davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13

gan with an association with
Gen. Pershing marked by q
filial devotion on the one
hand and paternal affection
on the other, unique in such
relationships. Yet the six
years he spent as Pershing's
aide after the war deprived
him Of opportunity to be
with troops and found him,
later on, junior to officers
whom he had outranked in
France, whose duty with
troops gave them an edge.
Some of the rules Of the
game thus held him back.
But his appointment as Chief
Of Staff by President Roose-
welt (aided and abetted,
according to Marshall, by
Harry Hopkins) broke other
rules. He was pretty far
down the list of available
candidates. The rules were
that the top commander of
fighting men should have led
fighting men in battle. But
Marshalls reputation was
based on staff work. An I'M
written rule or perhaps a
wishful rule was that the
Chief Of Staff should be a
West Point graduate. Mar
shall was a VMI man. Two
other able generals were
competing. helped by many
friends, for the top Job.
Marshall's admonition to his
friends, who wanted to help
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13

him, was to keep quiet and
say nothing.
AS a schoolboy Marshall
was not a good student. In
his early manhood self
analysis, rather than study
Of successful men, convinced
him that his greatest weak
ness lay in stunning the
things that failed to interest
him, or in which he did not
do well. He corrected that
weakness by Systematically
developing within himself
a passion to excel in what
ever he undertook, and de-
liberately to learn every de-
tail about things that failed
to stimulate his interest. All
this required a self-discipline
which brought with it the
gift, or psychology, Of COM
mand.
4 =
The author Of the Mar
shall biography, Forrest c.
Pogue. is director Of the
George c. Marshall Research
Center and a military his
torian of note. He received
editorial assistance from
Gordon Harrison, a news
paper editorial writer, most
recently with the Herald
Tribune, and an author of
military studies. Their mar
rative Of Gen. Marshall's
SO years preceding his APP
pointment as Chief of Staff
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13

information, sure that his
editors will not let rigorous
relevance interfere with the
human development of a
theme that, to him and some
reader somewhere, is Of ex-
traordinary interest. Thus
the greatest fault Of La
rouSse Is that it distracts-
whatever you look up you
will find on the same page
something else unknown and
fascinating, q complete CLOS
sary Of the language Of flow
ers or of colors, or the horn
call denoting the flushing
Of a three-pronged as OPP
posed to a two-pronged stag.
(There is somebody working
for Larousse quite insane on
the subject Of significant
trumpet and horn calls. Al
most every conceivable stu
alton, past or present, can
be associated with its own
proper call, and there they
all are, I suppose 1000 of
them, not very useful but
quite charming information)
AS time went by, Larousse
developed a series of special
lied encyclopedias on many
understanding, literature,
the beaux-arts, agriculture.
astronomy. Some have been
translated into English, the
latest to appear being the
present encyclopedia of an
cient and medieval history.
Not an Alphabetical refer
ence work, 1t is a chronology
cal history of the world COW
ering the 100000 years prior
to the 18th century AID.
1t remains faithful to the
spirit of Pierre Larousse, ex-
haustive. enthusiastic. color
full. presupposing the readers
attention and interest. It's
emphasis is on political and
social history rather than on
the history Of the arts, and,
I think, on the Western
rather than the Eastern
world.
Particularly striking are
the illustrations, which are
not only profuse but so care
fully selected that even when
Of periods such as those of
ancient Rome or Athens,
where the reservoir Of sub
jects is somewhat limited,
they are preponderantly I'M
familiar. Few histories have
ever been so stunningly illus
trated, and the layout and
printing. done in Italy, dis
plays the material to full ad-
vantage. II SOW in every
wind" is Larousse's motto;
the present breeze brings
America and England a de-
lightful harvest.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13
All Were Reckoned by GeneoIogy

eron, and later by Boies Pen
rose, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound
Senator and absolute boss for
25 years, whose phobic dis
taste for physical contact led
him to avoid the essential
political tools of hand-shak-
ing and whispering.
The New City
We are glad to have con-
firrned that there has been a
transformation from this cor
rupt and contented city seen
by Lincoln Steffens to the new
city seen today by any tour
ist to independence Hall or
to the site of the former
Chinese Wall made by the
tracks leading to old Broad
Street Station. One wonders
whether, despite Mr.. Burt's
protests, this progress bears
any relation to the Old Phil
adelphians he describes. The
groups and practices which
have been preserved by this
ariStOcracy seem to survive
more because they make a
nice tradition than because
they fill a need or are enjoy
able in themselves. Since
many of these quaintneSses
are reasonably expensive even
in a city noted for inherited
wealth, it is not surprising to
find that many customs have
lapSed in recent years. Mr..
Burt is not unaware of this,
for he writes:
a.. When it comes to really
conserving anything, how
ever, Philadelphians have al
ways been flagrantly lax. Old
houses, old neighborhoodS,
old customs, old restaurants.
old regulations are abandoned
just as soon as they are out
of-date. out-of date in Phil
adelphia being usually Just
the moment when they be-
come picturesque and fash
ionable everywhere else. :"
What is left for Mr.. Burt
to describe is not of sufficient
intrinsic interest to reward
anyone Who is not a con-
firmed Philadelphiaphile. For
the rest of us it can stand
only as a comprehensive desk
size reference work into a
phase Of America that is not
as important as it should be.
JOHN BARCLAY.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13
CONCERNING FAMOUS

CONCERNING FAMOUS
WOMEN (De Claris Mu-
lieribus). BY Giovanni
Boccaccio. Translated from
the Latin by Guido A.
Guarino. (Rutgers Univer-
sity Press; $7.50O
The fame Of Boccaccio's
"Decameron" makes some
what curious the fact that
his Concerning Famous
Women" written 10 years
later during 1355-1359, has
not until now been translated
into English, for it is a fine
storybook, more sober and
moralistic than its fore
runner, but no less inter-
esting.
Boccaccio is proud of the
fact that his collection Of
biographies of 1O4 famous
women is the first ever to
be written; women were con-
sidered inferior to men, they
were little more than chat
tells, and when on rare occa-
sions they did achieve an ad-
! rnirable fame, it was usually
in becoming more masculine,
in usurping the rightful place
of men. SemiramiS, Queen of
the Assyrians, was a great
warrior; also, 1t was she and
not some cautious husband
who invented the chastity
belt. Martesa and Lampedo,
queens Of the Amazons, es-
tablished a dynasty of wom-
en- in which all male children
were killed at birth and the
girls were sent abroad,
briefly and periodically, to
acquire necessary pregnancy.
Joan was a Pope.
But for Boccaccio. woman
kind was more varied, enter
tanning and instructive. The
famous women he picks ex-
tend from Eve through the
goddesses Of Greece and
Rome and the heroines of
the Christian Bible down to
his own time-his last biog-
raphy is Of one Joanna, who
some believe was his mis-
tress. Boccaccio thinks all
myth, whether Christian or
pagan, is Of equal authority
and validity and, as Guido A.
Guarino points out in his in
PRODUCTION, differs from other
early Christian moraliSts in
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13

will fight each other" and
tops off by telling about a
biologist who put three male
Shrews in a cage to see what
would happen. VERY short
~ one Of them was killed
and eaten by the other two;
then one of the remaining
shrews killed and ate his
companion"
For some reason, this
gruesome story moved me to
poetry:
Three In a cage,
And then there tDere tho,
For there's no such thing
As the tanning OF the shreU.
TtDo In the cage.
And then there tDds one;
Just look at that
Fat little son OF a gum
What? Oh, those questions
I popped at the beginning
of this review?
Well, the answer to all of
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13

THE PERENNIAL PHILA-
DELPHIANS. By Nathaniel
Burt. little, Brown & Co.;
$1,000 to December 81,
1868; $3.50 thereafter.)
No doubt every literate an
ceStor worshipping society
needs a reliable written
source that Identifies fore
bears by name, deed, and
generation. Such reference
works are not interesting or
enjoyable reading to those
outside the group unless the
genealogical detail is, as in
the Old Testament, generous
ly interpreted with we'll
told tales about the doings
or personalities Of those an
cestorS of more than common
interest. What is needed Is a
change of pace from time to
time between the recording Of
essential fact and the hu-
manizing of the subject mat
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13

them is yes. In the first two
questions, It's the same
cat: a tortoiseshell named
Missy. In the last two, It's
the same dog: a Kerry Blue
terrier named Sean. They
both belonged to me, so it's
feckleSs for you - or for
Prof. Breland - to main
tain that these examples Of
animal life and lore couldn't
have happened.
Missy was able to drop
beads into my shoes because
she had taught herself how
to carry them in her mouth.
Sean would grab a ringing
Baby Ben, and, snarling
furiously, shift it around in
his mouth until his teeth
pressed the right button.
The next problem was to
get the clock away from
him. 1t wasn't too hard. All
you had to do was pry his
jaws apart with a small
crowbar.
CHARLES COOKE.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13
Puperbucks

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD.
Europe 11O0-135O. BY
Friedrich Heer. "a Mentor
Book of the New Ameri-
can Library; IS centsO
This is the first of the
works of a distinguished
professor of history at the
University Of Vienna to
appear in English. A re-
issue Of a book originally
published in 1861.
THE STONES OF FLOR
ENCE. BY Mary Mccarthy.
"a Harvest Book of Har-
court, Brace e. World;
$l350 First appearance in
paperbacks of Mary Nc
Carthy's admired travel-es-
say on Florence. 1t APP
peared originally in 1859.
TCHAIKOvSKY. BY Edwin
Evans. COLLIER Books;
$l.50) A new addition to
the Great Composer Series
edited by J. A. Westrup.
The author was music
critic of the London Daily
Mail and the biography
goes back to 1906.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13

mans an idea Of what a good
time is"
At A she married secretly
a French officer half her age.
Six years later, she died,
splendidly. in Paris, having
meddled successfully in most
of the great ventures of her
age.
Mr.. Andrews sketch Is
diyerting if a bit shallow.
Germaine is marvelously
entertaining, even now, and
like a good daughter of the
18th century spoke almost
entirely in epigrams. But a
little more detail and a little
more summary would give us
a better idea of exactly how
and why she was such a
power in her day.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13
Nine. de Steel Sketch
Needs Rounding Out
By MARY MeGR0RY
Star staff Writer

GERMAINE: A Portrait Of Madame de StaeI BY Wayne
Andrews. CAtheneum; $3.50
Madame de Stael was a preposterous and fascinating
Of whom her constant lover. Benjamin Con-
stan said She has mans mind and wants to be loved
like This combination Of qualities made her the
notorious and formidable grande dame of the 18th
century.
Although she complained that she had never been loved
with passion approaching her she involved al
most from the Of her marriage a dull Swedish
diplomat. in series Of hsisons which her present
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13
The Apes and the Peococks, the Birds and Bees
ANIMAL LIFE AND LORE

ANIMAL LIFE AND LORE.
BY 0smond P. Breland.
Harper g. Row; $685.
Can a cat learn to knock
three paper clips off the edge
Of a desk with one swipe of
her paw? Did a cat ever steal
at night into her masters
bedroom and drop a glass
bead into each of his shoes?
Can a dog learn to turn off a
Baby Ben alarm clock? Did
a dog ever threaten, with
barred teeth, to tear apart
any amateur pianist who
played, in his vicinity, Manuel
de Falla's Ritual Fire
Dance?"
These questions are not
asked by Prof. Osmond P.
Breland in his Animal Life
and Lore" and the answers
will be found nowhere in the
world except at the end of
this review.
But zoologist Breland-
who teaches at the Uni
verSity Of TexaS-does ask,
and answer, a lot Of other
questions in his endlessly
interesting book. Samples:
Can kangaroos climb trees?
Can frogs sing under water?
Are mud puppies poison
Gus?
Do ROSTERS ever lay eggs?
What fish's eyes "migrate?"
Will devil horses spit in
your eye?
Are sea turtles more COM
Portable on their backs?
Which animal keeps the
largest harem?
How do porcupines mate?
I may or I may not, in the
course of this review, give
you the Professors answers
to the above-it might be
more fun for you to look
them up yourselves. AS for
the two concluding questions,
I most certainly will not give
you the answers-the very
idea! (PSst! Look on page
81 and page 1922
ExpIOdes Myths
I hope you won't be too
troubled by the Professors
dismissal of a whole raft of
widespread notions about
animals.
Ostriches, 1t seems, do not
hide their heads in the sand.
Stupid as the ostrich is"
says the Professor, "he isn't
that stupid" This fable"
he says, grew up because,
when alarmed, "the ostrich
drops to the ground, stretches
his neck out parallel with it,
and listens intently." If he
comes to a decision that the
danger is real, he "Sensibly"
takes off at full gallop.
Possums do not play pos
sum.
IF attacked" says
the Professor, "the possum
sinks to the ground, its
mouth gapes. and its tongue
Tolls out" But this isn't be-
cause posSums are so sophis-
ticated that they stage this
act to feign death and de-
ceive their enemies. No sir!
Nor is it irrational behavior,
without motivation-in case
you have suddenly decided
that the poSSum is just a
crazy, mixed-up marsupial.
It's because they faint with
fear"
Is nothing sacred? For
your information, Professor,
when I came upon ground
hogs as weather prophets"
and sea serpents, existence
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13

of" in your index, I didn't
look them up. A man has
to have something to cling
to!
Here Are the Facts
Let's all cheer UP now
there's a lot beside myth
debunking in this fat, juicy
book.
The Professor tells us which
snake is the longest (the
anaconda, up to 40 feet);
which fish lives longest (the
European catfish, up to so
years.; which bird has the
widest Widespread (the alba
troSs, up to IL feet); which
bird is fastest (the peregrine
falcon, which hits up to rs
miles an hour. with duck and
geese fighting for place and
show; which mammal is the
largest (the blue whale.
weighing in at over 100000
pounds, or 1,400 Sonny
Listons).
The Professor also writes
intolerably alluring sentences.
Many people have seen what
they thought was a mother
snake swallowing her young,
but they simply misinter-
preted the snakes actions"
page 178). Imagine, if you
can, a man weighing $50
pounds eating a 300-pound
hog at one meal" (252). 1.-THE
sunfish consumes these with
greedy slurping noises which
can be heard for some dis
lance" (352). What can you
or lido but come to a full
stop and read all about it?
I am most indebted to the
Professor for his disserta-
ton on the shrew, under the
heading of THE Most Pro-
digiouS Eater"
He brings Shrews close to
us WashingtonianS by stat
ing that "the Virginia shrew
OF the Eastern U. S. is con-
Sidered by many biologists
to be the smallest mammal
species; this tiny mite
weighs about the same as a
thin dime" He goes on to
say that "if they cannot find
anybody else to fight they
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13
George c. Marshall, His Early Years

GEORGE C. MARSHALL:
Education of a General,
1SS0-1s39. BY Forrest c.
Pogue with editorial assist
ance Of Gordon Harrison.
Foreword by Gen. Omar
N. Bradley. CThe Viking
Press; S7.50)
This excellent book Is the
first Of q biographical trilogy.
Its descriptive title.
Education Of a General. !"
covers the years from Mar
shallS birth in Uniontown,
Pa, in 1880, up to the day
he took the oath of office as
Chief of Staff. September /,
1889. the day Hitler's armies
marched into Poland to be-
gin World War II.
The We t-to-be-published
second and third volumes,
THE War Years, 1939-1945"
and THE Peace Years, 1886
1859" will tell the story Of
the man everybody knew.
They may command more
popular interest than this
first volume, which deals
with the man-speaking in
relative generalitieS - that
nobody knew. And they may
furnish specific answers to
questions that emained
unanswered during the gen.
erals lifetime, including his
decisions Immediately pre-
ceding Pearl Harbor and his
own version of his futile mis-
sion to China IN the final
days of the Nationalist gov
eminent.
This first volume is best
read as prologue. 1t treats In
meticulous but not always
fascinating detail MarShall's
strictly normal and unevent-
full boyhood, his outstanding
record as a VAII cadet and
his choice, by accident rather
than design, OF a military
career.
Soon after he began that
career his contemporaries
and numerous superior
officers pointed him out as
one destined by marked abil-
ity to reach the top. But he
was a long time getting
there.
His performance as a staff
officer in World War I gave
him a reputation as a per-
fectionist in staff work that
became almost legendary.
Had World War I lasted a
few days longer, he would
have received his star as
brigadier general. He missed
1t by a hair. Eighteen long
years interviewed before the
Army'S frustrating system of
promotion, which emphasized
seniority more than merit,
allowed him to pin that star
on his shoulder straps.
His service in France be-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13

all sorts Of reference and
educational books. There may
be others Just as good, Ok
ford and Brockhaus, for
example, but Larousse has a
glorious individuality of style
that sets it apart from all
its competitors.
Since 1919 the big La
rousse Of the Twentieth Gen.
tury" has seldom been very
far out of MY reach. 1t is an
encyclopedia and dictionary
which, though certainly not
produced by one or even a
few men, still maintains the
personal feeling not only Of
its nominal predecessor but
of even earlier forerunners
such as johnson and Dide-
rot. You pick up the En-
cyclopaedia Britannica and
often have the sensation that
you are only holding a sue
cessful commercial venture
in your hands: a niggardly
knowledge is sold, with arti-
cles sometimes put together
with so little conviction that
they are assembled with scls-
sors and paste from earlier
editions. But with LarouSse.
whether the entry is of so
or $4,000 words. you invari-
ably feel that the writer is
enthusiastically in love with
his subject, embellishing it
with all sorts Of collateral
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13

ter. Unfortunately in this
comprehensive account Mr..
Burt does not exercise his
storytelling talent with suf-
ficient frequency to hold the
interest of those not already
committed to Philadelphia by
birth, residence, or necessity
of dealing with those who are
so committed.
Though the book is pre-
Scribed for the lay reader,
with no attempt to provide a
footnoted sourcebook, the in
dex contains by my estimate
more than 1000 name and
topic heads, many with CT
tations to more than one
page. With only 900 pages
of text to flesh out the in
dex, it is difficult to devote
as much as 10 pages to any
one man.
Thus the parallel of title
to Cleveland Amory's THE
Proper Bostonians" should
not lead the casual purchaser
to expect a wealth Of judi
ciouSly elaborated accounts
about the eccentricities Of the
hereditary leaders Of what
used to be Americas first
city.
Capsules
AS a further barrier to the
pleasure reader, this Phila-
delphia story is split into
separate capsules for each
individual sport, club. pro-
fession, industry, art, ETC..
with each described chrono-
logically from the beginning.
This approach creates repe-
tition or confusion, some
times both.
1t is reaSsuring to learn
that the Philadelphia As
Sembly ian adult dance group
dating from 1748 featuring,
as do all good Philadelphia
Institutions, fine food and
drink as we'll as dancing) can
still maintain an eligibility
rule based on solely male
heredity. with divorce being
an absolute bar to participa-
ton. At perhaps the opposite
end of Philadelphia activity,
Mr.. Burt captures the pecul-
lar flavor of Pennsylvania
bossism, typified first by Sem
ators Simon and James Cam
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13
TO BE REVIEWED

The following books will be
reviewed on the editorial poss
Of The Stor this week:
MoNDAY-''West and Non
West, New Pespeetives," edited
by Vero MicheIes Deem and
Harry D. Horootunion. (HoIt,
Rinehort 6 Winston.l
WEDNESDAY-"choIlense to
Affluenee," by Gunnor MyrdoI.
(Pontheon.l
FRlDAY-"The View From q
Distont Stor: Mons Future in the
Universe" by Harlow Shopley.
lBosie.l
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-13

is written against the back
ground Of the Army's de-
velopment after the Spanish
American War.
Marshall's experiences in
the Philippine occupation. in
France. in pre-World War
II China. during the days Of
the war lords. and in various
domestic posts - with due
emphasis on Fort Benning-
are skillfully interviewer with
events then current. From
the generals spoken words,
his correspondence and from
the words Of others, Mar
shall's character as a man
and a soldier and the traits
which nodded it emerge
clearly.
One knows that Marshall,
like other men, had his crit
les. perhaps his enemies.
They are not heard from in
this book. perhaps because
they refused comment. Nor
is there anything to sustain
rumor Of antagonism on the
part Of Gen. Macarthur.
Quotations from him are
highly complimentary. But
the lack Of criticism by
others is offset by the au-
thor's balanced restraint in
his choice Of illustrative and
relevant incident that reflect,
without adulation, the spirit
Of q great man.
-
Publication Of this first
volume, with the prospect Of
others to come, will fill a
gap resulting from Gen.
MarShall's own refusal, in
his lifetime. to write his
memoirs. That refusal may
have been influenced. as the
author suggests, by Mar
shalls own observation of
the bitterness and contro-
versy among men still living
which followed publication
Of the memoirs Of some of
his contemporaries Of the
two world wars. Whatever
the reason, his refusal was
in character.
With establishment Of the
George c. Marshall Founda-
ton, during his lifetime. the
general finally did agree to
tapped interviews containing
his recollectionS. These we're
supplemented by his person.
al papers and his letters,
turned over to the founda-
ton, interviews with scores
of relatives, fellow officers.
friends and aSSociates-with
microfilm copies of countless
items made available by
Presidents Truman, Eisen-
hover and Kennedy from
Government archives.
From all this material the
whole story should emerge.
The first volume is promis-
ing indication that 1t will.
B. NJ. Nick.