Evening star., 1947-09-28
Walter Korig> Back From Pacific, Looks Forward
To Arrival of Hand Carved Outrigger Canoe
Next Book to Describe
Micronesia, He Says;
His 'Zotz' Out Soon
By John A. Giles

If you see a genuine, hand-carved
micronesian outrigger canoe on the
Potomac some day, don't be alarmed.
Your imagination will not have
taken you to the far Pacific.
The happy man at the helm
undoubtedly will be Capt Walter
Kraig. USNR, the first bonafide
Washington author to have a book
selected by the Book of the Month
Club. His ''zotz!"-even Capt. Kraig
admits it's an odd name, which
he just picked out of thin airs the
clubs October selection.
The captain gets up early these
crisp mornings to see if there is
any word from his friends in distant
Moku Atoll in the Caroline Islands.
The islanders are shipping him a
600-pound outrigger canoe, Grated
in some 1000 pounds of fine mahog-
any.
Lots of Souveniers.
The arrival of the canoe will be
no surprise to Capt. Kraig's friends
and neighbors at Seminary Hill,
in Alexandria. They've got useds to
such deliveries. A donkey (she
bras intermittently in the back
Yard, a skunk properly de-odor-
ized), seven cats, two dogs and
other mementoes from all over the
world have arrived already.
Neither were the captains friends
greatly surprised when the former
Foreign Legionnaire, newspaper
man, Washington correspondent,
world traveller, amateur magician,
Fairfax County volunteer fireman,
etc., etc., won the clubs selection.
Book Was By-Product.
The author himself Is very sur
prised." He wrote the novel for his
own and his fanily's amusement
CT used to read it aloud to them at
night" he says while editing the
Navy's official Battle Report" and
attending to other naval matters.
It's like finding a $40 bill in an
old book that you paid dime for
and enjoyed reading"
Navy officers from Adak to Manila
probably are still trying to decode
the radio message his commanding
officer here sent him when the Book
of the Month Club announced its
selection: "Zotz BMC Dual October.
Congrats." At that moment the
author was at Bikini on Navy busi-
ness, recovering from a character
istically out-of the ordinary acci-
dent; ne broke three ribs falling
out of an outrigger canoe.
I'D never have given the book
that title if I had thought it would
do so WE'LL" says the author. He
has written about Is other books
in his career, the last having been
the best seller, Lower Than Angels" )"
Selection Means Good Return.
The club selection means more
than $4,000 to the author. He
stands to make at least $4,000 more,
since there are reports that he will
get a bid for the movie rights.
1--WE only read that in the news
papers 'now," he hastens to add.
Briefly, "Zotz!" is the story of an
individual who accidentally acquires
an age-old piece of magic which
enables him to kill any living thing
simply by pointing his finger in
its direction and saying "zotz!"
John P. Marquand describes it as
the funniest story that has been
written yet about wartime Wash
ington."
Capt. Karig, 40, is q native Of
New York City who was moved to
New Jersey at an early age. He grew
up a country boy.
ct MIXED a COW when I had to
sit on high-chair to reach It," he
says.
Is Hard on Caps.
He is heavy set, but not fat, with
a small mustache, twinkling eyes,
and grey, receding hair. His uni
forms are we'll cut and neat, but his
cap always looks as If he had just
fished it out of the ocean.
He is tall and quite serious to the
casual acquaintance. With friends,
however, he is affable and some