Evening star., 1936-11-14
VOLUME is FINELY WRITTEN
Book by American Envoy Who Saw Struggle From Diplomats
Perspective Is Powerful Indictment of International Con-
Ac-Other Recent Books Deal With Same Subject.

The first Ia O book Of 20 drawings
and etchings by . man who worked
In the camoufase department OF the
American Army during Tire World
War. Technically. they are good, and
the spirit which conceived them
spared no detail In making war
hideous. Some Of the pages cannot
be looked at without horrtned ex-
clamation. AL the scenes, says the
artist. are drawn from memory. He
has imagined none Of them. His book
d dedicated TO the men who did not
come back and In his foreword he
says that the volume has been pub
Iished IN the hope that 1t may BE
Of some use IN the forlorn and seem.
insly hopeless fight against war"
The second book IL composed Of .
diary kept by . young nurse IN 1918
during the big push Of that Spring.
Now the mother OF Q son, she came
upon her forgotten journal while
rummaging In an old trunk. She re-
read 1t and then decided to publish
1t, If that might be, as an anti-war
document She has added TO her brief
entries, amplifying them with remem-
bered details. It does not read very
differently from other books Of the
sort, but Is impressive enough, even so.
The last book IL the autobiography
Of war ace during the war years
and for . few thereafter. By far the
greater part of it Is devoted to ac-
counts Of the authors fighting. It
can safely be ranked ~ war Cor
anti-war) document.
II Il, however, finely written
thing. and one which deserves atten-
tion - o book. even while II takes
place as o document. The author was
on duty over the French lines and
also in England. He saw what war
Is, and he records 1t brilliantly.
After the war he went out 10 China
for Q few years, there to teach flying.
He made his last flight In that coun-
try. He writes with poetry and q
mystic imagination. He VIII be worth
watching for II he writes again.
ACROSS SPOON RIVER. An auto
biography. BY Edgar Lee Mas
tiers. New York: Farrar d Rine-
hart.
THE rugged poet who contributed
such enlivening matter to Poetry
II back in 1870, writes here his life
story. There Is little of the fiery revo-
luttonary in 1t, as we were then prone
to imagine him, dreaming between
lines. On the contrary, Mr.. Masters
would seem to have had a life Of hard
work as lawyer, IN which writing,
by necessity, though not by desire.
took second place. Much Of his book
Is given over to description Of his
legal labors and, as he foregathered
little with other writer's, there Is .
minimum of those bright passages
devoted to literary associations, which
one expects in any writer's story.
Even with this happy omission, how
ever. the narrative L. level and monot.
onous. There is in it, one feels,
rather a greater preoccupation with
love affairs than the affairs them
selves merit, as none Of them are
represented as being Of lasting infiu- |
ence on the poets life. The most |
appealing part of the book Is that |
which relates to his youth in the little
Illinois town, Lewistown, where he
was unhappy with an unhappiness
which he conveys realistically.
The effect Of the volume is rather |
disheartening-it Is that Of hope hv- |
ing in gray places and Of illusion fed !
-
Masters says that poetry has been |
the one great interest Of his life. |
From this 1t may not be unkind TO |
say that he has made poetry more |
interesting than he has made himself. |
REASONS FOR ANGER. BY Robert |
Briffault. New York: simon &
Schuster.
THE author Of one Of the most over
rated novels Of last year publishes |
here q collection Of essays explaining |
why he Is angry with humanity. They
are an intelligent persons reasons,
to be sure. But they are no newer
than they were In the day Of Rameses
and they are rather duly stated. Mr..
Briffault does not realize, apparently,
that what Is plain to him is plain to
any thinking man or woman and
that, therefore, to justify offering hts
opinions for sale he should offer
them with difference-the differ
ence, preferably, Of wit. No, he dis
dains wit. He merely shouts. Often
he blusters. His book, consequently,
is not an intelligent performance,
even though, as said, 1t reflects intel
Ngent mental processes.
HILAIRE BELLOC. Selected Essays.
Compiled by John Edward Dtneen.
Philadelphia: ]. B. Lippincott.
AS MR.. DINEEN remarks in his
preface to this volume, Hilaire
BelIoc Is best known in America for
his religious and political writings.
But that, 1t is only fair to add, is only
because few Of his essays have been
published In this country. He Is, Of
course, an essayist Of great gifts. Mr..
Dineen ranks him here with Charles
Lamb and Robert Louis Stevenson and
in this opinion many critics fully
concur.
The present collection Of Is Belloc
essays therefore would seem to be
destined to Q warm welcome among
cultivated readers. All but two Of the
pieces included are Of the informal
variety, the subjects being Of wide
inns to thinking. The
two formal pieces are those on the
Of Milton and translations.
There seems no need to do more
with volume such as this than an e
nource 1t. It Is here. That should be
LINCOLN STEFTENs SPEAKING.
New York: Harcourt Brace d Co.
CTEFFENS' admirers Of course Will
want this book. It Is Z collection
,f essays, paragraphs, episrams and
tray remarks from the mouth Of the /.
ate journalist It II briSk stllff snnne- q,