Evening star., 1934-12-22
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH C.. BOWERMAN.
OMAR KHAYYAM. BY Harold Lamb

u w.
From three known facts about the
supposed author Of The Rubaiyst,"
made famous by Edward FitZgeralds
translation, Harold Lamb has con-
structed the probable story of his life.
The known facts are that Omar was
the astronomer of Sdltan Malikshah,
that he was alive in Ills and that his
grave is at Nisapar All Mr.. Lambs
deductions about his life are reason
able, based on revelations of person.
ality in his quatrainS and on the gen.
eral life OF his time. The result can
hardly be called authentic biography,
but it has none Of the purely imagina-
tive senSationalism which SO often
goes with fictionized biography. 1t Is
piece Of real literary scholarship and
Is written with charm, sS are MIR.
Lambs earlier works. "Genghis Khan,'
"Tamerlane" and The Crusades.'
~
THE WANDERING SCHOLARS. BY
Helen Waddell. New York: Henry
Holt & Co.
Peter Abelard," Miss Waddells
novel which presented a new inter-
probation of the medieval scholar and
his love for Heloise, showed deep study
Of the social and religious life OF the
Middle Ages. That study has now
produced this account of the Vagantes,
or wandering scholars and poets, who
were the heirs to the Latin and Greek
pagan learning, made their own place
III literary history through their sec
ularizing Of the stage and their culti-
vation of satire. and were one Of the
early disintesrating influences in the
medieval church. Miss Waddelrs
book, in It's sixth edition In England,
makes the so-called Dark Ages seem
full OF the STRINGS OF new life.
PEGASUS PULLS A HACK. Memoirs
Of Modern Minstrel. BY Berton
Braley. New York: Minton, Balch
4 Co.
Versification did not die out either
with the Middle Ages or with the Vic
torian age. 1t is still practised today
and practised voluminously, as Mr..
Braley testifies. In a quarter century
he has not only written. but published,
which is another matter, over 5000
pieces OF verse, amounting to more
than 10 linear miles. He does not
need ideal conditions TO stimulate In
spiration, does not, in fact, claim in
spiration at all. His Pegasus has
pulled q hack, from the time when he
wrote his first verses at the age OF T..
through his early newspaper days, TO
the financial success he had deter
mined upon as d writer of verse for
magazines and Syndicates. He tells all
about it in this autobiography and in
sists that his verse-wrltlng IS craft,
carpentry with words.
MORE HARBOURS OF MEMORY.
BY William McF'ee. Garden City:
Doubleday. Doran & Co.
The atmosphere Of the sea and ships
permeates all the work of William
! McFee. He is the eSSayiSt OF the ship,
from the DAYS when she depended on
4 her own sail and the caprlces OF the
winds to the present. when she de-
pends Oh Diesel engines and has a dl-
| ferent set Of cataStropheS 10 fear. MI.
McFee knows ships from engine rooms
| to decks and back again; perhaps he
| prefers engine rooms, at least one IS
| inclined to think SO while reading
Engine Room Stuff" The Moods
Of Mechanism" oil. and the Hairy
! Ape" and some of the other essays.
Some OF the less mechanically tinted
/ will hA tn the taste oil
| those who travel on ships without
ever visiting the engine rooms. Wives
| in Every Port unexpectedly tells OF
| the wives of ships officers. who keep
| thrifty homes ashore or lead uncon-
/ ventional lives. instead OF the light
! o'-loves acquired by the Seamen in
different ports Wine on the Seas"
( tells Of the drinking habits of seamen
the author has known, but he says:
In a score Of years OF close contact
with seamen and engine filters there
| was never q case OF q man or boy be-
ing derided for refusing liquor or say
| ing his prayers"
THE SECRET KINGDOM. An AZ
CHAN Journey BY Ben James. New
York: Reynal g. Hitchcock.
After trying salesmanship and the
law. Mr. James decided that exploring
what remained Of the world beyond
the reach OF conducted cruises and
! overland parties would be far more
interesting. Journalism offered him
his opportunity and with that as a
pilgrims staff he has visited Sc coun-
tries. The journey which is the sub
| ject OF this book, and is outlined i'll
the end-paper maps, began at New
York and led by way of Moscow. Tiflis
| and Teheran. over deserts and noun
tsinS. to Kabul and Khandahar, Al
! ghanistan. where he aWOke on his
33d birthday in the walled palace Of
| the King, whose guest he was All the
stages Of the journey are described
and the people of many natlonalities
along the way. but the most evertful
part begins when Mr. James Afghan
| truck driver suddenly turned and
waved his cigarette toward q jagged
horizon and shouted "Afghanistan!
| AfehaniStan!" Soon he was in the
secret kingdom" where. an attache
! OF a legation had once told him. his
chances Of getting through without
being kindaped or robbed, possibly
wounded. as an incident, were about
| out Of TO-" His adventures were
not disappointing, but he came back
| alive and able TO write the story. As
! he crossed the kyber Pass. headed for
Peshawar, Agra. Bombay and liner
bound for SueZ, he looked back at the
Afghan frontier and read the sign:
1t Is Positively Forbidden TO Enter
Afghan Territory"
FRANKENSTEIN. Or the Modern
Prometheus. BY Mary WOllstone-
craft Shelley. With Engravings on
Wood by Lynd Ward. New York
Harrison Smith & Robert Haas.
Mrs. Shelley made her first rough
sketch of the gruesome story OF
"Frankenstein" in 1916, when the
Shelleys and Byron were neighbors
in Switzerland. They were reading
French and German ghost stories to-
gether when Byron suggested that
each of them write \ ghost story. Mary
Shelley was the only one who carried
out the idea and her resulting story