Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1938-12-11
By Mary.Carter Roberts.


Of books which against all industry
has accumulated through past
months, dourly waiting reviews. 1t
approaches years end now, and yet
these books still stand. Can they
be carried over to the next twelve
month? No. There are some things
not to be thought on, and that is one
of them. What, you will say? The
difference between 1888 and 1889 is
only on the calendar. Were you
without that grave impersonal re-
minder of Old Time, you would not
know of the vanity of dates. Why
all the bother then about shelf
clearing before II o'clock December
81? Well, you speak for reason and
shelf-clearing comes from habit. Life
is habit, and habit is unreason, so
life is unreasonable. The reviewer
will clear her shelves.
Here then are some of the books
which have been standing in the
dust, patiently waiting criticism.
Here are the main biographies, auto
biographies and memoirs-for in
stance.
Daniele Ware, hitherto known to
Americans by his novels, THE Maker
of Heavenly Trousers and THE
Gate of the Happy Sparrows," has
written his memories of his long
diplomatic service under the title
Laughing Diplomat" Doubleday
Doran is the publisher. Signor Ware
was for many years a member OF
the Italian diplomatic corps and
his book begins way back in the age
OF innocence, in 1900, when he was
a member of his country's embassy
in Berlin. From this mellow time
1t carries on until 1882, the inter-
vening years covering Signor Wares
appointments to Vienna, Rome.
Picking, London, Copenhagen and
Geneva. The closing passages de-
scribe a visit to Iceland. 1t is a
graceful, witty and civilized thing.
It is done with a light touch, but
without fatuousness. Instead, Signor
Ware gives to his pages a quality OF
well-seasoned wisdom, broad If not
deep, undisturbed by passionate
emotions, yet not profoundly cynical
either. A pleasant book by a pleas
ant gentleman-that is what a
reader is apt to think of it. To the
reviewer, it rates place among the
more readable memoirs of the year.
philosophers Holiday by Irwin
Edman Viking Press, is another
such. The author is member of
the faculty of Columbia University,
a poet and writer of some repute. In
his memoirs he does not tell life
story, but relates instead series OF
experiences which, he says, have
contributed to his enjoyment and
understanding of life. They are
small but previously significant
episodes, drawn out of wide travel,
concerning the lives of humble peo-
pie; they are good reading. 1t would
seem, to be sure, that DR.. Edman
uses toward his fellows pretty much
the professional attitude-that is, he
Is looking at them for good material
all the time. But when he finds
that material he handles it we'll.
One can forgive his academic quality
for the sake of his good writing. His
book will pass couple OF hours very
agreeably.
Another neutrality-suspicious. which
should have particular interest for
Washingtonians-i Mark Sullivans,
published under the title, THE Edu-
cation of an American" Mr.. Sulli-
van, of course, is known to everyone.
He tells here the Journalistic and
political experiences of a lifetime,
setting forth a career which is
prominent among its kind. The
great days of such magazines as Col
her's and McClure's, the Box period
of the Saturday Evening Post;
anecdotes of Mark Twain, Theodore
Roosevelt, Peter Dunno, Norman
Hapgood and Lincoln Steffens; the
stories of past political campaigns
and a record of a farm boyhood-
such material combines excellently
to support Mr.. Sullivan's title. To
be sure, he never writes profoundly,
but he does write very entertain
ingly His book will probably attract
readers by the familiarity of his
name. But it makes good going on
its own account, too. Doubleday
Doran is the publisher.
Another memoir from the pen of
q prominent Journalist is Turbulent
Years by Isaac F. Marcosson, long
foreign correspondent of the Sat-
urday Evening Post. Mr.. Marcosson
is writing Of the time between the
end of the World War and the pres
ent. doing it in terms of the out
standing national leaders whom he
has interviewed and known. So we
have one more parade of Hitler,
Mussolini, Sun Yat-sen, Renal
Ataturk. SHINES, Kreuger, Clemen-
ceau, BRAND, Stresemann, Primo de
Rivera and the rest of them, not
emitting an assortment of minor
tyrants and liberators from Latin
America. Most of us have seen the
parade before and many of us are
heartily tired of it. That does not
mean, however, that Mr.. Marcosson's
book is merely repetitious of what
has already been written. 1t has its
own quality; it is personal and we'll
Informed. But it does cover pretty
we'll trodden ground. Dodd Mead is
the publisher.
Then, with the Czecho-Slovakian
trouble still rumbling in the COL
umns, attention must be directed to
book called The Chamberlain
Tradition" This work is by Sir
Charles Petrie and is published by
Frederick A. Stokes & Co. It pur-
ports to trace the Chamberlain
family in English political history,
from odd Joe" through Sir Austen
and Neville. Alas, it seems to be
more of a smooth bit OF groveling
than anything else. 1t is COM
pletely uncritical, it never analyses,
1t never questions. It merely ad-
mires. To the author the three
Chamberlains are obviously perfect.
The style of the writing is about
that of theme by a good high