The Y. M. M. I. A. Reading Course

THE Y. M. M. I. A. READING COURSE, BY DOUGLAS M. TODD.

In the three seasons during which the General Board of the Y. M. M. I. A. has been suggesting certain volumes for supple- mentary reading in our associations, something like four thousand members have reported having read one or more of the books rec- ommended. In comparison with our enrollment this number is small, but it is increasing and therefore encouraging. Much care has been exercised in the selection of books for the coming season, and through the increased effort which we hope to see put forth in getting these books before our members, we are confident that the number of readers will be greatly in- creased. We solicit the hearty co-operation of our officers to this end. A two-fold benefit will be conferred upon every member that can be induced to read any or all of the books suggested: first, he will be put in possession of knowledge both useful and elevating; and second, and more important, he will unconsciously cultivate a taste for wholesome literature, laste for good reading is an in- tellectual habit which, to be strong and vigorous, must be acquired early. The young person who cultivates a liking for good books throws around himself a most valuable safeguard, and secures the best means of overcoming that restlessness which is constantly driving so many of our young people on the dangerous quest for diversion and excitement. A few years of persistent application to good reading will give a person the ability to get more real pleasure from books in a single evening than he can get from all the cheap shows that visit our towns in an entire season, and will soon render the noisy din of the saloon distasteful to him.

910 IMPROVEMENT ERA.

One prominent educator has said that it is better to teach a boy to love a beautiful sunset than a cheap show. It is better to

teach him to love a good book than either. There is but one way to cultivate a taste for good books, and that is by reading them, and to do this does not require expensive colleges nor learned teacheis, but only a little persistent effort early in life, and yet as eminent a scholar as Dr. Eliot, of Harvard, has said that fifteen minutes a day devoted to consistent reading will give any man a liberal education.

The following is a brief descriptive list of the books recom- mended for reading during the coming season. The first four named being for the senior grades and the last three for the juniors

Ancient America, by Baldwin

This is a work designed for students and those who read for profit rather than for pastime, though it is a very interesting volume. It is one of the more solid books that ought always to ac-

company the reading of works of fiction, if one would keep his literary appetite in a healthy condition and avoid creating too great a desire for books that stimulate and excite. This book will prove especially interesting and profitable to students of the Book of Mormon, as it sets forth in a brief but in- teresting manner the wonders of the civilization attained by the ancient inhabitants of America. The book discusses the works of the Mound Builders, the ancient copper miners on Lake Superior, and the exceedingly in- teresting ruins of Mexico, Central America and Peru. We heartily recommend the book to our Senior members. The Crisis, by Winston Churchill. In these modern days of "bestsellers" one naturally hesitates in recommending works of fiction, as perhaps too many are already being consumed by certain classes of our young people, and, like the worms, they are taking on the color of the vegetation on which they feed. Some of these books are good, but more of them are slightly tainted in their moral tone, making their effect pernicious. The Crisis is a clean, wholesome story, the plot of which is

THE Y. M. M. I. A. READING COURSE. 911

laidamong the thrilling scenes of the Civil War, in St. Louis, where the line between North and South was finally so closely drawn as to separate father from son, and lover from sweetheart. There runs through the plot a beautiful love story that sustains interest and gives healthy play to the imagination, while at the same time one is given a vivid picture of those stirring times, which throws important light on the political problems of the day and assists one in comprehending the great sacrifices necessary on the part of those who preserved the Union and insured its future greatness. The book is altogether wholesome and refreshing, and is suf- ficiently simple to be enjoyed by Juniors, while not too light to be

relished by older persons. In connection with the reading of this work by members of the Senior grades, we would heartily recommend the perusal of The Life of Lincoln selected for the Juniors.

Our Inland Sea by Alfred Lambourne. ,

Only a limited number of copies of this work has been pro- vided. It is not intended for general reading, and will be appreci- ated only by those who have acquired considerable literary taste. A genuine liking for a book of this kind is an accomplishment, of which the possessor has some reason to be proud. Those who read the book expecting an array of facts and statistics on the Great Salt Lake will be disappointed. The artistic features of the Inland Sea, in all its varying moods, in storm or calm and changing season, those qualities that attract us whether or not we are aware of the source of the charm, appear as bits of beautiful color arranged in a web of quaint philosophy; sometimes apparently disconnected, but as a whole completing a truly artistic design, and always re- turning to the cliffs, the gulls, the surf and the spray, creating an atmosphere that clings like a perfume, or haunts you like the melody of sweet music. The material and mechanical execution of the work are superb. The sketches by Harwood, another home artist, are very expres- sive and in close harmony with the text. Altogether the work is one that will gladden the heart of a book lover, and be a possession of which he will always be proud.

912 IMPROVEMENT ERA.

Courage, by Charles Wagner. The author of this work has been highly recommended by Theodore Roosevelt, who advised every one to read his Simple Life. He has written many books, among which Courage and its com- panion volume, Youth, stand well to the front. In his foreword to Courage he truly says: "What we most often lack in youth is the knowledge of what it is wisest to desire." Then he tells in seven- teen chapters that are inspiring reading every one, what to do to acquire the force and courage to make a man. "I should like to sound in your ears a clarion call that would fire your heart. I

should like to reveal to you a vision of force, of benevolence, of consecrated manliness, after which it would be impossible for you to be satisfied with enervating pleasure, or to give yourself up to barren discouragement." In the book he fulfils his wish, in language and aigument that any young man of ordinary intelli- gence may easily understand.

Abraham Lincoln, the Man of the People, by Norman Hapgood.

Among the many books and articles on Lincoln that have ap- peared in this the centennial of his birth, no brief work has come under our observation that gives a better portrayal of his true character than this one by Hapgood. We hope to see it read by thousands of our young people. A 11 written life of Lincoln, touching briefly as does this one, on the great events of his time, makes intensely interesting reading, and is always an inspiration to young men, and especially to those who feel that their opportunities are limited. Lincoln's origin was as humble and obscure as it well could be, and his opportunities limited indeed, but by utilizing them as they came, and by being honest, steadfast and diligent, he took his place along with Washington as one of the greatest characters in American history.

To as many Junior members as can do so, we would recom- mend the Crisis to be read with the Life of Lincoln.

John Stevens' Courtship, by Mrs. Susa Young Gates,

is a story of the famous Buchanan war.'^ The book is filled