Evening star., 1935-11-20
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
THROUGH FORBIDDEN TIBET. BY
Harrison Forman New York: Long
mans, Green 81 Co.
Margaret Cermond.


mans, Green 81 Co.
In the story of his seventh treasure
| hunting expedition into the "lost" world
| of northern South America William La
| Varre tells of conversation on one OF
| his earlier trips with an older man who
| had for years been penetrating the jungles
and bringing forth diamonds, gold and
| other valuable products from natures rich
Storehouse. La Varre was talking as would
| one explorer to another. but the older
| man denied the distinction as applying
| to himself. When La Varre insisted that
| the man was an explorer, the reply was
| to the effect that explorers were men
| about whom the world sang praises. and
| he was sure that few people had ever
| heard of him. He said he had never
| been asked for but one interview and
| that when it was printed the writer had
! not been able to rise above description
| of him as soldier of fortune.
Is there really any difference between
| the two? Is not an intelligent man
| seeking adventure In the unknown cor
| ners of the earth in his own fashion just
| as much of an explorer as the man who
| eagerly graspS the opportunity to accom-
pany an efficiently equipped, financially
| backed expedition? The pages of history
| sparkle with thrilling accounts of great
discoveries made by lone vagabonds in
! search Of adventure and knowledge.
Some of them have had money, while
others have had nothing. Some have
| been educated, cultured intellectuals and
others have been lacking in mental equip
ment. Explorers they all have been.
The young man who has Just COM
| pleted the story Of his adventure into
| the only remaining corner Of the globe
| that has persistently def1ed exploration
might be called vagabond soldier Of
| fortune and an explorer, and all three
would be correct. Yet he made his way
| through the only CLOSED" country in
| the world entirely upon his own initiative
| and courage.
Harrison Forman went to China in
| 1929 to sell military airplanes to the
| Chinese government. During the several
| years of this assignment he acquired a
| working knowledge of the dialects, as his
| travels carried him to many Of the remote
| and little known provinces of the once
great empire When at the close Of the
| Shanghai War the government was too
| Impoverished to invest in airplanes, Mr..
| Forman organized an expedition for the
! purpose of opening a motor trade route
| to Chinese Eastern Turkestan. along the
| ancient Marco Polo trail. Chinese BAN
| dit bullets promptly ended the enter
| prise at Lanchow. A chance meeting
| there with William E. Simpson, an Amer
| lean missionary. furnished the lnSpira-
| ton to crash" Tibet.
And this volume is the whole story
| of how lone American made his way
! across the forbidden border into the
most mysterious land in the world. where
| he spent months among its many tribes,
| making friends OF the great and the
| loWly studying their customs and wit
Messing their rituals, taking countless
photographs and gathering tribal lore.
Only a few of the many who have
| sought to penetrate forbidden Tibet have
| succeeded, and from these but little has
been learned about this one area that
is to mankind the most fascinating coun-
try on the face of the earth. Perhaps
no one else has brought so much of
authoritative enlightenment from the
alluring land Of magic and mystery as
has the writer of this book. With mind.
eyes. ears and nerves alert. and with
camera ready, knowledge, scenes and
impressions were absorbed with all OF
the eagerness of a man who knows that
he may never again be so favored by
fate. and that one slip or error of judg
ment may bring not only his great ad-
venture. but his life to an abrupt end
A few months ago one of the episodes
in this volume appeared in Harper'S
Magazine under the title II Saw the
King of He'll" Ever since there has been
an ardent hope in the hearts OF its read
erS that there would be more. And here
it is in full we'll written. profuSely 81
lustrated with photographs. handsomely
bound with a decorative map on the in
side front cover and packed with stirring
adventure and authentic facts. 1t is
| fascinating to the last word, but with
all its completeness it fosters the hope
| that maybe its author absorbed even
more than he has told and that before
long there will be another volume as en-
| chanting as this one.
A TREASURY OF THE THEATRE.
New York: Simon e. SchuSter.
One of the most eXtraOrdinary-in size
| as well as in content-literary offerings
| of the Fall season is this anthology of
| the great plays of all ages from Aeschy-
| lus to Eugene ONeill. 1t has been edited
by Burns Mantle. whose name has been
prominently identified with the theater
since the beginning of the century, and
John GasSner, who is at present play
reader for the Theatre Guild in charge
of the American play department. Mr..
Mantle is also we'll known through his
institution of the Ten Best Plays series
in 1919. which has now grown into an
annual year book, and Mr.. GaSSner Is q
recognized authority and translator as
we'll as a lecturer and writer.
The book contains thirty-four OF the
worlds most famous dramas, represent
| ing the theaters of America, England,
Ireland. Italy, Austria, France, Russia,
Germany, Sweden, Norway Japan, India.
Greece and the ancient Hebrews. It's
compilation was inspired by realization
| on the part of the publishers that there
was no means by which the demand for
a representative collection of plays could
be met. Consultation with libraries
| throughout the country revealed that
there are many collections OF the classics,
| of Elizabethan drama, of the best foreign
plays. of American and other classical
tions, but no anthology Of the whole
range of the known theatre. The best
| of effort and of authority, therefore, went
| into the compilation of a volume that is
certain to be invaluable to all who know
and appreciate this branch Of the fine
| arts as we'll as to students and collectors
| Of theatre lore.
Each play is prefaced by biographical
4 ivlt ruAs