Evening star., 1944-12-31
Years Books in Repie1U

Wendell homes, Dy catherine
Drinker Bowen Little Brown and
Good Night, Sweet Prince" the
story of John Barrymore, by Gene
Fowler (Viking). Konrad Heiden's S
Der Fuehrer" (Houghton Mif1in)
stands as the definitive explanation
of Hitlers rise to power-hard read
ing, but worth it. Valuable additions
to American history have been made
in Ranger Mosby," by Virgil Car
rington Jones University of North
Carolina Press; "'First With the
Most Forrest" by Robert Selph
Henry (Bobbs MerrilD, and John
c. Calhoun, Nationalist" by Charles
M. Wiltse (Bobbs MerrilD.
WAR BOOKS.
Among war novels I would rate
several as of more than timely
interest. Limit of Darkness" by
Howard Hunt (Randorn House,
lis one of these. 1t is grave
picture Of the minds of young men
who know that they are doomed to
die in battle and have no particular
faith in the political programs for
which they are making the sacri-
flee. Another OF the same kind.
though touched with a little more
optimism is Hobart Douglas Skid
more's valley of the Sky" (Hough-
ton Miff1in). Rex Warmers Return
of the Traveller" Iippincott) is still
another. In Erwin Lessner's "Phan-
tom Victory" Putnam), and c. E. M.
Joad's young Soldier in Search of a
Better World" (Argo) one finds the
same skepticism expressed in terms
of satire and phantasy.
Among war books one hardly
needs to point out that Ernie Pyle's
Brave Men" Dodd Mead has won
the widest public acclaim. Also on
the best-seller lists has been the late
Raymond Clapper's watching the
World" (Whittlesey), another COM
pilation of newspaper columns.
Sumner Welles' THE Time for Deci-
sion" (Harper's) is perhaps the out
standing volume on the peace. In
United States War Aims" Little,
Brown Walter Lipmann reiterated
his plea for groupings of the great
powers to prevent wars in the future.
And some very practical ideas on
what to do with Germany are in
cluded in Germany Will Try 1t
Again" by Sigrid Schultz (Reynal g.
Hitchcock, and Primer of the
Coming World" by Leopold
Schwarzschild (Knopf. my Ten
Years in Japan by Joseph C.
Grew, the former Ambassador
(Simon & Schuster), gives the best
idea of how it all happened in the
East, and "Bataan, the Judgment
Seat" by Allison Ind (MacMillan)
presents an unforgettable picture of
the negligence which prevailed in
the Philippines up almost to the eve
of combat.
HISTORY.
In the field of history, the year
gave us one of its best books, though
not new one. That was Rebellion
in the Backlands," by Euclides da
Cunha university of Chicago
Press. 1t is classic of Brazilian
literature, originally published in
1902, and devoted to studying a civil
war which took place in the latter
years OF the 10th century between
some fanatically inspired followers
II a demented religious leader and
the Brazilian authorities. It rates
being called a magnificent achieve
ment, not bit less.
In our own annals, 1914 saw the
completion of Douglas Southall
Freeman,s Lees Lieutenants"
(Scribner's) with the publication of
the third volume. It also saw the
beginning of a new Van Wyck
Brooks series on American literature,
"The World of Washington Irving"
(Dutton). And Will Durant neither
began nor finished, but simply added
to his serial history of civilization,
bringing out the volume "Ceasar and
Christ (Simon & Schuster).
Charles and Mary Beard wrote
Basic History" of our country New
Home Library, and Andre Maurois
gave us a polite volume called
Miracle Of America" (Harper'D.
MO. r.
u