BOOKS: Pulitzer Award to Find Slim Pickings for 1953
If a scanning-over and recollection of titles of books published in 1953 is any indication, there will be no Pulitzer prize awarded for American fiction next year.
It's not that nothing of interest appeared, but it doesn't look as if there's a worthy candidate for what should be a worthy prize.
The biggest publishing news in American fiction was proabbly Saul Bellow's "The Adventures of Augie March," a big, gusty book which succeeded in confusing, at least in part, a good many critics.
The spate of World War II and service fiction continued, but with nothing of the caliber of previous years. Life magazine printed James A. Michener's "The Bridges of Tokyo-Ri," but the critics were not too kind, contending the book was a contrived bit of propaganda for the Korean war. "Battle Cry" by Leon M. Uris was much better. "Far from the Customary Skies," by Warren Eyster, and "The Deep Six," by Martin Dibney, continued, inadequately, in the "Caine Mutiny" tradition.
A strictly non-fictional report of Korean war injured, interestingly enough, was probably the year's best "war story." It was W. L. White's "Back Down the Ridge."
There was other interesting fiction—Ernest K. Gann's "The High and the Mighty," an entertaining story of a Honolulu to San Francisco flight; Conrad Richter's "The Light in the Forest," about a repatriated Indian captive 200 years ago; John Phillips "The Second Happiest Day" done in the vein of the author's father (John P. Marquand).
Foreign fiction produced the still best-selling story of one of Napoleon's mistresses. "Desiree," by Annemarie Selinko; "The Echoing Grove," by Rosamond Lehmann; Mika Waltari's "The Dark Angel," by the author of "The Egyptian"; Eric Ambler's thriller; "The Schirmer Inheritance"; Andre Maurois' "Lelia," a biographical novel of George Sand, and Joyce Cary's "Except the Lord."
Publishing news was, and still is, the celebratee Kinsey report on women. But there was other non-fiction of a startling nature, notably "The Secret Diary of Harold L. Ickes," which is being roundly denounced by both Republicans and Democrats criticized in the diary by the fabulous Old Curmudgeon.
Charles A. Lindbergh returned to literary prominence with his fine reminiscence of the New York to Paris flight, "The Spirit of St. Louis." Lord Jowitt drew vigorous denunciations from many American political thinkers with "The Strange Case of Alger Hiss," which indicates that the earl is pretty dubious about the guilt of the controversial Hiss. Secret papers of Adolf Hitler and the memoirs of Franz von Papen threw new light on Der Fuehrer and his many obsessions.
Some books can be regarded as disappointments. "Too Late the Phalarope," by Alan Paton while a striking and effective story in many ways, was a letdown after "Cry, the Beloved Country." Churchill's final history of World War II. "Triumph and Tragedy," may be the weakest of his six books. John Hersey's "The Marmot Drive" is still puzzling readers and critics—what is he trying to say?
A few other books that attracted attention should be listed—"Charles Dickens: His Tragedy and Triumph," Edgar Johnson; Maurice Herzog's mountain climbing epic, "Annapurna"; "Prince of Players: Edwin Booth," Eleanor Ruggle;s the Holmes-Laski Letters; "The Legendary Mizners," Alva Johnston, an expansion of New Yorker "Profiles"; Allan Nevin's brilliant history, "Study in Power: John D. Rockefeller"; "North from Malaysia." Justice William O. Douglas; "A House Is Not a Home," Polly Adler, reminiscences of a madam; "Call Me Lucky," the Bing Crosby autobiography; "India and the Awakening East," Eleanor Roosevelt; "Brother to Dragons," a novel in verse by Robert Penn Warren, and "Robert M. La-Follette," a two-volume biography by LaFollette's widow and daughter.—R.D.
T H E G LORIFICITY OF AL TOOLUM. By Robert Alan Aurthur. New York: Rinehart & Company. 1953. 244 pages.
The world of advertising—newsaper, magazine, television, radio, agency—has come in for a good deal of comment lately, friendly, and otherwise. And apparently it's the advertising people who are doing the writing, for there's a ring of authenticity that otherwise couldn't be obtained.
One of the more amusing and at times discerning take-offs on advertising and its people is Robert Alan Anthur's "The Glorification of Al Toolum." Television viewers may recall seeing it on Television Playhouse Sunday, Dec. 27, where it naturally was whittled down to meet the requirements of one hour. What it's about is what happens to an American family when the father is tagged—by the Machine—as Mr. Average, or, specifically, Yankee Doodle.
The same theme came along, interestingly enough, on another television show the following Tuesday, with Robert Sherwood's TV debut, "The Backbone of America," "Al Toolum" came off a little the better, perhaps because its cast and situations seemed more realistic.
Al Toolum and wife Emily live in Fernvale, Long Island, where they are touched yet untouched by the hullabaloo of the big city nearby. Al works in a factory. Emily has the chore of bringing up Herman, the athlete; Sherman, the poet, and Little Louie, the problem child. She gets occasional assistance from Al.
Sherman, the poet, enters contests, filling in the last line of jingles, telling why he likes certain products in 25 words or less. Things like that. He enters his dad in the Yankee Doodie contest and, because Al fills the bill of what a big advertising firm considers (with the help of the Machine) to be the average man, he is named Yankee Doodle.
There are certain complications, however. Al is given to coming forth with the wrong, the un-average, answers. On a television panel he gets in a tiff with a smoothe State department man. He joins something called the League to Free the Pacific Peoples, an innocent enough outfit that is tagged red by the ad agency big shot. Then his wife Emily gets herself thrown in jail for leading the Minute Maids in a super-market demonstration aimed at cutting high prices.
On top of all this trouble there is the problem of Little Louie, aged five and a half, who is convinced he won't live to be six. The Toolums finally take Louie to a Child Guidance clinic, where he gets what Emily refers to as the Roaring Shock test--ink blots, you know.
"The Glorification of Al Toolum"
ends on a happy note. It's far from being a classic, but it's a human story about real people and what can happen to them when they're thrown into a completely foreign situation. Aurthur, the writer, has a knowing touch, which he also demonstrates in frequent television plays for the Television Playhouse (one of TV's top dramatic shows) and also for Sunday evening's pleasant and absolutely un-world shaking Mr. Peepers. —RD
GREAT ESCAPES. Selected and edited by Basil Davenport. Pocket Books, Cardinal edition.
410 pages. 35 cents
The incredible determination to escape shown by persons who have been held prisoner by "jailers, assassins, executioners, savages, enemy soldiers, and even a sea monster" is recorded in the 23 escape stories in this book.
A pretty good example of one of the more amazing escapes, that of Baron Trenck, from Magdeburg prison in 18th century Saxony, is summarized in the descriptive blurb on the back cover of the book:
"One end of an enormous chain was fixed to my ankle, the other to a ring built into the wall. They riveted another huge iron ring around my naked body, to which was hung a chain fixed to an iron bar as thick as a man's arm, at each end of which was a handcuff. The stone wall of my cell was six feet thick. The doors were double, of oak, two inches thick."
A paper-back, "Great Escapes" is an amazing collection. Almost all of the stories are historically authenticated, and they run from the 12th century B.C. through World War II.
While some of the selections are done in third person, several are in diary form.
Needless to say, Baron Trenck found a way to overcome these temporary difficulties, as did the heroes and heroines of all the other stories in the book.
"Great Escapes," indeed. Great reading. At 35 cents, too great a bargain to miss.
Page 2 University Daily Kansan Wednesday, Jan. 6. 1954
Tom Stewart
Hidden Idea Possible Behind Troop Changes
The armistice in Korea has been in effect for five months and the United States has decided to diminish its ground strength in that Asian country. We are diminishing our ground strength and will continue to do so, at least so says President Eisenhower.
By this move it appears that the Republic of Korea is on its feet more than at any time since the start of the Korean hostilities. It also appears that the United States has a striking force greater than it has had before in Korea.
But this move may have some hidden purpose—hidden, but yet necessary. The Soviet aggression has become more apparent in other parts of the world. More recently, it has become very apparent in the Tibetan regions with the Communist breakthrough to the borders of Siam.
There is also the German split which must be reckoned with.
The move to pull troops from Korea may be a disguised move to enable experienced fighting men to be ready for immediate shipment to Europe and other parts of Asia in event of a UN police action or possible all-out warfare.
Even though the recent Russian "peace" moves have been met highly throughout the world, their moves could be a softening-up process which would enable Russia to gain prominence in the world of all peace-loving nations only to blow up that dream of world-wide peace with total war or aggression in another country.
Undoubtedly, President Eisenhower, the person who ordered the reduction in Korea, is well aware of the risks which must be taken to keep alive the possibility of peace in the world. He is also aware that Communist forces are ready to strike at any time—a move which, with the United States' atomic power, would easily appear to be futile.
Perhaps the Russians do not believe that the UN would see fit to use atomic weapons in case of another aggression similar to that in Korea. More important, perhaps they have weapons which are as deadly as the ones which the U.S. owns, a possibility that at the present time does not seem probable.
Another possible reason for the withdrawal of troops in Korea is that of cutting down on military expenditures. President Eisenhower is too much of a military man to lessen our defenses, though, just to keep down the budget. Both the President and the United States learned too tough a lesson in 1941 to forget in just 12 years that not being ready for war costs far more in human lives and money than does an adequate defense.
The main reasons behind the cut-down of strength in Korea have not been announced, but it is apparent that there could easily be more than the surface shows.-Ed Howard.
LITTLE MAN ON CAMPUS
by Dick Bibler
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