OMNIBUS BOOKS

Southland Times, Issue 21581, 19 December 1931, Page 11

OMNIBUS BOOKS

THE WAY TO KNOWLEDGE

(By

Criticus).

Mr John Collings Squire, whose editorship of the London Mercury entitles him to more respect than editors usually command, has said that “omnibus” books are bought but not read, that they appeal to people who like to obtain a lot for their money, but who find subsequently that the large volumes are too heavy. Mr Squires has confessed that he owns several omnibus volumes, acquired by purchase and by gift, which he has not read. That, of course, is proof that Mr Squires has found the omnibus book too heavy to hold, but he is not fair to the general public, particularly as there are one or two super-books of this type whose fault is not weight, but the association of stories unsuitable for this form of publication. I cannot see the value of putting four full-length novels by different authors and without any relationship except perhaps that they appeared in one year, within one cover; but such a criticism cannot hold good in the case of the collection of novels by one author, dealing with one character. The volume into which Galsworthy’s “Forsyte Saga” was collected, and Sigrid Undset’s “Kristen Lavansdatter” were “omnibus” volumes justified because they gave unity to a series of novels which were in fact one. A collection of all Sherlock Holmes’ stories into one book was an equally attractive method of presenting Conon Doyle’s great detective’s record. One might object that literary essays are at their best in small handy volumes which can be slipped into a pocket, and that these, therefore, are not suitable for omnibus presentation; but a collection of short stories undoubtedly gains by being unified in one book. All these considerations, however, do not effect such a work as “The Outline of Modern Knowledge,” which has been given to the public as a super-omnibus. This is a weighty volume, but the substantial nature of the matter it presents precludes it from admission to that category pleasantly called “bedtime books.” These twenty-four essays should not be read with one’s head upon comfortable pillows. They should not invite sleep. They are designed for the serious reader anxious to obtain a working knowledge of modern thought, and of the manner in which man has worked to reach present day stages. It would be unjust to “The Outline of Modern Knowledge” to call it a short-cut. It is really a condensation of man’s mental history, and from its pages any' serious reader can obtain a sufficiently comprehensive view of modern arts and sciences to justify his claim of a working acquaintance of all branches of the world’s mental development. The articles are written by men whose names give an assurance of authority. They are British, and their approach to the subjects with which they deal is British. The reader is introduced to the general development of science and philosophy religion, to mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, political economy, and every branch of science, after which he is furnished ■with broad and comprehensive series of articles dealing with the Arts. In this book he will find enough to lay the foundations of an adult education sufficient to equip him for an intelligent interest in all that the world is doing to-day, and the writers of these articles by a careful avoidance of technical jargon have made them attractive rather than frightening to readers not already trained in the particular intellectual branches with, which they deal. “The Outline of Modem Knowledge” is an immense library, concentrated in one thousand pages; it is a five-foot book-shelf, shortened to three or five inches. And a great deal of its value comes from the impetus it gives to the reader to proceed further with study along intellectual lines to elaborate the concentrated information it offers.

In recent times there has appeared no book offering as much as “The Outline of Modem Knowledge,” and those who are fortunate enough to acquire this extraordinary piece of work—all the articles are appearing for the first time—will find in it sufficient material to last them for a whole year, sufficient to provide them with inspiration for a life time’s interesting and valuable study. This is a book to own. One cannot expect to borrow a book for a year, and no one being the owner of “The Outline of Knowledge” would like to lend it for that period. Therefore, it offers to those good people who puzzle over the appropriatness of Christmas gifts, a solution to their problems solved where their soberminded friends and relatives are concerned. It is the serious people who cause most difficulty at Christmas time—for the lightminded there is an almost limitless field, but one has to be careful not to be too frivolous when making selections for the stockings of superior folk. “The Outline of Modem Knowledge” is far too big to go into a stocking, but it is just the right size, it is just the right weight, for any man or woman who, not blessed with a university education, has a desire to lay the foundations of an intelligent appreciation of the present day mind and its remarkable achievements. To those people who can look back on years at the university “The Outline of Modern Knowledge” trill serve as a refresher course. The only people for whom one cannot advise it are those dear frivolous lightweights who have but one inhibition: thinking.

“The Outline of Knowledge” is published by Victor Gollanez Ltd., London, my copy through Hyndmans, Dee Street.