Evening star., 1927-12-04
IDA GILBERT MYERS.


BISMARCK: The Story of Fighter.
BY Emil Ludwig. Translated from
the German by Eden and Cedar
Paul Boston: Little, Brown & Co
-HE surprising quality of Lud-
wigs "Bismarck" issues from
tr;nle source. There is, first,
the authors point of approach
and special method of research
..o;r there is Ludwig's fun equip,
r,ent of knowledge of psychology anu
history. The one enables MN 70 ~
tprnret the mind and motives vi .ns
man throughout his career the' o1nei me,
leads him to measure the sum VI @ 30,
,,,arc,k.v seryice by the content ana
~ ,,,aa Snrine standards of history itsei.
And again. there is the dramatic
Lover Of Ludwig to embody IN NE
Tho men who he studies ana 10 pro
;e,t them vitality and powerfully m'o
the actual scenes of their bygone az
tivities. Going back to the lFst os
these sources of power on the part vi
This author: Setting completely aslde
both the praise and the blame Oh BIS
marck. so freely given by irlehu on
the one hand and foe on the otier:
Ludwig seeks an Interpretation ,s oi
Bismarck from Bismarck hiIiinen'
making a careful and sympathetlc
st,dv of the child and the youth,
searching diligently and intelligently
For traits and drifts and early inhu'
ences. for the occupations and dreams
of the poy and the young man For
these do not suddenly shut Off at
certain point to make way for new
srm of traits and characteristics. The
boy is the man, in all fundamental
matters. So, it is of the early period
that this author makes much, denver.
ing to the reader certain klnd OIL
youth, a vivid and striking person
ality that carries on through tne
whole of Bismarcks life. 1t is upon
this base that he builds, consistently
and fairly. the later public life of the
subject of his considerat ton. And in
this study his method is that of the
strictest scientist in his search for
truth, Hearsay will not do. 1magin-
ings will not suffice. The truth, as
nearly as truth can be found in hui
man affairs, is here the object of his
quest. 1t is the fruit of such trained
expert Investigation that becomes the
measure Of Bismarck himself. The
appraisal of his public service then
becomes matter for history to de
eide by It's own methods of evalua-
ton. With this Bismarck, evolved
from himself and his influential sur
roundings, the author in the dra-
matte fling of which he is so clearly
the master. sets the living figure of
the Fighter" before students for their
informa ton and for their right plac-
ing of him in the affairs of his coun-
try and in the records of time itself.
splendid historic monument. con
crete, impressive, compound of the
human stuff of which every man is
made and. therefore. making Bis
marck at least intelligible TO the peo-
pie of his own country and of the
world as well.
THE MOB. BY Vincente Blasco Ibanez,
author of "The -Four Horsemen of
the Apocalypse" etc. Translated
from the Spanish by Mariana
Joaquin Lorente. New York: E. p.
Dutton & Co.
MADRID-its low quarters, it's
A'A dark corners, it's fugitive byways,
its furtive retreats-stands here in
somber panorama of poverty and
crime such as Vincente Ibanez pos
sesses the art to etch in biting lines
Of portrayal that leave the onlooker
amazed and stung by the sordid and
hateful reality Of great city's under
world. Amazed, too. with the mans
power of description, with his power
to turn companies of words into things
that pursue and harry one with the
vividness of their actuality. with the
sordid hatefulness of certain parts of
human existence. 1.-THE Mob" how
ever. is more than series of splendid
ly executed views of lower Madrid.
For through the motley of human
derelicts and unfortunates there moves
a central figure. Isidro Maltrana. with
ambition enough to drive him outward
toward some measure of success
through thousand failures TILL final
ly, by way of his love for little