one SO SEN
sitive to beauty, so truStful Of ro-
nance. The beautiful city, as it is al
the moment, is waiting for guide sc
inspired, and the present always holds