Evening star., 1938-04-10
GROUPS IN OUR WAR SPIRIT

Mark Twain and Charles Dickens are
among the distinguished travellers who
are quoted for the 10th century,
Giovanni Francesca Gemelli Careri
reports life in = Spanish galleon of
the l7th century and Felix Fabri de-
scribes = journey to the Holy Land
in Venetian galley Of the 18th cen
tury. 1t is all entertaining. The re-
viewer recommends the book.
THE MAN WHO 1NSULTEr SON.
ERSVILLE, BY Jennings Rice.
New York: Harper g. Bro.
THIS is an amusing novel in which
there Is q genuinely original twist.
1t Is the story of mans revenge on
q town wherein he and his mother were
made to suffer by the narrow-minded-
ness Of complacent and self-righteous
people. That revenge he accomplished
with diabolical perfection by the un.
usual device Of dying intestate. leaving
considerable money. In order to claim
this fortune the relatives, who had dis
owned him. had at last to come for
ward and avow relationship. And In
the process Of so doing they unmasked
one another's pretensions to an in
durable degree. so that, by the time the
fortune was disposed Of, none among
the claimants any longer had reason
to feel complacent about anything.
The dead man. by this appeal to their
covetousness, had shown them all up
The plot is not made Immediately
evident. however. and the story moves
along somewhat In the manner of
mystery. 1t is good light reading.
HELLO. AMERICA! BY Cesar Saerch-
niger. Boston: Houghton, Mifrlin
Co.
NOW that all the foreign corre-
spondents have written their rem
iniscenes, and In the lull before they
rush to press with their several volume
lis CFurther "reminiscences, More Me-
moirs and the like) the broadcasting
boys are taking their turn. Last week
the reviewer reported Mr. Vernon
Bartlett's "Intermission in Europe"
Mr.. Bartlett is news commentator
for the British Broadcasting Corp.
This week 1t is her duty to announce
Hello, America" by Cesar Saerch-
niger. Mr.. Saerchinger has been for
seven years foreign representative of
one OF Americas great radio chains.
Next week-but here the reviewer
turns her mind piously to the Scrip
lures Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof. she reminds herself with
her customary devoutness-adding for
truths sake. and more than sufficient
the "reminiscences. Heavens. what a
plethora OF them the past twelve
month has been, to be sure.
Well, Mr.. Searchingers volume is
not so good as the best of the recent
output. nor is 1t worse than the aver
age. 1t Is popularity written, it is lively
and it simply bristles with great names.
For Mr.. Saerchinger has had it for his
duty to induce celebrities to broadcast,
and has therefore been in contact with
kings. dictators. potentates. prelates,
stage stars, reformers. Trotzky, Gandhi
and George Bernard Shaw. They were.
for the most part, polite and consid-
crate. and he now tells all about It,
His story is substantially the record
of the development of international
broAdcasting. To those who are in
terested in the technical improvement
of the wireless or see the radio as an
important factor in future civilization
the work may well be of historical in
terest. Readers who lack these points
OF view. however. may merely wonder
how it happened that. in any matter
as precise as broadcasting. there were
so many last-minute crises, so many
hairbreadth escapes from calamity
For Mr.. Saercheinger's book is a series
of accounts Of potentially fatal emer-
gencies met with heroic ingenuity. He
never seemed to arrange a particularly
good event without having trouble of
some sort at the last second-circuits
would be closed, permits refused or
something. After a little of this one
begins to wonder. And after q good
deal more Of it one begins to yawn. 1t is
too narrowing to hold prolonged inter-
est. According to Mr.. Saerchinger.
the life of radio executive does not
differ greatly from that Of the heroine
of The Perils of Pauline" Appar-
emily. it is just one thing after an
other.
However. If you are a radio fan and
If your taste for excitement is stronger
than your distaste for nonotony, you
will like the work On those grounds
the reviewer commends it to you.
THE EDUCATION OF A DIPLOMAT.
BY Hugh Wilson. New York: Long
mans Green e. Co.
THIS is = weu-written and lively
account OF the career of an Ameri-
can diplomat, 10 typiral, by its au-
thor's own words. that it may be taken
as 4 fair example Of ordinary life in
our foreign service. Mr. Wilson served
first in Lisbon and later was sent to
Guatemala and Buenos Aires. After
war was declared he went to Ger
many and Austria. He closes his mar
rative with Americas entrance into
the world conflict.
His story is Of life which, he says,
offers rare rewards in opportunities to
carry out interesting pieces of work. to
live in strange lands and to learn to
know human beings, but which is apt
to be disappointing in the matters Of
recognition Of service and granting Of
material rewards For himself, how
ever, he found 1t a congenial existence,
and his present book is in part his
story OF what 1t brought him in COM
pensation.
Chiefly this would seem to consist in
the circumstance that he found fasci-
nation in the countries where he was
stationed and that his associates we're
in the main agreeable. OF the Latin
American lands where he worked he
writes with particular affection, dis
playing obvious understanding of the
native traits; his education" in those
places. one FATHERS. included intArestsd