Newspapers / Zebulon Record (Zebulon, N.C.) / July 30, 1937, edition 1 / Page 14
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Neros Double THE PRETENDER. By Lion Feuchtwanger. 440 pp. New York: The Viking Press. $2.50. Almost legendary is the story of the manu mitted slave who bore such an amazing re semblance to the Emperor Nero that he was used after Nero’s death as his double—to the point that he was able to rule in the dead Emperor’s place, and by his rule arouse the Roman world to madness. This obscure event on which Lion Feucht wanger has based "The Pretender” is more than legend, however, since references to it can be found in Tacitus, Suetonius, Dio Cas sius, Zonaras and Xiphilinus, as well as in the Apocalypse of John and in the Fourth Book of the Sibyl. "The Pretender” is the story of a potter in the city of Ecfessa, who had been a slave, and who was given the power of an Em peror. It tells of this mad impersonation, as it was engineered by a small group of influential citizens who saw in the resem blance the opportunity to capitalize on the death of their ruler. When Nero died, there was cause for re joicing in the Rome he had ruled with such cruelty. There was less joy in the East, how ever, for Nero’s rule of the Tigris-Euphrates valley had been tolerant. It was because there were such conflicting feelings con cerning the dead Nero that the ex-slave Ter ence had his opportunity to rule in the con quered Eastern provinces. And rule the fraudulent Emperor did, so ruthlessly that his inevitable downfall was precipitate. As in his historical novels, "Josephus” and "The Jew of Rome,” Lion Feuchtwanger has brought the past to vivid life in "The Pre tender.” Those who like their fiction tinc tured with the authenticity of some history, no matter how slight, will find Mr. Feucht wanger's latest book a rare treat. Wro<e IBc k st Spllrr wmL 5Lg Pinchot, N. Y. GLADYS HASTY CARROLL Young American author who»e "Neighbor to the Sky" het become a belt teller. Alaskan Journey NORTH TO THE RIME RINGED SUN. By Isohel W. Hutchison. 262 pp. New York: Hillman-Curl. Since Miss Hutchison was recently awarded the Mungo Park Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, it can be taken for granted that the story of her travels through Alaska, as recorded in "North to the Rime-Ringed Sun,” is the result of well-trained powers of observation. Apart from this official sanction of her ability as an explorer, Miss Hutchison is an engaging raconteu. of the things she has seen and the stories she has heard. With a friendly, easy style she describes Alaska in such away that the reader gets a finely rounded picture of our sprawling north western possession. Proving her skill as an authoress, she dpes this largely through tell ing of the people she finds in Alaska—Es kimos. old sourdoughs, and new settlers. And. with great effectiveness, throughout the book sbe graciously steps aside and lets her Alaskan acquaintances speak for them selves. As a result we get frequent vistas of Alaska from the viewpoint of the people who know the country best. The book is persuasive reading, and will be found particularly so by those who dream of places where adventure can still be found. There is much of this yet to be found in Alaska, and Miss Hutchison makes the pros pect inviting. But for those not contem plating the trip, an excellent substitute is "North to the Rime-Ringed Sun." The Book Mark^ * By Joseph C. Keeley Post-War Germany THREE COMRADES. By Erich Maria Re marque. 480 pp. Boston: Little, Brown & Co. $2.75. It is almost unfortunate that Erich Maria Remarque wrote "All Quiet on the Western Front,” since subsequent books will always evoke comparisons with that masterpiece. That was the case when he finished "The Road Back,” and the same comparison must be made now that he has completed "Three Comrades” after the passing of six years. No apologies are in order because this new Remarque Hbok is of less heroic pro portions than "All Quiet on the Western Front.” It is in its own right an excellent novel, and only because of the author’s pre vious achievement is it necessary to make use of that annoying phrase "not quite.” The three comrades are young men who, in the year 1928, are earning a meager liv ing as automobile repairmen living on the outskirts of a large German city. The war in which they had participated together has returned them, unstable creatures, to a world that has no stability. Upon their generation is crowding a new youth which under stands little of the lesson taught by the World War. In this brutal, materialistic world the three friends manage to hold their own, and the chaos about them disturbs but little their friendship. It is in the midst of this scene that Patricia Hollmann enters, found by Bobby, the youngest of the three, on his birthday. Pat becomes one of them, and the love of the girl for Bobby, and the mutual comradeship of the three men and the girl become the story of the "Three Comrades.” While not of the scope of "All Quiet on the Western Front,” this book is another "must” for your list. It is one of those rare books that you cannot bear to have out of your sight once you read the first page. Gallic Humor THE SCANDAUs OF CLOCHEMERLE. By Gabriel Chevallier. 3 18 pp. New York: Simon & Schuster. $2.50. The publishers of "The Scandals of Clochemerle” are fair enough to warn pro spective readers not to venture into its pages if they are allergic to rough. Rabelaisian humor. The point is well taken. This ac count of the stirring events in the little French town of Clochemerle is, as the pub lishers say it is, "completely irreverent and unregenerate.” At the same time it is enjoyable in its corporeal wit. Sometimes in the form of rowdy slapstick and at other times in the form of sly satire, the book pursues its way with a merriment that is as intoxicating as the heady Beaujolais wine that is the prod uct of the region’s vineyards. "The Scandals of Clochemerle” is the story of a town divided against itself be cause of the erectior of a public edifice. In passing, it may be pointed out that the edifice is the French equivalent of the American comfort station. The townspeople array themselves into two camps, those who oppose the edifice in all its implications, and those who advocate it. The events leading up to the building of this specimen of sanitary engineering, and the turbulent happenings that it caused— even to the disruption of a Geneva Disarma ment Conference—cannot be related here. Nor can any but the fainter idea be given of the vivacious characters who participate in the scanJals. Provincial French as these characters are, they have been delineated in such away diat they will be recognized as universal types. You may or may not enjoy. “The Scandals of Clochemerle," depending upon your tem perament, your blood pressure and possibly your religious upbringing. But if you don't like it, don’t say you weren’t properly warned. "The Road to Happiness,” by Dr. Charles Gray Shaw, Professor of Philosoph, at New York University, and to be published by Hillman-Curl in September, will be a guide to a simple philosophy of happiness in life. "England Expects Every Man to Do His - Duty,” by Quincy Howe, and published by Simon & Schuster in July, is described as a book that will "show how the same in fluences that brought the United States to the rescue of the British Empire in 1917 are pushing the country in the same direction in 1937.” Ex-I*reniier Author _ • International New* Photo LEON BLUM addraising a political meeting in front of a gianf por trait of himself. His book, "Marriage," has just been published by Lippincoft. Out Os The West MEET MR. LOCHINVAR. By Marie Bliz ard. 284 pp. New York: Arcadia House. $2.00. _ The imaginary hero of a pretty young keeper of a bookshop causes a great deal of trouble in this romance whose setting is Maine. Cecily Stuart, the attractive librarian, annoyed by the remarks of catty friends, picks a hero for herself our of one of her books—and promptly the difficulties begin, • Because, hardly has Cecily taken "Philip Callen” out of the book than rivals appear in the forms of two real Philip Callens. One is a suave Easterner, while the other is a whimsical young Irishman from out of the West, who chose to be called "Mr. Lochin var.” Os course, confusion results, as does mys tery and romance. But the story has been adroitly worked out by Marie Blizard, so that the complications seem plausible and interesting. OUT OF THE CALABOOSE Lee Forest’s best-seller, "Rebels’ Rendez vous,” published by D. Appleton-Century, was written while Mr. Forest was in jail. The author was not serving time, though— he just lives in jail as a regular thing. The jail is in Tyrone, New Mexico, which was a boom town during the World War. But after the war the town's population dwin dled, and it eemed as though Tyrone would become another ghost town. TTien a num ber "of well-to-do people moved into the place, among them Lee Forest. Mr. Forest decided the old calaboose would make an excellent studio. It is perhaps ironical that in the confines of the ex-prison he wrote "Rebels’ Rendezvous," a story of fierce, hardy mountain rovers. JOB WANTED An unusual letter of application for a job was recently received by Hillman-Curl. The writer of the letter, a new gollege graduate, stated that he had just finished reading "They Sold Themselves,” which Hillman-Curl publish. He had learned many things about job-hunting from the book, said the young man, and be was employing in this very letter the technique suggested in the book. "If you are sincere in publish ing this-technique,” he said, "you cannot refuse to give me this joL * want.” The most amusing part of the whole affair was that the job-seeker, in his letter, had done just the opposite ol everything that Ijad been advocated in “They Sold Themselves.” P. S.—He didn’t get the job. FOOD FOR THOUGHT Since publishers credit word-of-mouth advertising for such a large proportion of book sales, it is this writer’s opinion that Harper A Brothers have another best-seller on their hands in "Serve l t Forth.” Although the book has been out only a short time its merits have been dinned in my ears by at least a dozen friends. In case a friend hasn’t already told you, "Serve It Forth” is a book FOOTNOTES Court Matters THE ART OF TENNIS. By Henri Cochet. 182 pp. New York: Hillman-Curl, Inc. $1.50. Henri Cochet, the famous court wizard who was a member of the French Davis Cup Team that wrested the cup from Amer ica in 1927, presents in "The Art of Tennis" an easily followed yet highly detailed ac count of how tennis should be played. Illustrated with scores of action photo graphs and diagrams, the book is one that should help to correct many of the cus tomary beginners’ faults, and at the same time give some practical pointers to expert players. There is little time wasted by M. Cochet in talking in generalities. With a brief re minder that there is such a thing as sports manship and a philosophy of sportsmanship, he starts right in to explain how the reader should decide on his style of playing. From this point the book is entirely teaching. Like all positive teachers, M Cochet dis cards what he considers useless fetishes. For example, the matter of attaching great im portance to the grip. Os course such a stand will undoubtedly arouse those of the opposing school of thought, but the author makes his point very convincingly. For that matter he makes all his points convincingly. And, excellent and enthusi astic mentor that he is, he makes tennis sound very easy. So easy that your reviewer will be on the courts bright and early tomorrow —just to see. To Look Forward To "Oh, Say, Can You See!” by Lewis Browne, and published by Macmillan on August 17, will tell of the mad adventures of a young Soviet scientist who comes to America to do marine biological research in California. "If War Comes,” by Major R. Ernest Du puy and late Major George Fielding Eliot, and published by Macmillan on July 27, is a picture of the world's war strength today and how the nations are moving into posi tions that will be most favorable "if war comes." "Russia Twenty Years After,” by Victor Serge, and published by Hillman-Curl in September, will describe the land of the Soviets from the viewpoint of a former high official of the Comintern, who was banned from Russia after one of the recent trials. about food and lovers of food, from the time of the Pharaohs to today. After having lis tened to so many adjectives. I'm convinced it must be a most commendable book KNOW ABOUT RILEY? If you happen to know something about the origin of the expression "The Life of Riley,” the editorial staff of Alfred A. Knopf would like to hear from you. This publish ing house is issuing a novel by Harvey Fer guson called "The Life of Riley,” and is curious to know more about the original Mr. Riley. It couldn t be, of course, that Knopf would like to see a controversy over this phrase carried on in newspapers. That might cause publicity! NEW ASSIGNMENT That colorful young Southerner, James Street, whose stories of Americana have a wide following, has left the New York World-Telegram, where he was one of that newspaper’s ace feature writers, to give u° r L t,me t 0 articles and nooks. If at some future time you notice in his books an occasional reference to radio it may be traceable to an assignment he is now doing. Radio Guide, the weekly listen ers nAgazine. has engaged Mr. Street to do aliT'esT ° on broadcasting's person- NINETY-ONE YEARS IN PRINT D. Appleton-Century Co. boast of the fact that among the titles on their publication list are three which have beenkept roo tmuously m print for ninety-one years. Sermons, Pulpit Cyclopedia and Ministers' Companion, and "Cyclopedia of w D ° Ctor Jahcz Burn *- The three books have rolled up a record of i 5 j>etween them, and sales general average year in and year out.
Zebulon Record (Zebulon, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 30, 1937, edition 1
14
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