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Show Understanding cf Lillle-Iinovra Dusky Prize Fitters Penned Recalls Life of Battling Siki; Another . Woman of War in Print " "y PAUL W. whits 'i NEW YORK, May 31 (UP) In a year marked by a dearth of first class novels it Is difficult to understand why none of the book clubs failed to seize upon "Poor Nigger," I by Orlo Verganl. (Bobbs-Merrill.) Here Is a man's story As to how close the Georjje Bovkln of "Poor Nigger" re- emble th late Battling Blkl there 'may be some doubt. But a reading read-ing of thia novel wll create a bat ter understanding of those few-darkened prise fghura who, regarded aa a mijctur f down and savage, battle their way to tha front In pugilism. . f VerganL whose Italian la expertly translated by W. W. Hobaon, wrltea . with an exclamatory aweep. Whether hta scene la a Mediterranean waterfront, water-front, a prtx ring or a Jungle Ver gant la able to produce an Intense and forceful picture. Th fight between be-tween Georg and th light heavy weight champion must rank aa on of tha moat thrilling descriptions of a bout ever penned. Th month' prli for naivete eombined with more or leaa vulrar aophlatlration ehould go to "On Woman'a War," publiahed by Macau Mac-au ls.r. Thia volume purpota to ha th authentic memoir comprising diary excerpt and Interspersed comments of a young woman who served aa nurse and canteen worker work-er during th war. The author's anonymity la preserved, but it Is quite likely that ah la not exactly a eomplet stranger to lieutenant John J. Nile, th collector o( "Song My Mother Never Taught Me." What la most amasing In thoaa reminiscence If w accept them aa genuine 1 th scant effect tha war bad on the writer a perceptions. percep-tions. Aa aa) example It appeara that aha -la much mora interested in recording a new alang phras than, in describing a battle taking place within a few mile of her canteen. Home Idea of the atyl may be gained by theae literary gems t.tkea from the flret few paxes: "Don t fall for this continental education racket; It'a a flat tire"; "The Count had savvy enough not to ehortrtr-eut ehortrtr-eut hia meal Uiket by laying hot hand a on me" but perhaps that enough,' One of th ableat of raoent biographies biog-raphies Is "Charlemaan. first of the Mod erne," by Charle Edward Russell (Houghton Vlffln). Russell credits th Inconstant and Inconsistent Charles with many vlrtuea. chief among them a aln-cerlty aln-cerlty that led to a number of last-' lng reforme auch aa the. origination origina-tion of th pubilo achool. "In all wave he was a ha-man." ha-man." Russell wrltea and hia blof raphy haa bo portrayed him. i The royatery auory enthusiast, making up a Hat for books to take away on a aummer vacation might well include: "Best English Detective Detec-tive Stories of llll" (Horac Lhr-erlght) Lhr-erlght) and "The Death of Cosmo Rovers" (Crlm Club). Mora r less sereensl ....... . , . rrom th ctand point of applause ap-plause H. V. Kaltenborn woa tha recent censorship forum before tha bookseller's convention. There followed. fol-lowed. In order. Mary War Dennett. Den-nett. Morris Ernst and John 8. Sumner. ... Clifford M. Sublett, Denver novelist, will b out next fall with the flrat of a trilogy depleting phases of wsstern history. . . Rosamond Lehman, whose "Duity Answer waa a beat aeller bar several seasons ago. la th . author of "A Note In Music" to b published In September. . . . Although Frank K. Notch'a "King Mob," attacks th book club th Book-of-th-Month club baa recommended It to lta readers. ... "Point Counter Point." Aldou Huxley's beat aeller. baa been banned by tha censor of tb Irieti Ft sum. . . . Among recent arrivala In New Tork ar KeUx Saltan, author of "Bamtol." Coemo Hamilton and hia brother. MaJ. A. Hamilton Globe. |