Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-15
THIS AND THAT


Tell me a good book to get for q
Birthday present"
Such Ia the request made Of book.
lovers continually, often to their honest
diSmay.
what is more diflicult than to answer
such 8 question properly
Notice that We say properly.
It IS easy enough to Jump back with
an answer Of some sort, but to give q
good answer. q really helpful one, Is ar
entirely different matter.
So many things ought 10 be known
first, as to the character and likes o!
the reader, and second, as to the moo<
in which that reader Is ut the time
that the whole problem looms up men
acingly, II one takes the question seri'
ously.
Then, ones does not know what thu
other has read. That Is very important
for there are many splendid older book
which the reader may have missed
Yet such questioners, In the majority
of cases, seem to want to know about
the very latest volumes, hot from thu
presses of the Nation.
Perhaps o last years book would sui
the reader in question better. but thu
demand almost automatically carries
with 1t q request for the very newest o.
the new.
This Is disturbing.
Few readers, even Of the ardent sort
can keep up with the new books any
more, there are 80 many Of them printed
There are so many human beings
writing today, and so many OF then
doing 1t we'll! It must have been com
paratively easy, in the old days Of
Queen Victoria, when each nation hae
one or At the most two or three, really
distinguished writer's.
Then, when q booklover was asked
for n recommendation. he merely
Jumped OF the latest books Of these
authors, ana let 1t 90 ut that.
Nowadays there are scores OF per
fectly well written books put out every
month Of the year. many OF them
translAtions. with the result that thf
hopeless booklover is confronted BY, 1
barrage of print. =!
Book stores themselves are bewili
dered at the profusion Of their wares
Hundreds Of interesting works are lost
in the shufie. We were reminded Of
this the other day upon discovering. In
. drug store library" q book which
was published three years ago at se 9
copy.
Today it goes for rs cents. and is such
an interesting volume that We name II
here: Napoleon the Man." by r
McNair Wilson, published by Century
This book. unfortunately. had the SAINT
title AZ Herr Ludwtgs more successful
biography. Prof. Wilson's story. how.
ever, Is . most interesting addition Il
the thousands Of books written about
this Interesting character. He pic
lures Bonaparte rs Q man Of peace
and attempts to show that the recent
workings out Of history on q large scale
are but the projected dreams OF thu
Little Corporal.
This is an interesting. persuasive book
one which adds something more thar
mere hero worship to one Of the great
est characters OF all history. Few
writer's have approached this subject
with more veneration. but none ha'
managed to do SO with less clap-traT
than Prof. Wilson. 1t is o good book
even II an old one" going begging a
rs cents.
II one wants to give an honest answer
to any one who makes an inquiry
about books for others TO read, let him
do what he can, FIRST, to discover what
the reader II like. and second, to finc
out his mood Of the moment.
These are no mean discoveries about
any human being, and perhaps most
readers will regard them as too personal
to be gone into merely for the sake Of
recommending q few books.
They are basic. however, and one
can make only the most haphazard
Recommendations without some knoWl-
edge Of them. There In no use sug-