IN a magazine of limited space, it is always difficult to arrange for a thorough canvass of the new autumn books. The difficulty this year has been intensified by the fact that a number of important volumes have been delayed in their publication. I feel it to be necessary, therefore, to give a brief announcement of those books which, for reasons of space or time, we have not been able to notice thus far. Several of these will be reviewed at length in our next issue.
Life and Letters of Woodrow Wilson, Vols. III, IV, by Ray Stannard Baker. Wilson’s years as Governor and Peace President (1910-1914). A biography written with access to private letters and papers, and essential to our understanding of the man. (Doubleday, Doran, $10.00)
The Work, Wealth, and Happiness of Mankind, by H. G. Wells. In two volumes our master journalist undertakes ‘a lucid and systematic description of modern economic society.’ Informative, highly readable, with occasional power of generalization, one looks here for interesting ideas rather than finality. (Doubleday, Doran, $7.50)
The Book of the Fly Rod, by Hugh Sheringham and John C. Moore. The handsomest single volume I have seen this fall. A symposium of essays on a glamorous subject by the most personable fishermen here and abroad. There are lovely color plates by George Sheringham. (Houghton Mifflin, $15.00)
Bernard Shaw, by Frank Harris. An unauthorized biography, rambling in its progress, but chock-full of entertaining, often acute anecdotes about two extraordinary personalities. Shaw corrected the proofs and wrote a postscript. (Simon & Schuster, $4.00)
The Long Christmas Dinner, by Thornton Wilder. Six plays in one act, good to read and probably charming to act. (Coward-McCann and Yale University, $2.50)
French Painting, by R. H. Wilenski. A history and appreciation, beautifully illustrated, from Avignon to the Sur-Realists. (Hale, Cushman & Flint, $7.50)
The European Caravan, edited by Samuel Putnam. An anthology of young European writers bringing ‘the significant unfamiliar to America’s door.’ France and Spain (in translation), England and Ireland, are represented in this volume. The selections, of uncommon vision, are prefaced by biographical notes and are printed in a clear, easy format. (Brewer, Warren & Putnam, $4.00)
John Jacob Astor, by Kenneth W. Porter. The life of an American trader who with big ideas and good fortune set out to win New York. From new as well as traditional sources the author gives an able account of this early Yankee and of the great fur, tea, and real-estate business which he promoted. (Harvard University, $10.00)
Westward Passage, by Margaret Ayer Barnes. A novel, clever in plot and with plenty of puce and naturalness in its telling. A couple, ten years divorced, meet on an ocean liner and old fires are rekindled. Deft, effortless fiction with enough temptation to make you read on. (Houghton Mifflin, $2.50)
These Thirteen, by William Faulkner. Short stories of extraordinary fertility and power. A behaviorist whose method sometimes leads to obscurity, Faulkner calls for mature reading. He has talent. (Cape & Smith, $2.50)
