Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 1928)
6 THE BATT ALIGN THE LIBRARY PAGE R. H. SHUFFLER Editor H. C. GIVENS Asso. Editor J. R. KEITH Asso. Editor G. M. WREN Asso. Editor J. W. RILEY Asso. Editor It seems to be the custom for all publications of this sort to carry in their initial issues some state ments of the aims, ambitions and in tentions of the editor and his staff in presenting the said publications to the public. In accordance with this time-honored method of procedure, we wish here to give you some idea of the stimuli prompting this ac tion. Like many of you, we have found that books play a very important part in the process of education, and that they not only prove useful in this process, but even at times af ford the student much pleasure and satisfaction that otherwise would have been missed. Many of these books, we have found, deal in ideas, some in the abstract and others prac tical, in which we have become in terested. With such a common in terest, an exchange of our findings in this field has proven a very pleasurable and helpful pastime. This page we intend to use, in com mon with as many of you as are interested, as a medium of exchange for these things of interest to us all. The new books that come to the li brary, and many of the old ones we think will be of interest to the group, will be reviewed or listed on this page from time to time, and space will also be given to any con tributions, in this or relative lines, that may come to us at any time. This page is not the property of the staff alone, and we do not wish to do all of the writing that goes into it. It is published for the bene fit or pleasure of all members of the student body who are interest ed in reading and discussing good books, and it will be worthwhile only so long as the readers as a whole take an active part in its preparation. Any member of the staff will be more than glad to accept any contri butions you may wish to make, and it is our desire that as many as pos sible take a part in the writing of material. Contributions may also be addressed to Box 94 Student Ex change, or left in 94 Leggett. To the Editor of the Library Page— Dear Shuffler: Your request that I suggest some- good books for the perusal of the cultivated clientele of THE BAT TALION, and your graphic picture of hundreds of stalwart Aggies crowding thirstily around the foun tain of knowledge, fill me with mingl ed emotions of pleasure and scepti cism. As you will observe, however, from the length of this response to your request, I am resolved to ac cent the picture as a true one, dis missing any doubts as to the num ber and zeal of my readers, as be ing unworthy of one who for twelve delightful years has enjoyed the moral and intellectual benefits of constant association with the Ag gies aforesaid. At any rate, if I may venture to quote in so frivo lous a connection the Bible of Ag- gieland; whether anyone reads this or not, and whether or not any of my readers go so far as to follow my literary advise, “THERE SHALL BE NO REGRETS!” I shall have done my part, and if hereafter the readers of THE BATTALION con tinue to drag out an unenlightened existence, and descend to their graves with minds still unruffled by one disturbing idea, I for once, shall have no qualms of conscience. But first, will you be kind enough to warn your readers that in their headlong intellectual enthusiasm, they must not neglect the graver affairs which claim their first al legiance ? For example, it would give me immeasurable pain to hear that some worthy but misguided Aggie had been found during Yell Prac tice devouring the flashy pages of Bertrand Russell or guiltily gulping the heady wine of Havelock Ellisls Dance of Life. Or consider, Mr. Edi tor, what my emotions would be if it should be brought to my attention that the Corps trip to Dallas had been able to lure only a handful of particularly strong wills from the furtive delights of Charles Beard’s “Rise of American Civilization” or Will Durant’s Story of Philosophy ? I should feel myself to be a traitor to that OLD AGGIE SPIRIT of vhich I have for so long* been such a fervent and outspoken advocate, and when Goodbye to Texas Univer ity next swelled harmoniously from twenty-seven hundred hairy chests, r should be forced by my guilt and hame (if for no other reason) to hide my head and cover my ears. So by all means urge your readers to be temperate in their intellectual feeding. Was it in one of Jack Lon- ■ion’s stories that the hapless hero ^ied from an imprudent meal taken ■mmediately after long fasting?—- ’■•ut my illustration would seem not quite polite, and I hastily withdraw it. At any rate, since you ask for a ’ist of books, here it is. Taken in broken doses, it may possibly en- "ich without unduly upsetting the 'olid Aggie mind. For any rashes, eruptions, biliousness, or fits that it nay cause, I must insist on laying ^he responsibility upon the Atlantean 'houlders of yourself and the hospi- ' able EDITOR OF THE BATTAL- T ON. Sincerely, THOMAS F. MAYO, Librarian. fP. S. Of course this list does not '’oncern Seniors, who, as everybody ’-nows, know enough, if not too much, already). \ LIST OF SUGGESTED BOOKS FOR VOLUNTARY READING. ^N. B. All these books are in the Library. If they are not available when you ask for them or look them up, ask the desk assistant to put you <->n the waiting list for the book which you want. It will be reserved ? or you when it comes in, and you will be notified.) 1. The Today and Tomorrow Ser ies (consisting of some fifty titles). Each of these little books is an at tempt by a specialist who is an en- fwtaining writer, to predict the im mediate future of the world, with special reference to his own special line of development. Among the best are: Haldane’s Daedalus, an optimis tic view, and Bertrands Russell’s Icarus, a somewhat grim prediction of the future of humanity as affect ed by modern science. What I Be lieve, by Bertrand Russel, is a clear and brief statement of the general attitude of perhaps the most influ ential thinker in contemporary Eng land or America. Garet’s Ouroboros, is a clever analysis of the causes that underlie the present intense competition in advertising, and a prophecy of what must come of it. Jenning’s Prometheus is a sane dis cussion of the relative claims of heredity and environment to be con sidered as the chief force in human affairs. It is written by a distin guished geneticist, who is yet able to see the other side of the ques tion. Dr. Jennings, by the way will speak to the Science Seminar on this Campus at some time during the year. Students are urged to watch the Bulletin for the announcement of his coming and to attend his lec ture, which will undoubtedly be of absorbing interest to anyone who has wondered whether to blame his ancestors or his associates for his short-comings. Ask the desk assistant where to find the Today and Tomorrow Ser ies, look through the little books, and select the one which deals with that phase of the future with which you are especially concerned. Do not be alarmed by the queer titles, which were derived from appropriate Greek myths. (They all have plain sub titles, which will tell you what they are about.) 2. Swan Song, by John Gals worthy. This is the final story of the group of novels in which Galsworthy tries to analyze the Younger Gener ation. Fleur Forsyte is fairly typi cal though rather hard. Her young husband, Michael, is the very best type of modern young fellow; and old Soames, Fleur’s father, is the es sence of the Victorian generation. You should really go back and read The White Monkey, The Silver Spoon, and Two Interludes, to get Galswor thy’s whole point of view about the Jazz Generation. But any of the books may be read separately. 3. Marco Millions, a play by Eu gene O’Neal. This was so well re viewed in last year’s Library Page that it is unnecessary for the pres ent writer to say very much about it. He does recommend it highly, however, because it is a beautiful thing, full of the slyest and most stinging humor. O’Neal’s earlier plays, Emperor Jones, about an es caped negro convict, who set up an empire in the West Indies; The Hairy Ape, a rousing drama of a rough-neck who refused to accept the fact of social classes; Anna Christie; and Different, are all worth reading, if only as the works of the one first-rate dramatist that this country has so far produced. 4. If you have escaped hitherto from the novels of Sinclair Lewis, it is high time you read them, for they are the best satirical mirror of the American life of today. They will make you lose your temper, because they tread on everybody’s toes at one time or another. Main Street crit icizes the American small town; Babbitt makes fun of our city slick ers; (Babbitt, in the writer’s opin ion, is Lewis’s masterpiece. It has already added a word to the Eng lish language. To call a man a “Bab bitt” is to label him perfectly.); Arrowsmith points out the weak points of the medical profession, and Elmer Gantry those of the min istry. (Additions "to this list will be made every few weeks, and as new books are bought for the Library, they will be mentioned and reviewed in the Library Page.) LUCKY FISH. (“Essays in Liberal Thought,” by W. H. Thomas and S. S. Morgan). Presenting a group of essays of special interest to college students, Messrs. Thomas and Morgan have compiled a book that furnishes in teresting and thought provoking reading. Including such topics as the discussion of a world’s championship prize fight by Katherine Fullerton Gerould, and tales of a hobo by Glen Mullin, the book deals with colle giate athletics, modern philosophy, American civilization, literature, grammar, and scientific discoveries. The authors represented are men well fitted to present their topics. We find essays by newspaper men, scientists, novelists, professors of philosophy, lecturers, playwrights, literary critics, historians, English professors, editors, political writers, social workers, artists, engineers, and even an ex-hobo. The many differ ent subjects in the collection are treated by men and women who are well acquainted with their subjects and are leaders in their fields. Of course, there is the usual com ment on American civilization by a foreigner who has spent a few months in the United States, and who is consequently well fitted to tell all about it. And the author of “The Plastic Age” is also given some space. “Ringside Seats,” by Katherine Fullerton Gerould, is a relief after the flood of articles on the brutality of pugilism and the coarse tastes of homo Americaus. She views it as a classic drama rather than a pro fessional, and her description of the scene in the stadium and of the spirit of the crowd is thrilling and yet analytical. She sees beauty and dignity where others have seen only brutality. Her story of the fight is hardly one that an old fight fan would enjoy, or the type that the radio announcer tells, but it is force ful and makes a moving picture of the scene, containing a sufficient amount of emotional stimulus as well. “Appreciation of Human Worth,” by Everett Dean Martin, is good reasoning presented in a clear man ner, and it touches a phase of edu cation that is receiving an increas ing amount of attention from educa tional workers—the development of individuality. It is worth while. “Frisco, the Tramp,” by Glen Mullin, makes interesting reading. The language of the hobo, although not the best English, is strong and forceful. Mr. Mullin really asks too much, however, when he expects us to let his hobo say “Holy Smokes!” Those may have been the exact words of Frisco, but it will be a job to make me believe it. However, Frisco’s tale of his travels in a bat tery-box is everything that it should be. The entire essay is humorous, and if the author is as sincere as