ALUMNI PUBLICATIONS

"All the Brothers were Valiant"; "The Sea Bride" by BEN AMES WILLIAMS '10, Macmillan, 1919, New York.

The present-day reader of fiction is likely to be possessed of a catholic taste, and after reading recent war-stories, sociological treatises disguised as novels, psychological analyses thinly dissected, and didactic ethical theories or moral problems cynically or even earnestly presented as romances, is glad to turn to what he calls simply a good story. After endeavoring to understand a modern reformer's idea of the actual conditions of society contrasted with his ideal, or to comprehend the motives of a complex personality whose mental processes may not be worth the probe, it is a relief to him to read a novel with no fine-drawn distinctions, a simple, concise, direct narrative of adventure.

In Mr. Williams' two sea-stories we have the epic—both the Iliad and the Odyssey — of the New Bedford whaler. In each, the captain of the vessel sets out on his long voyage accompanied by his young bride. In "All the Brothers were Valiant" he is young, inexperienced as a leader, but earnest, brave, and true; in "The Sea Bride" he is old, hard, and brutal, slowly losing his mental and physical power. The former shows growth of strength, the latter a gradual degeneration. In each story the bride is tempted, in the former by the captain's dashing brother, in the latter by a marooned young officer. In each are mutiny, brutality, fighting, vivid description, the excitement of the chase and the killing of the prey, alternating with the tedium of the days of dull waiting. Yet, in spite of the similarity of plot and of treatment, there is no monotonous repetition.

These stories show the author's thorough knowledge of his chosen field, and appear experienced rather than invented, sprung from the fulness of artistic observation. They seem spontaneous, and the narrative is natural, direct, and without circumlocution. Event follows event. We are interested in what each character says, but more in what he does, and he is constantly doing something, often the unusual and the unexpected. The characterization is not subtle but is typical; the differentiation is by what is done, with no further explanation. By a few strokes the author endows his characters with flesh and blood and places them in full life before the eyes of the reader. Their thoughts, passions, and actions are all elemental, not curious nor sophisticated. The love stories are sane, perennial, honest; and the sentiment old-fashioned but permanent.

Most of all, these books are exceedingly, sometimes breathlessly, interesting. They are somewhat melodramatic to be sure, but so was the play which Hamlet called "excellent, well digested in the scenes, set down with as much modesty as cunning." And, like Hamlet, the lover of tales of adventure will add "'Tis well, I'll have thee speak out the rest soon."

"Inside Football" by MAJOR FRANK W. CAVANAUGH '99. Small, Maynard and Co., Boston.

The impression is established at once and thereafter sustained that the author is enthusiastic for his work and enjoys telling his story. Behind the coach is the player living over again his football experiences in the development of the men under his charge. A leader is explaining his influence on men, a real leader whose confidence in his methods in itself insures sympathetic consideration by others, and makes dissenters feel the burden of proof.

Of course this does not mean that many debatable questions will not remain debatable. The book is written on the assumption that a game of football is a battle and that the season is a campaign. There are those who believe that football, as strenuous as it is, is a game after all. These devotees of sport purely for sport's sake, while delighted with many features, will condemn some methods which this military conception necessitates.

Contrasted with the clear, concise treatment of the rest of the book, the chapter entitled "Training, Diet and Injuries" is decidedly weak. When scientific terms and statements are used they should be scrupulously accurate as their very use presupposes accuracy. To bring this chapter to the level of the rest of the book its subject matter should be scientifically and expertly treated in the light of modern investigation.

Insistence on maintenance of scholarship and unimpeachable amateur standing is no less gratifying because expected by those who know the author's work at Dartmouth.

In a clear, forceful, logical treatise, Major Cavanaugh frankly and without reservations has placed at the disposal of the reader a system of football which has produced wonderfully successful results. He is to be congratulated.

The Red Book for December contains the "Black Pawl" by Ben Ames Williams '10. This novel is continued in the January issue.

The following articles by Dr. William R. P. Emerson '92 have recently appeared: "Is your Child Underweight" In the August, 1919 number of the Woman's HomeCompanion, "The Climb to the Normal Weight Line" in the September issue, "Your Child's Good Habits" in the October issue, "The Habit of Health" in the November issue, "Does Your Child Get Tired?" in the December issue of the Woman's Home Companion, "The Community Nurse and Nutrition Work" appeared in The Puiblic Health Nurse for October. "Nutrition Clinics and Classes; their Organization and Conduct has been reprinted from the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal.

The Macmillan Campany have just issued "The War with Mexico" by Justin H. Smith '77. The work is issued in two volumes and will be reviewed later.

"An Income Tax; Pro and Con by the Hon. Albert O. Brown '78 appears in the issue of the Granite Monthly for January.

"The Life of Dante Alighieri" by Charles Allen Dinsmore '84 has been published by the Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. This will be reviewed in a later issue.