Among the Literati

For a time last week it was thought that something had happened to The American Spectator. Due on the news stands the first day of the month, no copies were available until December 3. The gossips immediately began to scurry around trying to find the reason for the delay. One facetious fellow offered an explanation, saying, “I guess Mr. Hitler’s check didn’t arrive in time.” As a matter of fact the offices of The Spectator claimed that a shipment of paper had been late in arriving. It reminds one of the last days of The Bookman when publication day would roll around and no magazine would appear. Mr. Collins never became ruffled. He would simply let the issue pass and get out a double one the following month. Unique but satisfactory….

PREVIEWS

December is the publisher’s off-month and the list of books scheduled for that period indicates what was left over from the Fall’s sack of manuscripts. Most of the issues are either light fiction or very serious tomes. The books thought to have a better chance of selling were released earlier in the season. However, there are a few interesting items — “Fine Prints of the Year,” a collection of contemporary etching; “Hoover Off the Record,” by Theodore G. Joslin. This is an attempt to justify the ex-president’s actions while in office. It has not the charm of Ike Hoover’s book, but how could it? Defending Mr. Hoover’s behavior is tough going. “Was Europe a Success?” Joseph Wood Krutch’s analysis of political developments in Europe and America, consists mostly of material which has run in the magazines. “The Complete Wine Book,” by Frank Schoonmaker and Tom Marvel, is supposed to be the book to end books on wine, and a good thing too. “Labor’s Fight for Power,” by George Skolsky, who has been touring these United States and incidentally gathering material about union labor, and Thorne Smith’s posthumous book, “The Glorious Pool,” another amusing bit by a fine humorist, complete the list.

ODDS AND ENDS

Aben Kandel, whose novel, “City For Conquest,” is slated to appear in February, took ten days off to go to Hollywood to help whip a picture into shape….Lillian Lustig, who for nearly ten years was Dick Simon’s private secretary, is leaving Simon and Schuster, much to everyone’s amazement…. Dodd Mead and Covici Friede are each moving their offices…. Bigger and better space….