Man In The Modern World

THE ANALYSIS OF FAME
"needlework"; Athene Scyler, "walking, talking." It is an interest-
ing commentary on the social conventions that whereas music is set
down quite commonly, and at least Ernest Hemingway has had the
courage to include drinking., nowhere can I find either gambling or
women as a recreation.
Often the biographies include fascinating facts. A hint that
Epstein may possess an inferiority complex is given by the remark that
his work on the British Medical Association, though "attacked by
newspapers, religious bodies, etc., was defended by Times" It is
pleasant to know that J. D. Rockefeller senior has given away more
than $500,000,000 in charity. It is also pleasant that in these days of
specialization such a paragon of versatility can exist as Dr. Satis-
chandra Bagchi, Principal of the University Law College at Calcutta,
who, in addition to numerous legal works, notably on the "Juristic
Personality of Hindu Deities," has written books on "The Mathe-
matics of Transformation and Quantum Theory "; " Rabelais "; and
"Morality in Art/' besides translating French stories into Bengali.
It is tempting to browse on. Almost every page has its rewards.
The clergyman whose recreations are caricature and philately; the
fact that Marie Stopes mentions her marriage to her first husband, but
that he does not mention the fact of his marriage to Marie S topes;
the omission by H. G. Wells of any mention of the first marriage for
which in his autobiography he finds so much space; the fact that
neither Sir Charles Sherringlon nor Miss Ethel M. Dell give their
ages. . . . But I must refrain.
Who's Who is a great work. It is not only so useful as to be all but
indispensable; not only, as I have tried to point out, one of the world's
most valuable source-books in sociology; but also contains more
interesting specimens of what are usually known as "human docu-
ments" than any other work in existence. And if you think the price
is high, reflect that it works out at less than a farthing per closely
printed page—far cheaper than a novel.