THE NOBEL PRIZE TREASURY

, ed. byMarshall McClintock '26. Doubleday, 1948,pp. 612, $4.00.

In this age of anthologies, editors must find it difficult to think up new reasons for putting old materials in what they hope is a marketable form. Usually the success of an anthology depends less on the idea behind it than on the editor's ability to choose his material. The idea behind this anthology is mediocre. Since no book of six hundred pages could give you enough material to critically judge the value of the Nobel Prize this anthology is of little use for critical purposes. If the Nobel Prize is merely taken as a standard of excellence the book might as well have been called "Good Writing"—indeed, better have, since the editor could then have included selections from great moderns who did not get the prize.

Nevertheless, this anthology contains a large amount of excellent writing. Everyone who likes to read will find much in this volume to his taste.