Tuesday, June 20, 1959 Summer Session Kansan
BOOKS
Page 3
Assistant Professor of Journalism
THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE, by Charles Darwin. Bantam 59 cents.
CHARLES DARWIN: EVOLUTION AND NATURAL SELEC TION edited by Bert James Loewenberg, Beacon, $2.25.
On Dec. 27, 1831, a vessel called the Beagle put out from Plymouth harbor. Aboard was a young man named Charles Darwin, who had been an only fair-to-middling scholar. He sailed with the Rev. John Steven Heislow of Cambridge as naturalist of a scientific expedition.
It was that expedition which gave Darwin an opportunity to make observations that later would lead him to his revolutionary books, "The Origin of Species" and "The Descent of Man." As Darwin put it in "The Voyage of the Beagle," a journal of the expedition:
"Most of the organic productions are aboriginal creations, found nowhere else; there is even a difference between the inhabitants of the different islands; yet all show a marked relation-ship with those of America... Considering the small size of these islands, we feel the more astonished at the number of their aboriginal beings, and at their confined range...we seem to be brought somewhat near to that great fact—that mystery of mysteries—the first appearance of new beings on this earth."
"These islands" were the Galapagos. They were among many points touched by the expedition, but they are those which in Darwinian culture—and that has become a sizeable thing—remain most significant.
What Darwin saw there led him to probe into "that mystery of mysteries." What he saw led him to the book whose 100th anniversary is being observed in 1959.
Bantam Classics provides a singular service in offering "The Voyage of the Beagle." Its price puts it within range of practically any reader. It is a chronicle full of scientific and philosophical observations and descriptions.
The story of the Beagle also is told in the beautifully printed paperback edited by Bert James Loewenberg, a 30-year scholar of Darwin and a professor of history at Sarah Lawrence College. The book includes a brief biography, an appraisal by Darwin of his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin; recollections of his father; a shiningly modest autobiography of 30 pages, written on the request of a German editor and ending with the return of the Beagle; excerpts from "The Voyage," and significant portions of both "Origin" and "Descent."
What Darwin set down in the latter two books became, along with the writings of Karl Marx, one of the great intellectual storm centers of the 19th century. Churchmen screamed in agony, and then, like Beecher and Fosdick, rationalized Darwin's theory to accord with church beliefs. Businessmen and their apologists in church and government justified the age of the robber barons as being a justification of the survival of the fittest.
The man-from-monkey controversy survives, at least in part. It survives from such words as these of Darwin, the scientist who theorized only after extensive scientific observation:
"If it be an advantage to man to stand firmly on his feet and to have his hands and arms free, of which, from his pre-eminent success in the battle of life, there can be no doubt, then I can see no reason why it should not have been advantageous to the progenitors of man to have become more and more erect or bipedal."
FOUR GREAT COMEDIES OF THE RESTORATION AND 18TH CENTURY, with an introduction by Brooks Atkinson. Bantam, 50 cents.
Ribaldry reigned in the good old days. A spade was a spade. Some men were cuckolds, many were not. Syphilis was the "pox." Farce was farce, in and out of bedrooms. Four of the most famous of all comedies are these from that period, now available in paperback—William Wycherley's "The Country Wife." William Congreve's"The Way of the World." Oliver Goldsmith's "She Stoops to Conquer," and Richard Brinsley Sheridan's "The School for Scandal." Lovers of comedy that was unbound by the days of Cromwell, unfettered by the 19th century, will enjoy these four.
—CMP
THE RENAISSANCE, by Walter Pater. Mentor, 50 cents.
From Walter Pater's classic criticism, one would gather that the Renaissance was a time of activity chiefly in the fields of painting, sculpture and architecture. If one can accept his almost total ignoring of music, literature and philosophy he will find "The Renaissance" very rewarding, and it has been rewarding reading for generations. There is recognition of those pre-Renaissance figures. Dante and Abelard, but chiefly Pater presents illuminating essays on the great figures, and some of the lesser—Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Giorgione and della Robbia. Always the language is beautiful, as in this passage on Michelangelo: "Some of those whom the gods love die young. This man, because the gods loved him, lingered on to be of immense, patriarchal age, till the sweetness it had taken so long to secrete in him was found at last."—CMP
SPECK, THE ALTAR BOY, by Margaret Ahern. Hanover House, $1.
Here is a collection of cartoons, in paperback, which the artist dedicates to her former art teacher, a Catholic nun. Her object is to provide a Tom Sawyer-Peck's Bad Boy sort of humor with her sketches of an altar boy who is always in trouble. Speck is shown pointing to a friend and asking the priest, "O.K. if a layman blows out the candles?" After a sermon, he says to the priest, "Boy! You really let 'em have it, Father!" He removes a "no parking" sign and substitutes "Thou shalt not park." Riding with a priest, he tells him, "Monsignor says St. Christopher medals are good only up to thirty-five miles an hour!" The humor is a bit esoteric for some, but it is warm and enjoyable. —CMP
Teacher Education Meeting Ends Report Sums Up Group Findings
The 14th annual National Conference on Teacher Education and Professional Standards ended Saturday morning as the 1,085 educators left for their respective homes—some as far away as Hawaii.
The conference, which opened last Tuesday, brought together teachers and persons connected with education from all over the nation in an attempt to develop some degree of consensus regarding curriculum content and procedures in the education of teachers.
Toward this end the educators were divided into 30 different study groups in an attempt to seek the widest possible agreement on the essential curriculum elements. The findings and opinions of these groups were compiled in a tentative report, which was distributed early Saturday morning before their departure
T. M. Stinnett, conference director and executive secretary of the conference headquarters staff, termed the conference "very good."
"The conference was very good—much better than we had any right to expect. After all, this was a very
complicated question we were dealing with—attempting to arrive at recommendations for a teacher-education curriculum," he said.
Asked to contrast the Kansas conference with a conference held at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, last year, he said the results of the Kansas conference showed much more unanimity.
Mr. Stinnett explained that last year's conference dealt with more abstract questions, whereas this conference dealt with the fundamental question of hours and courses.
"Looking at these tentative reports I find a surprising degree of unanimity. In general, I find agreement on three things:
"1. A need for five, instead of four, years of preparation for a fully qualified teacher.
"2. A need for a higher degree of selectivity. We need people of higher caliber for teachers.
"3. Agreement that the content of curriculum for liberal arts and educational schools needed toning up."
"The impact of these recommendations will be felt across the country as these people return to their homes," he added.
Mr. Stinnett explained that there will be a series of follow-up studies this coming year at the state level and a series of regional TEPS conferences.
The studies will culminate with the third national conference which will be held in or near Los Angeles June 21-24, 1960. The Los Angeles conference will be the third and final national meeting, devoted to a cooperative approach directed at strengthening programs for the education of teachers.
LAWRENCE OPTICAL CO.
1025 Mass., VI 3-2966
Blast Victims Being Sought
MELDRIM, Ga. —(UPI) — Skin-divers probed the murky depths of the Ogeechee River Monday for more victims of an explosion that sent flaming butane gas cascading down on a river playground Sunday afternoon.
At least 17 were dead, some of them children who had been swimming, boating and fishing with their parents and friends at the popular recreation spot near Savannah. Scores were injured, some of them horribly burned.
Many persons were unaccounted for but it was impossible to compile any accurate number.
You'll not only meet your friends,
You'll meet your enemies -
EVERYONE GOES TO . . .
- DIXON'S
The Drive-In at 2500 W. 6th Music with your Meals
FINAL WEEK
FINAL REDUCTIONS
ANNUAL SUMMER SALE
We Are Closing FRIDAY EVENING For The Summer DON'T MISS THESE FINAL BARGAINS!
—SPECIALS—
22 Prs. Slacks—Summer or Winter $12.95 $6.48
3 Prs. Bermuda Shorts 8.95 4.48
3 Sportscoats—37 Reg. (2) and 44 Reg. 21.50-37.50 $1/2 Price
2 Suits—36 Reg. and 44 Reg. 55.00-65.00 $1/2 Price
4 Winter Parkas—All Wool 19.95 9.98
17 Summer Sportshirts 4.00- 6.95 $1/2 Price
3 Prs. Shoes—9B, 10B and 12A 13.95-18.95 $1/2 Price
8 Prs. Swim Trunks 2.95- 5.00 $1/2 Price
12 Tux Shirts 6.50 2.00
17 Wash Slacks 6.95 3.48
(Sorry—No Alterations on These Special Values)
SUMMER SUITS Now 25% OFF
Year-Round
SPORTCOATS
Now
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SPORTSHIRTS
All Sizes
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DRESS
SHIRTS
Slightly Soiled
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