FLAMES OF LIFE: A PICTORIAL PHILOSOPHY.

By William J. Bryant '25.Hanover: Westholm Publications, 1961.131 pp. $7.50.

This distinguished, fascinating, and handsome book - sixty vignettes and sixty accompanying color photographs, combining inspiration for the mind and entrancement for the eye - has but one serious fault. It should reach many thousands of readers, and this may be precluded by its cost. Forgo that fifth of 100 proof bourbon, or two or three movies, or a few choice prime steaks or delicacies. Purchase this little gem for your bedside table, and perhaps send a second copy to a cherished friend.

It's a rather unique work of art and of thought. Hundreds of books of lovely colored photographs have been published, but generally covering a specific or pertinently related subject matter. Thousands of books have been published expounding the author's philosophy or definite philosophical thought. Flames of Life, however, "has no theme. It is as random as life itself." And therein lies its charm.

Small though the volume may be, there is hardly a subject of our modern life that is not discussed or brought to mind by indirection — in choice, poignant, economical phrases or sentences. Yet turn a leaf or two and you are in the indefinite, contemplative, quiet, and enjoyable life of countless past generations - mountain climbing, fishing, hunting, seeking happiness and enjoying being alone. "The Evils of Bigness" with its photograph of the New York skyscrapers forming a background for a modern superliner, follows "Increasing the Mind's Capacity" with its photograph of a Vermont autumn-foliaged hillside reflected in a quiet secluded pond.

William Junior Bryant's interest in and contemplation of life is all-embracing, and without question progressive and cumulative. It seems relevant to point out that he is not a professor, an editor, a librarian or a professional writer - nor indeed a professional photographer. Thirty-eight years of his life were spent with one of the great machine tool companies of America in a succession of positions from part-time machinist to chairman of the board of directors. In this same period his many avocations included archaeology, reading, travel and thought.

Space prevents the inclusion of dozens of quotations, but here are two: From "Education": "This comprehension of environment reaches its ideal in the mature man - one who sees his part of the whole; who understands other viewpoints than his own; who senses the relativeness of truth, the pitfalls of dogmatism, and the essential amoral forces of nature. He can then accept life as given him with a quiet sense of humor - most essential ingredient of character with which to face the random uncertainties of being alive."

From "The End of Infinite": "The extent of time has been extended on both ends of the scale in recent years. The universe turns out to have an age of more than ten billion years. The earth's age lengthens as our measuring techniques improve. At the other end of the scale, we learn of lives of subatomic particles in terms of millionths of a second."

We trust June Bryant will not mind being labelled a well-rounded man, nor that we suggest that his stimulating, inspired, and thoroughly enjoyable book, at least partially, is a product of the Dartmouth experience - a realistic living proof of the value of a liberal arts education when assimilated, enkindled, and fanned-on by an active and inquisitive mind.