--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 24 number: 1 published: 1920-11 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "Books," *Improvement Era* 24, no. 1 (November 1920): 80–81.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2401unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera2401unse start_page: 80 end_page: 81 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1920-11) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2401unse publication_year: 1920 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1920, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Books Books The Era acknowledges receipt of a handsome book on Soil Alkali, its origin, nature and treatment, by Franklin Stewart Harris, Ph. D., director of the experiment station and Professor of Agronomy at the Utah Agri- cultural College, with the compliments of the author. It is published in the Wiley Agricultural Series. It is an exhaustive treatise of some 258 pages, with index, on the subjects indicated by the title. It should be welcomed by western farmers who are frequently troubled as to what to do with alkali-impregnated soil. Among the subjects discussed are: Crops for alkali land, alkali water for irrigation, the origin of alkali, practical drainage, methods of reclaiming alkali lands, movement of soluable salts through the soil. etc. The book is dedicated by the author to "Dr. John A Widtsoe, pioneer investigator of arid agriculture, teacher and friend,''' and is published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York. The Great Experience is the title of a story by Julia Farr, author of J eniia Hastings. It is a story of some 224 pages, with illustrations, and is of special interest to Church members. The characters are Latter-day Saints,and the narrative depicts missionary experiences and the strug- glebetween truth and error in the world for the supremacy of the souls of men. The author is a convert to the "Mormon" faith and gives her ex- EDITORS' TABLE 81 periences, particularly after her arrival in Utah, where she received her first welcome and her first friends in Zion. The book is printed by the Deseret News Co., Salt Lake City and is an interesting addition to cur- rent literature. Science and the Gospel, or Joseph Smith as Scientist, by Dr. John A. Widtsoe, is the title of the Senior Manual of the Y. M. M. I. A. for the present season. A book of 160 pages full of intense interest to young men between the ages of 17 and 22, for whom it is especially designed. It is readable for everybody, and the Senior classes this year should be very interesting and attract much attention among the young people. A few copies with index will be bound with first class binding, and will be on sale separate from the manual, These books should find a place in every library in the Church. This is a revision of the first edition which was printed some years ago, with such additions as were necessary to comply with the gropress of science since the first publication. Price of manual, in paper, 50c. Campfire Stories is the title of the Junior Manual. It includes a num- ber of interesting and well written pioneer stories on scenes and inci- dents of the plains and pioneers in the west. It will be very interesting to the boys of the Junior Class for whom it is designed, between the ages of 12 and 17. Price 25c.