Evening star., 1934-09-08
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH G.. BOWERlMAN.

Many clubwomen have recollections
of the smoothly spoken, perfectly
phrased cultural lectures of Edward
Howard Griggs He has given over
10000 of these lectures, travelled near
ly 100000 miles and addressed more
than $500. 900 people. He did not de-
liberately select the lecture platform
for his careers 1t apparently selected
him. As member of the first faculty
of Leland Stanford University he went
forth to talk to the public about collie
giate education, and his popularity with
his audiences led him to abandon the
class room for an itineracy. specialized
instruction for broader and, of course,
more superficial and entertaining. i'm
parting of knowledge. This autobiog-
raphy tells the story of a serene but
very active life, the life of man who
was early so fortunate as to discover
exactly his right niche
Mr. Griggs' childhood. when he was
shaking with malaria in Michigan or
rambling over the wooded hills along
the Ohio in Indiana, gave little sugges-
tion of literary career, for his family
was poor. Before he was IA he was
keeping books for merchant, and that
occupation seemed likely to be his per-
manent future, but he saved $3.50 and
gave up his job and entered Indiana
University. At 16 he had a fairly
close acquaintance with Plato, Aris-
totle, Homer, Dante. Shakespeare,
Goethe, Spinoza and Kant. They were
all to exert a great influence on the
type of his lectures later. He finished
the four-year college course in two
years. While in college he heard the
finals of the interstate oratorical con-
test won by Albert ]. Beveridge After
brief time teaching English at Indi-
ana University he was offered the
Stanford appointment which led, as
has been noticed, to his life work of
public teaching"
The events of his life are not given
in much detail by Mr.. Griggs and dates
are strangely lacking The book is
| therefore more in the nature of an
essay on personal development, phil
osophy and public service than a COM
plete autobiography. The philosophy
revealed is that of acceptance of rela-
| tive knowledge, since the absolute is
unattainable, but of fulfilling the alb
Solute imperative of duty. Different
chapters discuss education and life,
the spirit of the twentieth century, the
war years, the jazz age, the years of
Christening" the crisis in education,
science and faith, and "the four affir-
nations of faith" Mr.. Griggs is
| humanist and a philosopher and has
had life rich in cultural experience.
What ne has to say, if not profound,
is suggestive and likely to be helpful
to many who are feeling their way
toward certain solutions
GENERAL SOCIOLOGY. BY Henry
Pratt Fairchild. New York: John
Wiley & Sons.
Prepared primarily for undergrad
uate students in American colleges,
this book by the professor of sociology
in New York University will tempt
almost any one interested in the prob
lens of the life we are now living
and their Interpretation in the light
OF their origins in distant and some
what murky past at least to dip into
the pages. Prof. Fairchild gives as his
reason for launching one more
general sociology text upon an already
congested academic sea" that he be-
lieves he can offer a novel approach,
emphasis or treatment. Among the
innovations he introduces are the fol-
lowing: THE significance and diversity
OF group relationships, classification of
groups on the basis of volition, the
reciprocal and rotatory nature of social
| relations, the prehuman character of
| society and its basic institutions
analysis of interests, and use of inter-
eSts as the basis for sociological
classification, the nature and i'm
| portance Of belief in overt behavior
and theoretical analysis, the dynamic
character Of sociological theory, and
the inclusion of the time element
therein -. the concepts of normality
and abnormality . distinction be-
tween social reform and social en-
gineering ANALYSIS of the four
basic factors in the material existence
of society,"
GETTING RESULTS IN SELLING.
BY Paul w. Ivey, Phi. D. New
York: The Macmillan Co.
Good salesmanship consists ap-
parently, in making people buy what
they know they do not want, or in
making them want what they thought
they did not want. The latter is the
better way and leaves a more salts
fed customer. OF course, there are
always certain people SO stubborn, so
sales resistant, that they exactly know
their own minds and cannot be infiu-
enced by the most persuasive sales
man. They will not take a ride in
any kind of new automobile. "at 4
O'Clock" even when the salesman
uses all the methods recommended in
| Chapter ~, Going After the Gus
toner" Books on salesmanship would
be OF little use if such obstinate Cor
intelligent) people were in the ma
| jority DR.. Ivey, professor of mer-
chandising IN the University of South
ern California, believes that sales de-
pend largely on the salesman and that
| few men are born statesmen. In this
book he gives much practical advice,
which, II successfully followed, should
bring a boom to any business. He
| tells how to find a sales force, how to
convince a customer of value (and
that seems more important than any,
thing else), why customers buy, how
to know the merchandise, the GUS
toner and ones self, how to get the
customers viewpoint, how to develop
the "saleS-appeals," how to empha-
size service instead of price, and why
| salesmanship is a science and an art.
The sales ideas presented have been
tested by the author in his work with
various organizations The book is
intended both for manufacturers and
| dealers and for statesmen.
SUN ON THEIR SHOULDERS. BY
Elizabeth Eastman. New York:
William Morrow & Co.
Old Heikki Ranta, not descendant
of Puritans, but a Finn working his
cranberry bogs on Cape Cod, lies on
his back in his bed in the dark
ness Of early morning and listens
to the alarm clock on the floor tick
away the minutes of his waning