Evening star., 1954-10-10


children were dull and lifeleSs,
or inaccurate as Parson
Weems' story of George WASH
ington and the cherry tree.
The great men of the past
were stuffed shirts, the women
were stiff as marble statues,
and history was q collection Of
meaningless dates. Gradually,
styles in writing history and
biography have improved.
It is no rare thing nowadays
to see a youngsters eyes SPAR
kle when he sees a new biog-
raphy. Real people" has be-
come a magic label that opens
wide a door to the past. Biog-
raphies have become the rage
for children and young adults.
Boys Life of Lincoln
One of the pioneers in MAX
ing great men into real people
for younger readers was Helen
Nicolay. She grew up in WASH
ington, in the shadow of Lin
coin, but her awareness Of
greatness was lightened by her
humor and wit. In her "BOy's
Life of Lincoln" (Appleton-
Century: So and other biog-
raphies, she did not dis
tort facts but used them to
make her subjects-many of
them Presidents-emerge as
human beings.
It is this formula-if it is
a formula which distin-
guishes the best of the mod
ern biographies. Letters and
diaries have yielded their Sc
crets to persistent authors.
And out of many intimate de-
tails, a new understanding and
a new sympathy for the past
has emerged.
Youngsters with their eyes
on the future devour eagerly
the dramatic stories of pio-
neers and princesses who have
made history. Their reading
gives them an understanding
of the words carved on the
Archives Building: WHAT is
PAST IS PROLOGUE.
Fomous Queens
In "Queen Elizabeth and the
Spanish Armada" CRandom
House, $1.50) Frances VIM
war takes a new look at an
old subject. The chapter titles
and much of the dialogue are
based on a clever quotation
from 10th century sources,
with a sparkle all its own.
Many closeups of Elizabeth's
court reveal the reasons for
treason and treachery. the
cruel practices of kings and
courtierS.
Even though you know the
outcome, who would refuse a
ringside seat when the Span
ish armada sails over the
horizon to invade England?
If you could have followed the
battle from an observation
plane, you would not have
seen half, nor understood half.
as much as is told in this
vivid running account.
Invaluable for contrast is
Marian Kings young Mary
Stuart" -Gippincott, $2.5O.
This is the other side of the
coin, the romantic and glamor-
Gus life of a royal princess.
the center of intrigue at the
French court. Again, the au-
thor has re-created scene after
scene with great skill. Those
who follow the daily routine
of modern princesses will find
much to wonder at in the way
that princes and princesses
played and studied, hunted
and danced, were married and
crowned In those long ago
days. And the letters they
wrote!
Indion Heroes
A sympathetic change In our
attitude toward the American
Indian is shown in new books
in which they are no longer
Jumped as liars, thieves and
murderers. Cochise, the Apache
Indian leader. is an OUT
standing example. Two ex-
cellent f1ctionized biogra-
phies, both based squarely
on fact, appeared last year.
One was by Oliver La Fargo,
another by Edgar Wyatt. Now y
a third, Broken Arrow" rath-
er longer and more detailed.
retells the incredible story Of
white mems treachery and red
mems revenge.
When Cochise was betrayed
he vowed that 80 white-eyes
must die for every Indian
slain." And he kept his word
in this, as in other matters,
although he had less than
three hundred Apaches in his
stronghold against thousands
Of white soldiers. Broken Ar
row." by Elliott Arnold little,
Brown, $3), is q young readers
edition Of ''BloOd Brother"
Another moving story Of
broken promises and Indian
martyrdom u told By May !