Show BOOKS ABOUT AMERICA books about america by english authors and books about england by american authors are not ao esarco as to demand moro than a passing notice tho thing that la noticeable is a tendency to improve the quality of the matter put into them when dickens visited america he made rather a tool of himself by his ill natured comment upon some ot the new edges of american civilization after his time came a more careful class of english writers who confined themselves to poking patronizing tun at ahls beloved republic still later came in land of who really tried to appreciate america but who tailed rather because of the lack of breadth of view than from want of intention to do something worth while la this class falls the beoh of sara jeannette duncan entitled those delightful americans she introduces us 10 an english couple who como to america for a few aleks impressions and who appear to have remained all summer at the expense of their american hosts engaged in a strenuous effort to pull off the betrothal of an english lord to a rich american girl the intrigue which is rather flat Is redeemed in the end by engaging the rich girl to au american and causing the to fall genuinely irl love ith another american girl mho has no money the line of americans to whom we arc introduced may be quite common in now york but that tact need not have given the author a license to assume that they were also common to san francisco wad interior cities for they are not they are strictly from brooklyn the main object of taft book seema to ba to comment upon the most obvious difference between america and england as it they were something very vital this particular author had been the first to discover it may be of some curious interest to know that what we call shoes are known in england as boots but it ia of no importance so long as people can walk in either the book is not much above the grade of prattle except whore it tails below the grade of slang one incident or two incidents ure bright and pointed but on the whole one soon tires of kl nd of book and turns with a sense of relief to authors like bryce and morley who appear lo 10 have risen superior to the discussion of mere americans in the philosophic con ot america |