Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-31
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
THE BOOK NOBODY KNOWS. Bruce
Barton. The Bobbs-Merrill Co.
l. G.. NJ.

be the triumphant best seller. Upon
/ the SURPRISING quality of this BOOK
! learning and wisdom have spent theni-
| selves in examination, evidence, III
/ depreciation and comparison whose IT.
REPUTABLE conclusion is that mere IS
| truly the greatest Book in the Worlo'
| It stands as the primer of Christian
precept. 1t has become the lexicon OF
the faith Of Christendom. It's lessons
precede those of any school and con-
Ftinue far beyond the limits OF formal
education. They are lisped by IN
fants. They are conned by age rms
Book is the foundation of church
creed and ritual and hymn of praise.
1t has kindled the fire of great litera-
ture and been the inspiration of the
highest poetry. 1t has place in every
| Louse lold and at a thousand pubnc
points of pause it lies ready to the
hand of the passing traveller: Ever!
body reads this Book. Yet. here 1t Is
with the other impedimenta OF tne
body knows. And the charge con
tains SO per cent truth
Why this huge bstk of special
Ignorance before sucl\ open avenues
of knowledge? The reason. appears TO
lie, largely, in the fact that the Blpie
| is a part of the ceremonial OF rellglon
whose formal observance is set OIL 10
| one day out of the seven. 1t DelollSs
| with the other impedimenta of the
pious life. with churches and ca.
| thedrals whose twilight gloom, tlngeo
with the rose and azure and Solo OF
stained glass. is heavy with the stale
outbreathings of last weeks, OF last
wears, congregations. The Blpie
along with these houses OF worship
along with Sunday clothes and sun
day faces, holds aloof from the SIX
struggling secular days that do actu
allv turn the trick of living. So. While
everybody reads the Bible. 1t remains
at the best. little more than body OF
moral precepts, projected In noDle anu
beautiful speech whose cadence a1lo
rhythm and balance alterations OF
thought give a deep sensuous ENJOY
ment There are lovely pictures mere
There are poignant dramas. BUT
after all, this is the Christians BOOB
Of religion and must therefore main
tain its sacrosanct character, separate
from all other books-separate, indeed
from constructions having to do with
common currents OF daily life.
And right here Bruce Barton comes
along with THE Book Nobody
Knows" A sweeping wind of book
that briskly stirs shut-in chambers OF
stale thought and musty superst1tlons
land false reverence. A warming,
cleansing sunlight Of book, good
for the fatal malady of laziness that
in the name of piety, shuts Oil any
thinking at all along the line OF re-
ligion. A forward looking book that
Tltl> ,f.,1I nj n
with the general progress Of today
and tomorrow. Sane scholarship is
here. recognizing the Bible as. a part
| of the literature of the world and
! subject, therefore, to such eXamina-
ton and appraisal as other bodies OF
! great writing receive. Best OF all,
the Bible is here translated into the
! terms Of common current life, llluml-
F.; mating that life at it's high points and
it's low ones, for this is the honestest
of all the books that have been writ
| ten about the human. Interesting!
| More than that. 1t is quite too alb
sorbing to set aside, except to reach
for the Bible itself in a new zest for
| it's disclosures of people no different
from ourselves.
| Mr.. Barton shows us this Book as
history and drama and poetry and
philosophy, where, hitherto, it has
been merely many books, innumera-
ible chapters, countless verses. No
subject nowadays can be grasped un.
! til it has been organized. Under such
treatment the basic outline here is
clear and impressive, its multitude
nous and confusing details dissolved
away from the supporting and vital
| framework. A greatly helpful piece
of simplitication, this. And here in
straight progression we stand face
to face with the development of a
nation with the growth of law and
order within it. with the progress of
various industries incident to the life
Of this people, with domestic meas
ures and foreign policies, with sue
| cesses and defeats such as befall ma
| lions about us today. And here, most
| significant of all, we see the growth
| of God from a deity of fierce angerS
and harsh vengeance to a God of I'm.
| derstanding and love. A golden thread
| of revelation running through the
history of the Jews of the Bible is
this expanding conception of the
Creator of man. The Proverbs and
the Psalms take on new beauty as
| they take on life and reality here.
The stories of the prophets are great
stories. The procession of great
women is an inspiring one. I've found
a new Bible, as every one who reads
this Bruce Barton book will find one.
x X *
| Let's listen to Barton himself. "And
| David reigned in his stead. If you
are thrilled by Napoleon. the penniless
l yfny, 1Nnv
throne of an empire; if your imagina
ton is warmed by the rise of the
gaunt, homely country boy. Lincoln
to the White House. then there is a
real treat for YOU in David. What
a romantic story of success. The
simple shepherd lad. tending his sheer
and playing his Lutte, receives a sud
den summons home. Saul. the King
who is passionately fond of music, has
sent out a call for a musician. The
boy goes to court and by his modesty
and quick intelligence becomes a. IA
vorite. The clustering Goliath affords
his courage a golden opportunity. In
a single hour he wins the gratitude
of the nation and with it the jealous
hatred of the King. Jonathan, the
handsome crown prince, loves him
and between the two boys there
springs up one of the sublime friend
ships of history. Compelled to flee the
court, a rebel not by his own wish
but because of the insane envy of
| Saul, he lives for years by his wits,
surrounded by the rag-tag and bob
tail OF insurgency. At length Saul
dies and David ascends the throne. u
From Adam to Jesus Christ Him.
self procession of the great files
| by one here in the flesh, or so it
seems, for the look of life is upon
| them all and the attitudes of human
nature possess them. The New Tesla
ment is indeed a. new book under its
advent here upon our own thoughts
and aspirations, upon our own per
plexities and besetments. New in its