Rocky Mount Telegram from Rocky Mount, North Carolina • 5

Mar. 11, W78-I Raymond isifed Rocky Mount, N.C. Telegram ChandlerRev I il 1 1 1 BILLA11 What pleasure it waa the other day to meet a Raymond Chandler fan. Raymond Chandler waa profoundly concerned with the social' condition of the United State during the 1930's (be had good reason to be, from Ms own experience), with the general condition, of the totalled civilized world during the 1940's, and with that of civilization in the 1960's. This is over-simplification.

It is still mare simple to say that what distressed him most was the human condition. Chandler wrote little about his war experiences, although they were dramatic and shattering. About his life, as about Ms work, there was always hung a veil, almost fog. Still, there are a few biographical fads never to be Why is it that Chandler the novelist so much his impressed his readers and so far surpassed his predecessor, his contemporaries, his sue-. cessors? He wrote only seven novels, published the order is significant in this sequence: "The Big Sleep," 1939; "Farewell, My Lovely," 1940; "The High Window," 1942; "The Lady in the Lake," 1943.

The Hollywood interval made a gap, but the movies used several of his fine scripts. "The Little Sister" appeared in 1949, "The Long Goodbye" in 1953, and "Playback" in 1958. "The Little Sister" is understood to be the best of them all the most mature, the most compassionate and moving, the most satirical. It blisters and blasts the rivalries and pettiness, the materialism and the Ignored. Chandler was born in the United States, educated in an English public school and on the Continent, served with the Canadian Army, and returned to America.

He first made a living in the "pulp magazines" and one or two business ventures. He had tome success ass writer, which brought him to Hollywood as a brilliant scriptwriter. Then followed a return to novel writing. In the painful years immediately after the death of his wife in 1954, be published one more novel, "Playback." Even before, though not long before, Cissy's death, Chandler seems to have begun to weary of his art "The Long Goodbye," 1953, was despite its considerable merits, the work of a physically and mentally tired, profoundly disillusioned person. emptiness of the film industry.

Chandler once said, "I got out of Hollywood for the simplest of reasons. I felt that if I didn't leave it there would be nothing of me left; it would have destroyed Although Chandler was six years older than Dashiell Hammett (1891-1961), Chandler (1888-1959) saw his first novel appear a decade later than Hammett's "Red 1929. "Aha," cry the source prospectors, "so Chandler merely followed Hammett's lead!" Unfortunately for them, Chandler was learning how to write (with a concision, a terseness, a pertinence, and an immediacy that the younger man never obtained) in a much harder school, that of the pulp crime magazines. The best of them, "The Black Mask," set a notably high standard of compact writing. Chandler may have picked up a trick or two, from Hammett or perhaps from James Cain's "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1934), but never a mood nor a technique.

The freshness and wit of his writing almost immediately captured the reading public and, both consciously and unconsciously developed, brought him to such a pitch of instant appeal that be rapidly became the best writer in the field of crime and detection, not only of his own generation, but ever since. Much of Raymond Chandler's life was sad and arduous; much of it quietly courageous. What he has bequeathed entertains and heartens by its sheer skill, tautness, and integrity. VERNON SECHR1EST Changing Careers AT THE EXIT For a place to observe pure, undiluted Joy all you need to do Is visit the check-out room' of a veterinarian's place of business. Sometimes the pet owners provide interesting studies, too.

Little Fido, Oscar or Gertrude, regardless of how well they may have been treated at the vet's, are bound to warm the hearts of the most cold-hearted as they bound joyfully from their brief confinement and realize Jhat they're The Long Roads Of Life Both Taken TOOK THE TOWN I was delighted recently to receive a letter from Bob Ricks, a Rocky Mount man who descends each winter upon Fort Myers, where he stays until the weatherman assures him there will be no more frost around here. In his letter, Ricks declared that the Rocky Mount band, during its recent appearance at the big band festival, won just about everything in sight and "captured the hearts of Ft Myers, along with five trophies." Ricks went on to explain "there was no doubt in this city where the band was from and people I don't even know are still telling me how great the Rocky Mount band was." Bob promised to send me a copy of the band issue of the Fort Myers -newspaper but I still haven't seen it 111 have to go along with his summary of the appearance, though, when he declared that the band "done good." NEVER TOO LATE by John Holt (Delacorte, 245 pages, $10.00) STARTING: EARLY, ANEW, OVER, AND LATE by Helen Yglesias (Rawson, Wade, 286 pages, $9.95) WHITE COAT, WHITE CANE By David Hartman and Bernard Asbell (Playboy, 183 pages, $8.95) My dog Schnapps is no exception. strong opposition, to become a full-time novelist (published while still in his teens). The book closes with a mix of short biography and interviews. The belated careers of Grandma Moses and Mother Jones are covered, as is Artur Rubinstein's youthful identity crisis and his subsequent rededication.

The other subjects range from Alberta Hunter, who returned to her singing career in her 80s, to two couples who choose to live off organic farms none. I'. uiuui iwiaieiy, nas a awry as interesting or well-told as Our careers are probably the greatest single influence on our lives, yet too often we fall into them haphazardly, trusting to convenience and dumb Tuck. If we end up unhappy, well, we figure, so is everyone else. If our career dazzled in our youth but has- tarnished with the years, we stick with it anyway afraid of change.

Three new books prove it needn't be that way; that change is possible and downright desirable; that we can choose our destinies at any age in the face of almost any obstacle. John Holt's first career was as an educator. His previous books, "How Children Learn," "How Children Fail," and "What Do I Do Monday?" are known to teachers everywhere for their thought-provoking analysis of the teaching-learning process. But deep within Holt-the-teacher, a musician was struggling to be born. Holt did not have a musical background.

He began to play the flute at 34 and the cello at 40. Today, more than 20 years later, he has virtually given up education, outside interests to focus on fus prime goal becoming a skilled musician. He dreams now of a world with an orchestra in every neighborhood and a quartet and chamber group on every block. But, ever the progresive educator, he does not want to see education forced on will inspire anyone who ever dreamed of making their love their work, and delight any music lover. At the heart of Helen Yglesias' "Starting: Early, Anew, Over, and Late" are interviews with people who have made successful but difficult career choices.

The social status of her subjects varies wildly from construction worker to concert pianist as do their ages from 15 to 100 plus. But all share one trait the determination to succeed, often over seemingly insurmountable odds. The first and best part of the book is autobiographical. The author describes her impoverished childhood, early career attempts, failures and successes. Her portrait of an immigrant family, poor in money but rich in caring, and a talented daughter's failed effort to become a novelist (instead of something more practical) is strongly drawn.

After a homemaking hiatus, Yglesias returned to work, climbing up the masthead of "The Nation" until at age 54 she quit and returned to her still unfulfilled teen-age dream writing full-time. Her first novel "How She Died" was a success. One of the subjects of the book's second part is Yglesias' own son Rafael who did what his mother couldn't do quit school at 15 over .4) Yglesias' own. David Hartman is an example of a man who refused to let anything stand in his way, even bis total blindness. Today, David Hartman is David Hartman, M.D.

His reflections on his childhood, his blindness at age 8 and his subsequent education and adjustment are stirring. Hartman has a sharp sense of humor, which makes his life story entertaining and his message irresistible. That message comes through loud, clear and convincing: We have no right to let our prejudices and preconceptions limit what the handicapped can do. Every human being is unique. Arbitrary barriers and irrational fears are just that: arbitrary and When he emerges from that section of tiny homes where he has been confined for a spell it's hard to tell just what he's going to do next It was when Schnapps was making his exit the other day that he came upon one of those elaborately coiffured poodle-types being led by a tiny chain that looked like silver and accompanied by a mistress who apparently loved everything in the whole canine world.

"Oh," squealed the lady as she spied Schnapps, sleek and happy after receiving a bath. "He looks like a seal!" Of course, Schnapps wasn't prepared for that, but you could tell that he seemed to be effecting a slink to go along with his swagger. However, both Schnapps and I were caught entirely by surprise by the lady's next ejaculation. "He looks like you!" she exclaimed and then it was my turn to squirm as I couldn't for the life of me decide how to resemble both a seal and a dachshund at the same time. When the lady and her coiffured extravaganza had vanished, the smiling vet, who had witnessed the whole thing, may or may not have added to the picture by admitting "something I seldom say is that a dog and its master resemble each other." 'V; Schnapps, however, soon forgot about the whole thing as he, safe again in his own domain, resumed his happy pursuits of chasing rabbits and ruined his whole bath effect by rolling in a sandpile.

JOHN HOLT'S "Never Too Late" wffl Inspire anyone who ever dreamed of making their love their work, and delight any music lover. THE INDIAN WAY Joe S. Sugg, executive director of the North Carolina Peanuts Growers Association, is in New Mexico today attending a big peanut meeting. Before he left he offered the following contribution: "A deserted farmhouse in a gullied field was. pictured in a farm journal which offered a prize for the best 100-word description.

An Indian took the prize with this: "Picture show white man crazy. Cut down trees. Make big tipi. Plow hill. Water wash.

Wind blow soil. Grass gone. Door gone, window gone. Whole place gone. Buck gone.

Squaw gone. Papoose too. No chuck-away. No pigs. No corn.

No plow. No hay. No pony. Indian no plow land. Great Spirit make grass.

Keep grass. Buffalo eat grass. Indian eat Buffalo, Hide make tipi; make moccasin. Indian no make terrace. All time eat No hunt job.

No hitchhike. No ask relief. No shoot pig. No build dam. No give dam.

Indian waste nothing. Indian no work. White man crazy." ence clicked and another bombed. But the love of music shines through the somewhat deadening detail. Music is the heart of Holt's life and it's also the heart of his book.

"Never Too Late" anyone. None of that "Practice your piano or no TV!" business. And like the educator he was (and is). Holt analyzes and re-anaiyzes why one teacher, method or experi A Continental Journey Across The Soul Of America polished writer; be leaves a few loose ends and unanswered questions. But these factors detract little from the overall pleasure derived from reading the book.

This pleasure is enhanced by Peter's continual openness, throughout the book, to each new person he meets, each emotion he feels, each experience he faces. He begins his quest with preconceived notions about America, but be is willing to let the country speak for itself. And, perhaps in the true tradition of the quest, he finds that be is looking for the true nature not only of his country, but of himself and his God. What he experiences, what he learns, he shares with his readers, making "A Walk Across America" a true, enjoyable, satisfying book. (Virginia Brooks is an English instructor at Edgecombe Technical Institute) friendly welcome.

In the next chapter, be is trying to stay alive walking through snow, strong winds, and temperatures between five and 20 degrees. But just as enjoyable as the accounts of bis adventures, are his sketches of the people he gets to know. He depicts most of his new friends vividly enough to make them come alive to the reader, and warmly enough to call forth the same appreciation for them that he feels himself. Homer, the mountain man; Mary Elizabeth, the mother of his black "second family" who shelters him during a work stop in Murphy, North Carolina; the drunk man who threatens his life one dark Alabama night (he wasn't too warm about this fellow! and Governor George Wallace, whom he walks across Alabama to see. Peter gets to know these" and many others, and so do we.

Author Jenkins is not yet a "A Walk Across America" By Peter Jenkins Williams Morrow and Company, Inc. 288 pages. Illustrated $12.95 Appalachians of Virginia and North Carolina; through Tennessee and Alabama; and on to the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. He travels back highways, carrying his tent on his back and stopping to buy food at country stores along the way. Just as Peter keeps pushing on, his book leads us, on from adventure to adventure.

In one chapter, he walks miles up a mountain trail to meet 'the greatest mountain man not knowing whether he will be greeted with a shotgun or a Jenkins. He was a recent college graduate of the "Vietnam generation," disillusioned with this country and with bis own recent past, ready to fay another place Europe or South America. But when a friend challenged him to give this country a chance, he decided to do it on foot. His book shares the first part of bis discovery with us. Accompanied much of the way by his dog and "forever friend" Cooper, Peter makes his way from Alfred, New" York, to Washington, D.

through the Reviewed by Virginia Brooks If you live 500 years after Columbus, how do you discover America? By walking across it, of course, if you are Peter i. New And Noted This Week At Braswell Library r'" 4 valley, until, 12 hours, six towns, unnumerable creeks, and 350 miles later, it brings him again to his house near Missaula. The whole novel unfolds in this monumental scale. Other New Fiction Other new fiction: "The Winning of Opie," by Dick Fleming (a western); "The Shipkiller," by Justin Scot; and "Shosha," by Isaac Basbavis Singer. "Learning DisabUtei: A Psychological Perspective" Despite the millions of dollars committed to early education, many children are still failing to read, write and calculate.

possible existence of the continent Atlantis, but hardly any consideration has been given to the very real, though mysterious, lost "Atlantis" of the Pacific: Nan Madol. A monolithic stone corpse of a city, lying just off the island of Ponape, largest island of the Pacific Carolines, and covering about eleven square miles. A history and description are found in "Lost City of Stone," byBillS-Ballinger. New Non-Fiction Other new non-fiction: "God and the Astronomers," by Robert Jastrow; "How to Get More Miles Per Gallon," by Robert Sikorski; "Total Home Protection," by Curt MUler; and "The Second Front" (World War II), by Douglas Nicholas Haransanyi, director of the Piedmont Chamber Orchestra. "The House Next Door" A strong dose of suspense along with a streak of supernatural is found in Anne Rivers Siddons' "The House Next Door." A stunning feat of architectural imagination and skill, the house is built by Kim Dougherty for his first clients, the Harralsons, newly married, rich, and expecting a baby.

They become the first victims of an all-engulfing force they cannot comprehend. But the tragedy of the Harralsons is only the beginning, for the fabric of the Kennedys' lives is also ripped apart And when the Sheehans move in next door, the bouse destroys them too. But it is from the Greens that it will take the ultimate prize. Orchestra Piedmont Portuguese fishing village of Porto Esco. Sent to investigate, marine insurance inspector Laird hires a diver, who meets 'sudden death underwater.

There is an attempt on Laird's life, and at the same time it becomes clear that someone, somewhere, is ready to spend a fortune to get the tanker refloated as quickly as possible. A storm of human violence gathers around the stranded ship, and Laird discovers that the Portuguese bay is hiding a powder keg of international proportions. ''Tales from the Bine Stacks" Robert Bernen, a young American writer, and his wife moved to 'Ireland in 1970. Raising sheep on a Donegal hillside and living in the manner of their neighbors, they discovered that they bad chosen a region in which much of the" richness and variety of pre-modern existence still remained. While coping with the difficulties of restoring a derelict hill farm, they time to observe with sympathy and humor the vanishing mode of life around them.

Robert Bemen's stories in "Tales from the Blue Stacks" record some of the simple but memorable moments of that experience. "BeUe Starr" Featured among new fiction at the library this week is "Belle Starr," by Speer. Morgan. The historic Belle Starr was assassinated on the trail from Younger's Bend to Fort Smith on February 2, 1889. The assassin was never caught Principle suspects were Jim July Starr and Ed Reed.

Belle's body was anointed with turpentine and oil of dnammon, dressed in black silk with a high waist and collar, and laid in the coffin with one hand clasping a pistol. Armed Cherokee guards served at the funeral. The historic Blue Duck was commuted from a term of life imprisonment by President Grover Cleveland in March, 1895, to go home and die of tuberculosis. Morgan's book Is not an attempt to reconstruct the last two weeks of Belle Starr's life, but to re-create her character, using both facts of history and imagination. The novel is not forthesqneasmish.

Job" Mystery fans will enjoy "Salvage Job," by Michael. Kirk. As the story opens, a storm has left the oil tanker stranded and almost blocking the only chanel to the bay at Cabo Esco and the To Perform At E.C.U. Recently some important ad Botting and the eds. of Time- vances in psychology have Life Books.

The director of the orchestra win be Nicholas HaransanyL Haransanyi has conducted the Princeton Chamber Orchestra, Bach Aria Group, and Dean of -the School of Music of the North Carolina School of the Arts. orchestra's principal horn and his assistant, Dan Ashe, will be the soloists in the Beethoven concert Bergstone has been principal born of the Kansas City Philharmonic, performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Syn phony, the New York Opera, and has been soloist with the CabriUo Music Festival Ashe has been principal born of the Birmingham and Santa Rosa Symphonies, has performed with the San Francisco Symphony and Opera and was a member of the Piedmont Brass Quintet The Piedmont Chamber Orchestra will perform on March 15 in the Mendenhall Student Center at East Carolina University. The concert will begmatSpJD. The program will be the "La Seals di Seta Overture" by p.rinl; "Symphony No. 88 InB flat, K-139" by Mosart; "In-trodnction and Allegro for String Orchestra" by Elgar, "Concerto in fiat Major, for two norm and String!" (Sexlet Op.

US) by Beethoven; and the Cxech Suite, Op. 39" by Dvorak. Frederick Bergstone, the opened new ways to understand and cope with learning disabilities. Sylvia Fambam-Diggory's "Learning Disabilities: a Psychological Perspective" offers the first presentation of these developments in a manner that is accurate, sympathetic, and accessible to students, teachers, and parents. "Lost City of Stone" Countless books and theories have been devised about the "JobaMedidnewetf" Michael E.

Moon's "John Medicinewolf" is about a present day Indian who puts down his occupation a "paperboy" on the white man's questionnaire. His delivery route lakes him by truck from western Montana over the Bitterroot Mountains into Idaho at Lost Trail Pass, where Lewis and Clark missed their way. It meanders back along the Old Road that" crosses and reerosaea the Salmon River Revewers Invited All persons interested in doing book reviews are encouraged to contact the Sunday Editor by writing him care of The Telegram, or calling 446-516L ext 23. You dont have to have any experience in writing, just an interest in reading. Tickets for the concert are now on sale in the central ticket office in Mendenhall Student Center.

Tickets are 82.00 for E. U. students and $5.00 for the public. All tickets at the door are $5.00. For further information contact the ticket office at 757-8611, ext 268..