The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1944-07-27
GOOD READING FOR THE WEEK

Here is brief review of some of
the books now available at your
Washington County Free Library:
One of the most interesting of the
new books is the War Atlas For
Americans, prepared with the assist
ance of the Office of War Informa-
ton and published for Council on
Books in Wartime. The indignation
of maps and text is the important
feature of this war atlas 1t de-
scribes the moves of the Axis ma
tions from the first act of agrees
sion. The progress the United Ma
tions have made and will make in
the future, is indicated by text and
map. From this, the past, present
and probable future of the conflict is
explained
Tell The Folks Back Home, by
Senator James M. Mead, is a book
of facts. With four other Senators,
he visited the fighting fronts and
this book is his report to the fathers
and mothers of America In it he
tells just what the boys are eating,
how it gets to them, what equipment
they use in battle, how certain sup
plies reach fields of battle. With
the facts are numerous stories full of
humor, excitement and courage. 1t
is one of the most reassuring and
International books that has come
out of the war.
Quentin Reynolds last book, The
Curtain Rises, is perhaps his best.
Sketches of Iran, Palestine and
North Africa are excellently done,
but he really hits his stride in the
thick of the Italian landing. At
Salerno he stood in the operations
room of a combat vessel under fire
and watched the teletype messages
coming in from the beachhead. 1t
is sound and vivid reporting.
The first novel to be passed by the
censors which tells in any detail
what happens to those bombing
crews who are brought down behind
German lines, is Fair Stood The
Wind For France. Written by H. E.
Bates, it is one of the best stories of
escape that has been written. 1t is
timely because, better than factual
accounts, it reveals pictures of oc-
cupied France, heroic and stole,
along with the frequent moral and
physical degeneracy. The story is
engrossing and certainly adventur-
Gus. Not only does it concern the
crew of the ship, but those who help
them escape and those who help
them live. FRANCHISE, the girl, may
well represent the warm faith and
heroism of the best of France.
No story of the present is quite SO
moving as that told of the harmless
Polynesian people moving into a
new and strange life, told by James
Norman Hall in Lost Island. Com
plete destruction of all life meant,
of all the things they loved, of
safety, of even life itself is what this
little group of islanders faced. 1t is
the task of an American Colonel to
make fortress of this island, to pre-
pare for the landing of troops in the
South Pacific. He has two weeks to
survey and complete his plans-and
in the meantime he grows to know
and love the islanders, whose homes
he must destroy. 1t is a SOLDERING,
thoughtful book and needs to be
read.
Transit, by Anna Seghers, is an
other tragic story. 1t is a study of
life in French seaport, Immediately
after the collapse of France. Every
one is trying to escape Nazi domina-
ton and every thought must be
guarded. 1t is a strong picture of
mental and physical chaos. There is
not the wild desperation of her other
book, 'The Seventh Cross" but
rather a more horrible, resigned,