Evening star., 1925-11-22

~ guished wives of certain Ameri-
cans of renown--Abraham Lin
coin among them, and Jefferson DAVIS
and Benedict Arnold. Here is the
study of a group of women of plane
tary existence. borrowing from their
husbands such light as they them
selves were unable to emit. 1t Is a
study whose pointed immediate effect
the reader instinctively expands to in
clude the host of unfortunate women
similarly placed in relation to their
more or less distinguished husba nds.
Such expansion is, however, no part
of the authors plan. Rather does 1t
arise out of Mr. Bradford sympa-
thetic and vivid seizure of the matter
Indeed so vivid is this work that one
deserts the customary reading post
and walks back into the time and cir
cumstance of each of these studies,
becoming an active participant in the
scenes, himself a judge Of the situa-
tions set forth here.
This vital immediaCY OF effect is
directly due TO the art of this biogra-
pher who, as a matter of fact. is in
personality and method and manner,
a distinct rival to the personages
He himself admits the lure OF bio
graphic work, the charm about the
actual lives of men and women. peo-
pie who have had known names, who
have walked the solid earth with solid
tread. who have suffered and strug.
gled and hoped and loved and lied and
laughed as we have. Such is the
matter of biography and. being made
of such stuff, ii will always have the
most vivid appeal of any form of Sc
sious literature" Looks easy, this
business of biography-jus being
born, growing up, marrying, dying.
That's the common rule. Set this all
down and you have your biography.
Mr.. Bradford says not so. He points
TO the endless variations within this
geographic formula. He AYERS, be
sides, that the material must be Sc
lected, weighed, rejected or preserved.
That ii mush be composed and com
bined and designed into a finished pat
tern of art whose first object is the
appeal of all artistic beauty. And
even all this. much as il is. is not the
most of the matter. There is the
writer himself TO take into account.
The biographer, like any other man. is
swayed by his own likes and disIikes.
These, as he deals with one and an
other of his subjects, must he held to
the balance of truth and fair dealing.
a Jt' lAi4s- vi Ipl dNllOlu O"IlS UP TO
IL. Indeed, he points to one and an
other for whom he has had to train
himself into an unbiased state of
mind. He cities Benjamin Butler and
Charles Sumner as examples of this
self-0SciDline in dealing with them.
so with Frances Willard" he saws.
She was a splendid woman, only |
could not bear her, would have walked
miles to avoid meeting her. and that
got into my portrait. too. But there
was Aaron Burr. one of the most
vicious, dangerous, diSreputable fig
ures in American history. Yet most
people loved Aaron Burr. especially
most women. and so did l. | couldn't
help 1t. And even while / PORTRAYED
his weaknesses as vividly as | knew
how, l was apologizing for them
against my will" Here you get some.
thing of the attractiveness Of the
biographer himself-an attractiveness
whose main element is honesty and a
fearless way Of saying what he thinks
Gamaliel Bradford is in his good
bulk of Geographic work a writer who
makes surprisingly helpful use of
the materials of history for the better
understanding of the present. And.
besides, he is as interesting as the
best Of our novelists.
x <
WINGED DEFENSE. By William
Mitchell. Illustrated. New York.
G. +. Putnam's Sons.
PROFESSIONAL in it's aim and
treatment, this book contains. new
ertheless, much of information and in
terest TO the great majority whose pur-
suits a Ee of other character than those
OF military defense or offense An
energetic and spirited writer, the au-
thor in the beginning here draws a
panoramic sketch of the new era
brought about by the conquest, of the
air. This period is but continuation
of mans progression in the domina-
ton of the land and the mastery of
the seas-each step one of long expert
ment and slow growth. out of which
came, and is still coming. a shrinkage
of the world and a closer contact of
the peoples of the earth. Much as
some prophet in the ages past spread
out the future of each of these tenta-
tive steps forward, so now men of Wis
ion are recasting the life Of man un-
der the new dominion of the air. This
book is, in part, such an outlook into
the future. The unprofessional man,
the plain citizen. will read this chap
ter on the "Aeronautical Era" with
of the wonder that stirred
earlier peoples over visions of undis-
covered worlds.
Again, another chapter Of Winged
Defense deals with Civil and Com
mercial Aviation" TRANSPORTATION is
the essence Of civilization" says the
author. In historic retrospect he gives
concrete evidence OF the truth of this
assertion, depicting the growth Of
transportation on sea and land, with
It's coincidence of increasing cfvilfza-
tion expressed in the opening up of re-
mote regions, in the rise of cities, in the
increased facilities of communication.
Here he opens up the heavens to the
future use Of mankind as a swifter
and easier and more uninterrupted
means of transacting many kinds of
business between points of wide sep
aration. There is deat of professional
and technical matter even here, but
the main fact stands out clear and
bold, convincing and exciting, under
the nervous style of this tremendously
earnest and completely convinced man
of the air. Facts of clear statement
and good support pertaining to the
use Of the air in civic and commercial
life are the immediate points of ap-
peal to the general reader in Winged
Defense"
THE LITTLE KAROO. BY Pauline
Smith. New York: George III.
Doran Company.
IN an introduction to this book of
short stories, Arnold Bennett tells
of Pauline Smith, its au-
thor. She was born in the Little Ia
roo, a region of the world in Cape Col
ony. "It stretches east and west, high
above the sea level, Immediately south
of the Zwartberg Mountains. The
main thing about the Little Karoo is
the distances which separate its ham,
let's one from another; these distances
are magnified by the primitive means
Of transport And this, save for
hn OF fOy-fa