davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1948-12-05
~ ove|s Of I948
BY Carter Brooke Jones
Book Critic. of The Star

country? 1t is an honest and searching
chronicle, vividly written.
c. S. Forester's THE Sky and the Forest
tells with lyrical simplicity and quiet power
the story Of a secluded African tribe the
better part of a century ago. of how it had
lived for ages and what happened when
white slave traders came. This novel was
absurdly underrated In some quarters. Ger
tain reviewers told Mr.. Forester to go back
to Hornblower. In my opinion, this tale of
Africa is better than most Of the Hornblower
saga. I commend it to all who love good
story, written with unobtrusive mastery.
In THAT Winter" Merle Miller has de-
scribed better than any one I've read the
bafled restlessness and the futile cropping
that marked the return of so many men
from long war service. This was not a neu-
rotic tendency to be denied or laughed off;
it was an actual and quite natural conse-
quence. 1t was widespread enough for nearly
every family with serviceman to have
seen it in some measure. Mr.. Miller has
captured the mood and made it into a pen
etrating novel.
1t just happens that three of these five
Evening star., 1948-12-05
The Literary Scene
Continued From First PageD

Congress is available to the entire community-
and as a national repository with a national
constituency 1t Is q speculum of the national
spirit. 1t is only in this character that It
reaches Tor the fulfillment which never can
be quite fulfilled Presently it is conscious
to two trends in reader interest: A Iessening
concern on the part of official agencies with
postwar planning and an increasing attention
to International affairs and relations. and,
on the part of the nonoff1cial public. an in
creased interest in personal betterment.
together with the greater maturity of the
student clientele at the university level re-
fiecting the experience and objectivitv Of
the veterans who have swelled the university
rolls.
Yes. there will be new books in our homes
and our stores and our libraries this Christ-
mas. and they can be important Yet no&
the new books but the new readers will matter
most. The new, the clear-eyed, reader.
search the explanations. If they come upon
them. If they can find the answers to our
time. we can join the host in singing GLORY
to God in the highest" It is up to us
to all OF US, to help them.
Evening star., 1948-12-05

ing glossary and a chart. Mr.. Faulkner's
book does not demand q course in the clas-
sics; it is comprehensive enough if you
study it. but most readers don't open a novel
with that in mind Why this writer, re-
garded by some critics as Americas leading
novelist. gradually has developed an obscure
syntax, style as muddy as one of his Mis-
sissippi streams, is his own secret. Ger
tainly there is poetry, wit and shrewd wisdom
in this novel If you take the trouble to dig
it out
Carl Sandburg, famed as poet and a
biographer Of Lincoln, completed at 10 his
first novel, Remembrance Rock" is an
episode narrative of high lights in American
history-a thousand-page chronicle starting
with the Pilgrims and coming down to mod
ern times. 1t is worthy attempt to dstill
the essence of America into single book.
That, perhaps, is a purpose beyond achiev-
ing. In any event, the Sandburg opus seems
less novel than an epic poem, often inspir
ing, but too long to maintain the lofty mood
in which it is cast.
The year brought two savage satires on our
times. both f1rst-rate. Aldous Huxley wrote
Evening star., 1948-12-05

TRAIT.
There were books from other important
novelists In "The Ides of March," Thornton
Wilder wrote with subtle irony and engaging
sagacity of Julius Caesar and his coterie
Pearl s. Buck, q Nobel Prize winner, was rep
resented with "Peony" another story of
China arresting, but hardly up to "The
Good Earth" James M. Cain gave us in "The
Moth" a novel of broader scope and more
serious purpose than his earlier work pro-
.vided. Erskine Caldwell in This Very Earth"
did his best novel in years. The last three
short stories Villa Gather wrote were pub
lished under the title of "The Old Beauty and
Others and they are fine examples of her
art.
I could recommend a fairly large group
of novels diverse in theme and treatment
I mention only few. Northern Lights" by
the French novelist, Roger Vercel is dra-
Evening star., 1948-12-05

In APE and Essence"
of what could happen
to q civilization" that
rated atomic destruc-
ton above good will.
The result he conjures
up is dreadful, but not
, at all impossible. Eve
lyn Waugh, in "The
Loved One," gives us
q picture on a smaller
canvaS-another view
of the bad taste that
seems to be Holly
woods most distinctive
Evening star., 1948-12-05
Heym's The Crusaders
Is Outstanding War Book

THE Crusaders" by Stefan Heyn, is the
best war book I've read. 1t gives comprehen-
sive glimpses of the European theater and of
men who fought there. The interplay of
character and event, the effect of one on
the other, is admirably realized There is
irony in the title. What was soldier of
honor and decency to think when he saw fell
low crusaders for democracy cinging to ra-
cial prejudice that would have pleased Hit
Ter, cheating the living and the dead by SELL
ing our supplies in the black market, black
mailing conquered people. trying to save their
investments at home at the expense of their
Evening star., 1948-12-05
Recommended

CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY, by
Alan Patton. (Scribner's; So
THE HEART OF THE MATTER, by
Graham Greene. Viking; So
THE CRUSADERS, by Stefan Heym
little, Brown; $500
THE sky AND THE FOREST, by
c. S. Forester. little, Brown; $275)
THAT WINTER, by Merle Miller
civilian Sloane Associates; $3)
Evening star., 1948-12-05
Novels of General Appeal
Are Given First Choice

Excluding several war novels Of high merit,
the finest novels of the year. in my opinion.
were compact. Their authors did not try
to extend them beyond their own powers
or to burst the mediGm of the novel into
an interminable succession of windy pages.
The five recommended novels listed on
this page ALL 1t should be explained, are
books Of general appeal They are not
less meritorious for that reason. Only one
OF them remained on best-seller lists for
long. One Or two of the others sold quite
well; the rest found only a moderate sale
The public sometimes buys literary tribe but
not always. Perhaps it would buy fewer
thlrd-rate books if more first-rate authors
troubled to hold their readers interest and
10 write within reasonable understanding
Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country"
ana Graham Greenes THE Heart of the
Matter" deal honestly and dramatically with
problems close to nearly every ones life The
books are utterly diverse in theme and treat
menu ana yet each touches universal chords.
Mr.. Patons novel is a story of tensions
and dlsunities in South Africa of the con-
sequences of white mems exploitation of
plack men in mines and factories There
also Is simpler theme closer to all of us
tather's search for his son in the mazes
OF strange city. The father happens to be
Zulu preacher, but the author makes him
no dlHerent, essentially, from a father who
mlght nave gone from village in Nebraska
to New York. Through the tragedy of the
sons discovery, deep in crime, there are
allevating touches in fellow Zulus stanch
help and in white mans sympathy and
understanding. The story is told with COM
passion and beauty.
In The Heart of the Matter" Mr.. Greene
describes the moral and spiritual disintegra-
tion of a man of good villa man who
always meant well. but made the mistake
of trying to please too many people. The
story of Scobie. the deputy police commits
have happened anywhere 1t concerns outer
strength and inner weakness, compromise
clashing with integrity-elemental, If highly
developed, facets of character. 1t is a power
full inner drama, moving with suspense to-
ward its stark ending
Evening star., 1948-12-05

~ 1948 was not year of great novels,
this was not because our noveliSts didn't
try. 1t is doubtful whether any year
- in our history brought so many am
bilious efforts. prodigious in length and
purpose-some of these books four or five
years in the writing.
Such writer's, spurred by one vast dream
or another wrote Of the war and of the I'M
easy truce; they wrote of many other things;
they delved into history. Each of their books
spraWled across 600 to 1000 pages. The au-
thors seemed to be cropping their way almost
endlessly for answers to the enigma of mod
ern life-answers they hoped to find in the
recent or distant past.
Some of them obviously set out hoping to
achieve ''the great American novel," that
literary mirage which probably will continue
to recede into the horizon of Americas i'm
mensity and diffusion.
It seems to me that unfortunately most of
these diversified novels got lost in their own
detours and never reached their goals The
best of the long drawn books were about the
war, and here the difficulty of compression is
more understandable. These novels were the
first large-scale attempts to portray phases of
a conflict whose only limits were the earth
itself. Such books required time; more ma
ture ones may come out of the reflections of
later years. The earlier war books were
briefer. and most of them gave the impress
sion of having been dashed off.
Evening star., 1948-12-05

books concern Africa
in some way, though
otherwise none in the
lie a st resembles the
others. BY way of ex-
PLANTATION, it might be
pointed out that lately
there has been q re-
crudescence Of books
about Africa - both
novels and nonfiction
and a considerable
number came out this
year.
To pick out the five
Evening star., 1948-12-05


matte story of youth and family ties
thought it better than the highly touted
French novel by Albert Camus, The Plague"
Charles Jacksons THE Outer Edges" Is .
striking piece of psychological research.
Hiram Haydn in The Time Is Noon," looks
revealingly at youth in the 192Os. Nevil
Shute's mo Highway" is unusual scientific
fiction. "The Prevalence of Witches" by
Aubrey Menen, is delightful satire.
The Naked and the Dead
And The Young Lions
Among the war books, "The Naked and the
Dead" by Norman Mailer, an unsparing
account of fighting in the Pacific, not only
was pest-seller, but melted critical paeans
There are those who think Irwin Shaw,s
The Young Lions" the best novel to come
out Of the war. James Gould Cozzens, one
of our most capable novelists, wrote in
Guard Of Honor of an airbase in Florida
'Raintree County" by Ross Lockridge, jr.
is 1,060-page fantasy on 10Th century
America This free wheeling novel was
viewed variously as an epic, an echo of Wolfe
and Proust and great jungle of words.
The tragic death of the author a few months
after its publication deprived the country
of a writer whose gifts were undeniable and
not fully realized
Lloyd c. Douglas, author of that amazing
perennial among best-sellers, The Robe"
returns to the time of Christ in his new
novel, THE Big Fisherman" This is a SYM
pathetic story of Simon called Peter and q
panorama OF the whole era of Jesus ministry.
1t is a thick book, revealing both Mr.. Doug
las virtues as popularizer of biblical his
tory and spiritual values and his faults as
a novelist. THE Big Fish erman" had q pre-
publication sale perhaps unprecedented, and
IL should rival 'The Robe" in widespread
interest
Truman Capotes "Other Voices, Other
Rooms, deserves mention for it's atrnos-
pheric brilliance, its verbal virtuosity
Inere was perhaps slight decrease in the
number OF historical novels thought Her
vey Aliens Toward the Morning" the best
written, though not the most exciting, of
those read. '"The Midnight Gardener" Max
Whites novel Of Baudelaire, was the best
biographical novel I saw. "Historicals" as
usual, occupied a conspicuous place on best
seller lists. These included Frank Yerby,s
The Golden Hawk" Taylor CaldweiIs
Melissa" and Van Wyck Mason's Eagle in
the Sky"
The trend Of several years toward novels
about racial and religious intolerance dimin-
ished definitely. Among the most effective
this year were Eagle at My Eye" by Norman
katkov, and 'The Last of the Conquerors."
by William Gardner Smith
Many other novels of interest could bs
discussed, but in brief survey only portion
OF those reviewer reads can be even touched
on. 1t should be borne in mind that anv
attempt to rate books is personal process.
with which any one is privileged to disagree in
part or in whole. And it should be added that
no reviewer can say with honesty he reads
all the novels that come out any year.
Evening star., 1948-12-05
What Washington Read ir7o48

S
WeFy
1 I
little,
SSoo1 yandAs
(Rinehar
$D
F Van WICK
COUNTY Schuster: $25OJ
BY Ross Lockridge eteL1ALoN UN IfAA
ton MTtn; by arnold j. Ioynoee fOrtord;
D. ne aOfs or MARCH
iof"'" "loer. Ha'per;
g. g. JIM FAR1EYs STORY
A. BY James
5y Ealzabeth Goudge (Cowa'd r.
McCann So
4 orc EmrJ
Tlrnbun (fac- Hull
g. EVERYBODY
BY Elliott Malone
So
TO- PARRIS MITCHELL
BY by Theodore H
& (SDdne:S4
Evening star., 1948-05-16

Petite, dark-eyed Jean Faircloth
Macarthur, wife of our commander
in Japan, is eager to come back
home.
AS a wealthy Southern girl, the
former Miss Faircloth became a
regular globe-trotter. In fact, her
marriage to the general grew out
of a shipboard romance. But now,
after II long years away from the
United States, Mrs. Macarthur
conf1des to friends in Tokyo that
she wants to return, at least for a
visit. She particularly wants to
come back for the sake of their only
child, Arthur. Now 10 years old,
he never has so much as set foot
on the United States mainland.
"Oh. what's in store for him."
Mrs. Macarthur has exclaimed to
friends in Tokyo.
Mrs. Macarthur, however, wouldn't
think of leaving the generals side
and America cannot expect a
glimpse of her until he makes his
triumphant return. Just exactly
when that will be, not even their
closest friends here will guess.
Her only thought in the world
is to see his every wish granted"
declared friend in describing the
couples great romance. And,
Gen. Macarthur, himself, is very
indulgent with his wife and son."
Mrs. Macarthur, an ideal wife
and hostess, concentrates on home
Evening star., 1948-05-16
Sirth OF Series of Articles About
Wives of Leading Presidential Candidates
Mrs. Douglas MacArtbm
Bv Malvina Sfebhenson

making. Her own program is de-
veloped in the interest of her hus-
band and son. The household clicks
with the generals schedule.
Jean does everything she can to
keep the general fit and in good
condition" a friend pointed out.
Apparently her formula works like
magic, because, according to all re-
ports, our commander in Japan is
in the pink of perfection. One
visitor who had luncheon with the
MacArthurs says he looks to be in
his Sos, despite the fact that he
has just passed So.
Except by reputation, Mrs. Mac
Arthur actually is stranger to
official Washington, the only poten-
tial First Lady not known here.
But her role in Tokyo as chatelaine
of the palatial American Embassy
gives some idea of what to expect,
if she should change her address
to 1900 Pennsylvania avenue, Dis
trict of Columbia.
Charm is the word for Jean Mac
Arthur, who came by it naturally
from her traditional Southern back
ground. Friends will tell you that
she is friendly, vivacious and thor
oughly human, always at ease in
whatever role she may be cast as
Gen. MacArthur's wife.
Asked how Mrs. Macarthur might
adapt herself to life in the White
House, a friend fresh from Tokyo
Evening star., 1948-05-16

like this. You drive up to the huge
embassy, are met by an aide at the
entrance and are escorted through
several spacious units to the huge
drawing room. There you find Mrs.
Macarthur greeting guests. On a
hot day it is like refreshing oasis,
and Mrs. Macarthur, wearing a
cool looking green crepe dress and
a double strand of pearls, accents
the pleasant surroundings.
Mrs. Macarthur never lacks for
words. She is a good conversation
alist, often regaling guests with
some amusing experience. Before
long, the phone may ring, bringing
word that the general is on his way.
If it is warm, don't be surprised to
find him wearing an army shirt, his
collar open. He makes an impress
sive appearance, no matter what he
wears. He is friendly and proves a
delightful host.
The luncheon will run smoothly,
thanks to the well-trained serv-
ants under Mrs. MacArthur's su-
pervision. She says that some Of
their old servants from the Philip
pines have returned since the liber-
ation-but that was all" of their
possessions, they have recovered
only a sterling silver service, both
fiat silver and dishes, a Macarthur
family heirloom.
Chatting about all the personal
losses that war brought, Mrs. Mac
Arthur confides that she felt heart
sick when she returned to their
hotel apartment in Manila to find
it entirely stripped. The Japs had
left nothing of the valued collec-
tions and priced mementos of a
lifetime.
Mrs. Macarthur, Of course, was
grateful that she could be with
her husband so much during those
trying times. AS is we'll known, she
and son Arthur remained to the
Evening star., 1948-05-16

became acquainted with Mrs. Arthur
Macarthur and, through her, son
Douglas. They were travelling to
the Inauguration of President
Manuel Quezon, and insisted that
she join them. So, she paused only
briefly in Shanghai, and then re-
manned in Manila a year and a
half. Friends in the United States
learned she saw a lot Of the general,
but there was no inkling of mar
riage even after her return. 1t took
place quietly in New York on April
80. 1887. and the next day they were
off again to Manila.
Their experiences, beginning with
Pearl Harbor. have been widely pub
licized and the big question now Is:
what is in store for them after
Japan?
For Jean Macarthur, 1t will al
ways be at my generals" side,
whatever fate DEGREES.
(Released by North American
Nevspaper Alliance
Evening star., 1948-05-16

last in the Philippines and then
escaped In the generals party to
Australia.
After Japan surrendered the
Macarthur family was installed in
the American Embassy and Mrs.
Macarthur, so to speak, became the
first lady of the Far East. Here
she brought much Of the charm
and gentility which marked the
gracious living in her native Ten
nessee.
The former Jean Marie Faircloth
grew up in the town of Murfrees-
boro, Tenn. She early learned to
love military display and patriotic
rallies from her grandfather, Capt.
Richard Beard, Confederate
veteran.
While Jean Marie was still little
girl her parents were divorced. Not
so long afterward her mother,
known affectionately as Miss Sal
lie,' married one Frederick Smith
Of North Dakota.
Their home life was happy and
Jean Marie was very much attached
to the son and daughter of this Sec
ond marriage. She took part in
the small-town social activities and
attended a local private school.
Later, at the insistence of her
father grown wealthy, she went
one year to the fashionable Ward
Belmont College in Nashville.
Although the two were not so
close, Jean Marie received many ad-
vantages from her father and, as
she grew older, he took her on fire.
quent pleasure trips. Beginning in
1928, there were junkets to the far
east, then to Europe Later, she took
her half brother on round-the-
world cruise, her half-sister to
South America.
In October 1885, en- route to visit
friends in Shanghai, Miss Faircloth
Evening star., 1948-05-16
assembly Ball

The summer ball of the Junior
Assembly will be given on Friday,
June IS, at the Sulgrave Club. A
few debutantes of the little season,
with Colonial background and of
resident Washington society, will be
presented.
Miss Mary-Stuart Montague Price
Is chairman of the Executive Com
mittee, and other members are Mrs.
Evening star., 1948-05-16

gave this prompt response, Jean
Macarthur would be at home
wherever she found herself"
Like Mrs. Truman, the generals
wife undoubtedly would not hold
press conferences or make public
speeches, according to those who
know her best. However, she has q
ell-developed public manner, prob
ably barking back to her training in
dramatics. She seems to enjoy
participating in public functions and
is very generous with her time in
behalf of various civic projects.
Mrs. MacArthur's individual ac-
tivities come mostly in the after
Moons. Otherwise, she is occupied
with looking after her family's per-
sonal needs and conforming the
household schedule to the unusual
hours required of the general.
Breakfast is served about 10, and
the general is not expected home
for lunch until or 2:30. The linn
tied amount of official entertainment
comes at the midday luncheon. Gen.
Macarthur is not back at his Office
before 5, then he returns home for
dinner at 8 or 9 o'clock. The couple
usually dimes alone and then watches
a movie.
81 have never known them to 60
but to one private evening party in
the whole time we were in Tokyo, y
a friend recalled. And that was a
reunion for the officers who sur
vived Bataan."
If there Is an important diplo-
matte reception, such as the cele-
bration Of Bastille day at the
French Embassy, the MacArthurs
will put in an appearance for just
a few minutes. Otherwise, they are
always at home together, dining
alone and seeing their daily movie.
A semi Official luncheon at the
MacArthurs would be something
, 1948-07-10
NOTICE
Of Registration Of Electors

During the month of August, 194S, the Registration Board
will meet for the registration Of qualified electors in each dis
trict as provided below:
At the Court House Poice) Christiansted every MONDAY.
for the residents Of Christiansted Town and Suburbs from
4 pm. until s pm. beginning August 2, 1913.
AT the Court House (Police) Christiansted every WEDNES-
DAY for the residents Of Christiansted Country District from
z pm. until pm. beginning August A, 1913.
At the Court House, Frederiksted, every THURSDAY
for the registration of Frederksted Town District from A pm.
until 8 pm. beginning August S, 1913.
At the Court House, Frederiksted, every FRIDAY for the
residents of Frederiksted Country District from A pm. until
6 pm. beginning August 6, 1913.
The meetings during the month Of September will be
announced subsequently.
All those persons previously registered need not register
except IN case OF change of residence, or continuous absence
from the Virgin Islands in excess of one year.
THE REGISTRATION BOARD, ST. croix, v. /. j. S. A
9th July A.. 1948. D. {. caneuata
Chairman Registration Board
, 1948-07-10

Elsie: Your money can buy no better milk for him than Kim. 1t is the
finest cows milk in powdered form, and it never varies in quality. 1t is
tested many times for purity, safety and made easy to digest
through the Kim process.
The Valley settler., 1948-06-18
EXTeNSIOW NOTES

F.r~ors arc requested to como to the E::t2r- sion o:'cico to fill out this yoar'a s0il C. sorvction blanks for payment on Soil Co-ecrvation this year. Thoso blanks are new and different from former years. They will bo filled out in he orfico and r,ill not be mailed out as has been dono in for nor years.
 .PcrI>or Lcstor and Narl1y?! Johnson left for So-ard or Tnurcday of this week on the train. They shipped their ear so that the! can drivo back to Hopo and across tho pon- insula to Konai. lnr. Lester said that he might fly from thoro to Homer. Miss John plans to return on tho 18th SO that sho can go to Fairbanks to attend All CG-p.
 H-H-H-H L-E Di.l1cl Club has been organ ized rh ich includes tho ojocts of. G;.rdoning, Live stock, Baking and Clothing. Hrs. Dinl1o1 is the loador.
 Neal tight left on Tuesday of this vook for tho States.
 lt,. end Yrs. CA2rlos ~ilson and daughter arrived in tho Valley on Thursday evening of this voolo. Iir. 'Filson is ro ad Of tho Soil Conservation program in Alaska.
  Poccy Yohn is ~ork1ng in her nothor'e laco in the Palmer Post offico -nilo tho latter is on a trip to tho States.