Life Begins at 40
pp. 101-102 · Read in the full issue
Book Reviews
IN a mixed bag of books and publi cations which have come to us for review recently, the prize for producing an oddity goes to an American called E. Orton Brower, who asks in 240 pages festooned with quotes, italics and black capitals, Should Fatherhood Begin at 40?
It appears—but we wouldn’t be too sure about this that Mr.
Brower’s theory is that if a man waits until mature middle age (when all his mental facilities should be fully developed), before he becomes a father, his offspring have a better chance of being mental giants. He bases his theory (we think) on the fact that Benjamin Franklin’s father was 50 at the time Ben was born.
Conversely, he says, immaturity of parents is an important factor in producing not only criminals but also international aggressors. Napol eon—whose papa was only 23 when he was born—is quoted as a notor ious example. All admirers of Napoleon please note.
We did not find out whether he requires his mothers to be over 40 also—but possibly he has theories about that too—that the female is only the chosen vessel, as it were, and the sire everything.
However, it is hard to know ex actly what Mr. Brower is getting at.
This (it concerns the illustrious Benjamin) is a fair example of his style: “He had a kite—a simple toy —the paltry plaything of a child. He had a cord, a piece of string, a length of twine, perhaps no better than the common threads that have been spun since long before the Sphinx of Egypt and the Pyramids were even planned. And as it was convenient, he took a key—a common key.
“Two things indeed, were great and grand.
“Two things which Franklin had were of size tremendous. Two merely.”
We leave you to guess what the two tremendous things were. We weren’t able to find out ourselves.
In a biographical note it is said that the author’s present hobby is photography. Pity he had not stuck to it. If his opus is supposed to be regarded as a serious effort of man-the-superior-being, then all we * an say it that it is regretted that fatherhood had to begin at all.
For Lovers of the Sea—
and Others
ALL those who love the sea and ships—and even those who have
the stomach for neither—will enjoy w/ e \ 952 issue of The Annual D °S Watch, published by the Shiplovers’
Society of Melbourne.
This is the ninth consecutive year of publication and among the 21 contributors to this issue are Sir James Bisset, who tells of an incident of the 1914-18 war; Clifford Hawkins of NZ who describes how the schooner Huia was wrecked on a reef off Noumea, in January 1951; Captain Warner who writes of sailors’ homes and boarding houses.
There are several articles with an Islands flavour; and Yvonne Heiberg tells about the Ship Captain’s Medical Guide —a how-to-do-it book of the
sailing-ship era, priced 2/-.
The Captain is exhorted to “Use your best endeavours to induce the crew to wash the whole of the body every day,” and told that “In all cases of poisoning you need not be surprised if the patient is not fit for work for several days.”
There are also instructions for dealing with outbreaks of plague, smallpox, cholera and yellow fever —as well as fractures, gum boils and knife wounds.
Finally, a funny story from the same source: On a ship with beri beri on board, the crew died so fast and so frequently that weights for the shrouds ran short and coal was
packed in with the bodies for the same purpose. The second mate—
one of the few left on his feet—was sewing up the shroud of an old Irish searpan when the equally Irish bosun came along. “Ah, Paddy,” said the bosun, addressing the corpse, “I’ve seen many a good Irishman go below, but you’re the first I’ve ever seen take his own coal with him.”
Dog Watch is 4/6 plus 6d postage. You may get your copy—or join the Ship lovers’ Society—by writing to Box 1169 K, GPO, Melbourne.
Learning Gilbertese
ALTHOUGH the author, in a pre face, says that it provides only an outline of the structure of the Gilbertese language, what appears to be a very comprehensive text book on the subject has recently been pub
lished by the Gilbert and Ellic Islands Colony Government.
It is called The Structure of Gi bertese and was produced after thre years of intermittent work by M: Reid Cowell of the Colonial Servic< As well as grammar, it contains ei ercises to be done by the pupil, us( ful phrases and English-Gilbertes and Gilbertese-English vocabularie The book was printed and boun in Tarawa.
Land of Walkabout
Australians are not note buyers of books, but within month or two of publication in 0< tober 1951 they had snapped u 10,000 copies of Colin Simpson story of the Australian aborigin and since April this year, when th second edition was published, the have been busily buying thousanc more.
These figures show, firstly, whii Australia’s recent —if belated awareness of the original inhabi ants of the continent; and second!; that Mr. Simpson has produce something that the layman can g( his teeth into. Most books aboi the aborigines are scientific tonu of much weight.
Simpson, better known for h ABC radio documentaries—partici larly his Walkabout series—calls h book Adam in Ochre, and apparent) conceived the idea of it when he wj recording something of the joh American-Australian Arnhem Ear Expedition of 1948 for the Austra ian Broadcasting Commission. Apa: from its main theme, it gives a amusing and interesting account ( the daily lives in camp of the 16 c so members of the expedition.
It is a magnificently produce book, quite frankly designed an written, on the accepted overses pattern, for reader-appeal. This unusual in Australian books, tl authors of which usually rely, n« too successfully, on simple and nati ral narrative to get them over, an who despise the tricks of the lite: ary trade. That Simpson’s recipe successful is proved by the sales « Adam in Australia alone.
The author is at present in Ne: Guinea gathering material for companion piece to this book. (Adam in Ochre, published by Angr and Robertson, price 25/-.) Mr. Peter Wenke returned to Ne: Guinea in July after three montll leave spent in the Far East and i Australia. Before leave he was witi District Services at Morobe but hs now been posted to Wewak.