Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • Page 17

SUNDAY MORNING, JULY 28, 1918. 00C REVIEWS AND LIBRARY NOTES Edited by GEORGF WHARTON TAMES- J. II. FABRE RICHTHOFEN In "The Wonders of Instinct" Absorbing Story of Insect Life Is Told; to Be Read With Genuine Delight by the General Reading Public. Most Famous of Enemy Flyers Wrote a.

Story of A a1 Ventures Before He Was Downed; 'Has a Message For Allied Air? men. HE story of" Fabre ami. his yearji of struggle that he might have the opportun-to lije alone with his friends, the Insects, is one TO A PHRASE By HAZEL HALL I kq.ve.bren combing the santk of my thought for you You IT ho Tfift me the trace of your fragrance In lieu of yourself, A pungency as of sandalieood. Or things long lain in lavender, lery' faipt. But of a stabbing sweetness.

IS'otv that I have found you, Your delicate coloring, Which once delighted me, Has faded in the wash of many (ides. Yet you can still Sting the tears to my eyes, Little Phrase-someone-said-to-me long-ago, If ho might have meant so much But who meant so little But I think I have untangled you from the seaweed of forgotten things, I think I shall toss you back into he sea! In "Poetry" for July. "The Red Battle 1- iyer" there Is related in language more or less censored the story of Manfred von Richthofen, Germany's star ace. The that was almost as slow in "The Eclipse of Russia," Authoritative -x Story of Tragic Chapter in History Is Revelation of the; Genius and Weakness of Nation; Story of Intrigue From Inside USSIA, the Side-show in the great exhibition of war, is destined to figure with increased prominence In the world news, and for that reason, if for story was written by a German (now fallen in battle) and hag had a circulation of over a million readers In Germany. The question as to why this book should be published In thte country Is one that will be asked by the' average reader.

The perusal of the volume will answer the question. Von Richthofen has told with his story many of the German plans and ideals of air battle. He has furnished a book to to studied by American aviators and army of- ficers and, incidentally, has written an exciting-and Intensely interesting book. The most famous of German aviators was Freiherr von Richthofen, who was killed In action In April of this year, after being credited with eighty aerial victories. This book is, the story of this German's exploits and adventures told In his own words.

It is. the story of countless thril'ing battles in the air, of raids, and of acts of daring by the flying men of both sides. "Kichthofen's Flying Circus" has become- famous in the annals of -aerial warjfare. This book tells how the "circus" was formed and of the adventures in which its members participated. The Red Battle Flyer" Is offered to the American public, not as a glorification of Germai achievements -In the war, but as a record of air fighting which, because, of its authorship and'of the insight it gives into the enemy airman's mind, will Irove of interest and value to our on flyers as well as to readers gen-, erally.

The German aviator, who, it will be rAnembered. was given a military funeral by the allied forces after he was brought down, writes hi book-in the spirit of a healthy young man intensely intci erted In an exciting pursuit. He shows himself to have been of an admirable character la many ways and. save in his glorying in the dropping of bombs, does not exhibit the Ilun qualities that were many of his companions'. Richthof'fri was a recognized master of air- fishting.

His book explains the secret of many of his successes, and he brought down eighty planes before he was downed. Ri'd Rattle Flyer," by Cap-' tain Manfred Freiherr Richthofen: New York. Robert Si. McBi ide J1.2.V) Kaining recognition as were the efforts of the unassuming scientist who labored for the love of the tisk. But Fabre lived to hear himself acclaimed aa one bf the great men of his time- and -to see his works read by men and women with no scientific leanings.

So it was that' when he died his sole regret was that he could not spend a few more years at The Harmas, as he called hU little home and rocky patch, where his vegetables languished and his "bugs" wajc, fafc To write of insects ami of their ways in such a manner as to interest the general public and to stimulate a wider study of the wonders of the myriad population underfeet was, the old 'gentleman's ambition. He could not understand why it was that expeditions should be fitted out and thousands of dollars spent that study of sea creatures might be perfected when an almo. unknown world was always at hand on land. From boyhood he was wort to make friends of the crawling: things. He noted their ways, experimented with them "and became in time an authority.

Not until the bettpr part of his life had been lived did he succeed in saving enough money to buy a small place and devote all of his time to his passion and his work. It was by accident that he was recognized. When the first of the Fabre books was published, there came realization that here was a man who could write of the common bug as romantically and as interestingly as some may write of fairies. Ho opened up a wonderland and breathed into his work so exalted a love for subject and such power of description as to make the reading universal. He ta never technical or obscure.

Fabre tells of the spider that rolls Its e5g8 in a ball of web and holds it.by her legs, turning it over in the sun to aid in the hatching. the marvelous instinct of the burying beetles he writes in manner as engrossing as are certain chapters by explorers in strange lands. Of a bee, the Eumenes, he writes: "The Eumenes' cupola is the work of an artist and the artist would be sorry to cover his masterpiece with whitewash. I crave forgiveness for a suggestion which I advance with a'l the reserve befitting so a subject. Would it not be possible for the cromlech-builder to take pride in her work, to look upon it with some affection and to feel gratified by this evidence of her cleverness? Might there not be ah Insect science of aesthetics? I seem at least to catch a glimpse, in the Eumenes.

of a propensity to beautify her work. The nest must be, before all. a solid habitation, an inviolable stronsjhold but, (Continued on Page 18) no other, anything authoritative that may be written on the subject is of a timeliness thta makes of its reading almost a necessity. True it Is that there has been nn extraordinary number of books written on the (Jivat White Country, Just as there will be many more, but the subject is art exhaustions one and one concerning which no cursory reading will satisfy. It was to be expected that the romantic possibilities in the revolution, the downfall of a Tsar, and the giving of, powers of government to thofe who, for years, had dreamed of the opportunity, should be seized upop by all manner of writers just as It waa to be expected that the traveler who found himself in Russia in days of its exciting upheaval should feel the ure to set down historic events in printers' ink.

And iind yet before a world had dreamed of the possibility that, Dillon, in another book, prepared" his readers for the end of Tsardom and ventured some remarkable predictions as to what was in storafor Rust-ia. For years he has enjoyed unparalled opportunity to' study all the movements in the political life of the country. Known personally to leaders in the government body under the Tsar he is acquainted with tha aristocratic viewpoint. In addition he' has worked with the liberal movement, Is a graduate of two Russian universities, and profestxr at Kharkoft', editor of a Russian paper and leatler-wrier for two others. He waa the Intimate adviser of Count Wltte, and of him It has been said that, if it is possible frr the Saxon mind to understand the Slav, he Is the best man fitted for the task.

It is said of this book that it la the true story of Russian autocracy and Its preparation for anarchy; of the secret dealings and treaties between Tsar'and, Kaiser; of Rasputin and the Russian court, and of the tortuous doings of old-line diplomacy and that it is a revelation of the genius and the tragic weakness of the Russian people. One must read the whole of this book, to realize that it baffles any isolated quotation. There is in it the sincerest attempt I have found to reflect the Russian nJnd and to create an understanding of a race that is at one time intensely idealistic, intensely spiritual, and elementally fernciouH. It is the author's belief that of all races the Slav if the most complex a'id puzzling and he has made out his case in convincing -manner The personal recollections and. the eye-witness accounts give to the volume an intimate and first-hand value that appreciably heishtens the interest.

The writer's estimate so the books, many of them Vit casual descriptions or personal pressions, have been turned the hundreds, and In Trave been many that are notable. But the Russian" book of ftnlay must be more than a recital by an accomplished writer; it must bear the stamp of one who knows whereof he writes. Because of the chaotic conditions and of the many-phad Russian mind the unauthentieated work on the theme may be worse than useless. If the newer works- on. Russia, which aim to supply utiquestiono-l information "Tlv Eclipse of Uusla." by E.

J. Ijffion, stands out with distinction both for it-- exhaustive treatment of the subject and for the author's certain reputation a-s a scholar of things Slavic. It was not many years ago of the vacillating Tsar Is on court experience and is a picture In keeping with the present popultri one. Nowhere else is to be found -the information concerning the rela- tlons of Nicholas and Wilhelm, for Jlisreln addition to the documents now widely known as the "Willy- V-cky" correspondence, is given ac (Continued on Page 18).