Evening star., 1933-04-29
THE LIBRARY TABLE
-
BY SARAH C. BOWERMAN.
THE PHIL IOSOPHY or A SCIENTIFIC
MAN. BY Paul r. Heyl. New York:
The VANGUARD PreSG

THE PHILOSOPHY or A SCIENTIFIC
MAN. BY Paul r. Heyl. New York:
The Vanguard Press.
DR.. Heyl, distinguished physicist in
the United States Bureau of Stand
ards, editor, inventor, finds pure science
no enemy to philosophy and poetry.
His own mind is able to entertain and
harmonic all three. To him the uni
verse Of science Is the basis for a sys-
tenn OF philosophy and material for
unlimited poetry. DR.. Heyls book,
New Frontiers Of Physics, !" explored the
great changes In physical science. or
This book explores the depths of q
scientists mind where are hidden,
sometimes even from himself, his beliefs
and his doubts about the meaning Of
the universe, the apparent cruelty of
nature, the relative values In human
life, the adventure OF death. The mys-
terry Of evil, Of the varieties of suffer-
ing. which seem almost diabolical. to
be found in a world supposed to be
under the control of q Supremely good
Being, is considered, but no adequate
answer Is found. DR.. Heyl, however,
absolutely agrees with Voltaire,s epi-
gram, that II there were no God It
would be necessary to invent one. The
chapter on the cosmic soul Is at the
same time closely reasoned and IDEAL
istic. He finds reason one Of the latest
developments Of evolution, and the
ethical feeling Of man another, per-
haps later one. In this moral sense
Of humanity are. possibly, to be found
the 1nt1mat1ons OF coSmic soul. II
a cosmic soul. then perhaps also q Just
and benevolent cosmic reason. when
reason. in the time that is vet to be-
shall have reached the end Of its tether.
and we peer ahead into the fog that
lies beyond, 1t Is our hope, our belief
that reason, as its last gift to us, NAV
yet enable us to sense through the
cloud the vague outlines Of the reality
In which we are tmbedded."
TRUE NORTH. BY Elliott Merrick.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
After graduation from Yale, Mr.. Mer-
rick faced the world about him and
wanted to get away from it. He is not
misanthrope, but he does not love all
MS fellow men, and especially he does
not love all the modern DEVELOPMENTS
OF American life. He wanted to escape,
not realities, but conventionalities, trivi-
alities and STANDARD dization. He went to
Labrador and was for q time with the
Grenfell Mission. There he met his
wife, q woman Of vigorous body and
spirit. as averse to crowds and the
weights and measures Of average So
ciety as he Is himself. Together they
went with the trappers up the Grand
River on both the Winter and Spring
hunts. True North tells the story Of
these two journeys and all the things
they learned about the Far North, near
the fifty-third parallel, and human ma
ture as 1t exists there. The ethical
standards OF the trappers and their
kindliness were found to be at least no
lower than those Of dwellers In Man.
haitian. Their code outlawed whining
about cold, hunger. weariness, injuries,
unexpected difficulties. It caused each
to keep OF the fur paths Of the others,
in spite of the absence Of courts, law
yers and laws of ownership Nature
the Merricks found entirely satisfying
beyond the frontier Of civilization,
where the forests and streams were un-
spoiled and the frozen world possessed
an unspeakable beauty. The Joys Of
their explorations are, Of course, only
for youth or for toughened middle age,
such as the trappers possess, but the
pleasure Of reading Mr.. Merricks story
is for every one.
The American Library Association has
just issued a new booklet, in its Reading
With Purpose series, entitled Russia,
the Soviet Way" In 1t six books that
give real picture Of Russia today are
selected for comment by Prof. Robert
c. Brooks OF Swarthmore College. Brief
comment on the books and the reasons
for their selections, as given out by
American Library Association headQuar-
tiers, are as follows:
The publishing Of this reading guide
In the year that marks the end Of the
first ffve-year plan Is in answer to the
records, in this nation Of 160 ,0O0, 900,
covering almost one-sixth of the land
area of the world. From many books
considered for recommended reading
these six books were chosen because Of
their freedom from undue bias, because
they were published recently enough to
give picture OF Russia today and be-
cause they concern themselves mainly
with the people and how they live
rather than with government and poll
tics.
New Russia's Primer" written for
the Russian school child from IL to IA,
by q Soviet engineer, !. !. Marshak,
shows hcw factories, mines, mills. state
farms, manned with new machines and
hard work, must contribute to the sue
cess Of the f1ve-year plan. Prof. Brooks
points out that the Communist author
regards the United States as an exam
pie Of chronological success and eco
nomic distress due to "planlessness.
For those who have time to read only
one book on Russia, Soviet Russia, a
Living Record and History" by VII
liam H. Chamberlain, Is unqualifiedly
recommended. Even for those who have
read six-foot shelf Of "the best books"
ON the country, this same volume is
needed, according to Prof. Brooks, to
cneck scattered information and con-
Hicting transformation. Because Mr..
chamberlain Is a newspaper man, who
lived fer nine years in peasant VILLAGES.
as well as in large cities, Tn all parts
Of Russia, he shows a more varied pic
ture than can specialist in any one
field.
Peasants tell their own gabbling sto-
rteS Of life on the state farms in Red
Bread" by Maurice Hindus. Handker-
cnlefs, school houses, mud, machinery,
new beliefs and old superstitions are
yivid!y brought together In these
sketches.
Plain facts about workers insurance.
banking, deAreciated paper money,
women wage earnerS, co-Qperatives
trusts and syndicates, salaries of ON
cials are found in "The Economic Life
Of Soviet Russia" by Calvin B. Hoo
yer Of Duke University. The author be-
ieves that as simple thing as the
need for food fats may prove the
breaking point in this 17-year struggle.
New teaching methods, youth organ
tzations, children's books featuring q
fairyland of machines and socialiStic
ants and bees, are described in New
Minds: New Men?" by Thomas Woody,
professor of education at the Univer-
sity Of Pennsylvania, who visited more
than 500 Russian schools to see how
the future Communist citizen is being
nodded. Values and flaws in the So
Wet way of education are pointed out
in this fifth book chosen by Professor
Brooks.
For a background picture Of the